Don
Draeger, a famous martial arts author, called judo "the
great crippler." The same could be said of wrestling
and any other grappling-based martial art that involves
throws and takedowns.
One
of my former judo coaches, a silver medalist in the
1967 World Championships, commanded me to do bench presses
and Squats only. "Nothing else!" he barked.
Oh, I was allowed to do push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups,
and various jumps, but as for my weight work, those
two exercises formed almost the entire program. It wasn't
long before I had two shoulder separations and ligament
tears in both knees. Add to that constant back pain
and you have a pretty bleak picture. I've spent the
rest of my life trying to strengthen and heal those
injury sites.
In
April 2003 at the U.S. National Judo Championship in
Cleveland , Ohio I saw many of my old friends for the
first time in over a decade. The story was even worse
for some of them who had long since retired from competition:
double hip replacements, knee replacements, multiple
shoulder surgeries, totally screwed-up backs, and on
and on it went.
"There's
got to be a better way," I thought to myself. Since
I recently released a book, Strength and Conditioning
Secrets Of The World's Greatest Fighters , on that "better
way," I'll confine my comments to injury prevention,
and to some of the equipment your club or dojo should
have to help you remain injury-free and achieve superior
strength and conditioning for your art.
First
of all, the big injury sites in grappling-based arts
that involve throws and takedowns are knees and shoulders.
Whatever else you do, make sure you include exercises
for these areas in your routine.
In
the United States most martial artists tend to get in
shape solely through the practice of their martial art.
In the former Soviet Union , on the other hand, all
potential judoists, SOMBO wrestlers, and wrestlers are
given special exercises for their sport before engaging
in the actual competitive activity itself. As Dr. Steve
Fleck, the former head exercise physiologist at the
Olympic Training Center once told me, "you can't
just play your way into shape."
Now,
not all dojos and clubs are ideally equipped to help
you get in shape for your art, and this of course is
the big problem. If your club doesn't have the equipment
you need, I recommend that you save up and get what
you need, one piece at a time. This is what I did at
my Barn Of Truth training facility in Perrysville ,
OH . I started with the bare essentials and added a
piece at a time as I could afford it. Better yet, hold
fundraisers at your club to get the equipment you need.