Three Easy Martial Arts Speed Exercises   You’ll amaze yourself—and your sparring opponents—when you practice these three easy-to-do exercises!        You can develop lightning fast punching and kicking speed regardless of your age, experience, or physical condition.   Unlike beauty, Speed is not in the eye of the beholder! If your opponent can see your attacks coming, you don’t stand much of a chance. You want to stun your opponent by reaching your target before he is able to react. Here’s how… No Tricks Involved There are a lot of components to Sparring and Self-Defense Techniques that give the illusion of speed. Those are great, and very useful. But even with all the "tricks," having super-fast hands and feet are one of your greatest Martial Arts assets. These exercises are not in the tricks category (e.g. faking, timing, etc.) These exercises have been proven to actually increase your punching and kicking speed dramatically in a very short time.     Three Easy Speed Exercises For Martial Arts… 1. Rapid Pushups Start in pushup position. It doesn’t matter if you’re up off the ground, or if your start on the ground. Either have someone time you, or have a timer on the floor where you can see it. Do as many pushups as you can in fifteen seconds. Do three sets, resting 30 seconds between each set. Keep a score card of how many you did for each set. Because your muscles may be fatiguing as you go along, you may notice you’ve done fewer reps in the second and third sets. This is normal—you’re not slowing down! Instead, you’ll gain speed on these sets over the coming days and weeks. Since you are not comparing the number of reps on any given day, keep your score card such that you are comparing the reps you did for each set like this:           (Sample score card) Pushups In 20 Seconds           Oct. 1 First Set: 17 reps Second Set: 16 reps Third Set: 15 reps           Oct. 3 First Set: 18 reps Second Set 17 reps Third Set: 16 reps When you do the pushups, it isn’t important whether you go through the full range of motion. The essential part of the pushup for developing speed is somewhere in the middle. But be consistent! Whatever range you use, make it the same each day you do the exercise. Why Rapid Pushups Work Punching speed can be improved to some degree by just doing regular pushups or bench presses with light weight. But by doing these pushups as fast as you can, you’re training the muscles to contract in response to resistance at a much faster rate. In other words, bench presses will develop the muscles to do a good, powerful punch. But since you are moving the weights at a moderate speed, the muscles are being "trained" to respond to the contraction/resistance at that speed. By forcing a faster speed, the muscles respond by contracting at a faster rate, translating into lightning fast hands! 2. Isometric Holds This exercise actually develops speed by working the muscles in a static position. Stand in a regular fighting stance. With the closed fist of your rear hand, press your knuckles against a wall or stationary bag. You may want to put a striking pad between your fist and the wall to lessen the pain. Start in about 90% range. That is, your punching arm is almost all the  way extended. Do not fully extend your arm—for the same reason you don’t when doing regular punching in the air.  Press and hold for about 30 seconds, then rest 30 seconds. Step closer to the wall or bag, to about half-range and repeat; press and hold. On the third rep, stand close to the wall or bag, barely extending the punch; press and hold. Be sure to work all three ranges and both arms! Why Isometric Holds Work There are two types of muscle fibers: Fast Twitch and Slow Twitch. As you exercise, Fast Twitch muscles are being worked. Then, as they tire, the Slow Twitch muscles take over.   Isometrics is a method of developing muscles quickly, but with limited result for muscle growth. (For that, you need to keep adding more weight.) However, when you "train" the Fast Twitch Muscles to contract and hold in short, 30 second bursts, you develop, not necessarily strength or size, but definitely speed. Test These Exercises! You can prove these exercises are working to develop your punching speed by taking this easy test: Stand at a punching bag and either have a wall clock handy, or a timer in the hand you are not punching with. Do as many straight punches or backfists as you can in 30 seconds. (Be sure to wear gloves so you don’t tear up your hands!) Keep a score card of your progress. Over the coming weeks and months, you’ll be surprised at how much faster you are! (Of course, the punches you do on the bag as the test will also add to your speed!) Why Not Just Punch The Bag? Not a bad idea. Punching the heavy bag is also developing speed through the same isometric principle. But—aren’t you doing that, already? Add these two speed punching exercises to your workouts. You’ll be amazed at how well they work! 3. Speed Kicking Exercise:   BLITZ!  Kicking Here is my favorite Speed Kicking exercise: Stand in a fighting stance facing a wall clock with a second hand, or have someone time you. Turn your upper body 90 degrees to one side. Turn your rear foot facing 45 degrees toward the rear. When the second hand is at the 12, begin kicking at a moderate pace. Do ten round kicks with the front leg to your own stomach height. Do over-do the speed just yet—these kicks are to prep your balance and flexibility. Do not skip this prep kicking! If you do, you could be setting yourself up for an injury! As soon as you have done those first 10 prep kicks, BLITZ Kick:  Do 20 more round kicks as fast as you can. Push yourself! Don’t cheat on the quality of the kick. Make sure each one is a good, full lead-leg round kick. You must touch down to the floor.  Do not slap the floor with your foot or you could end up with a knee injury! after each one. When finished with the 20 blitz kicks, look at the second hand on the clock. From where it is until it gets back up to 12 is how much time you have to rest until the next set. Do a total of three sets with the same leg before switching to the other leg. To motivate yourself, keep in mind that the faster you get those 20 blitz kicks done, the more time you have to rest! This exercise also doubles as a great cardio/endurance builder! Learn more about developing Martial Arts speed from these articles and resources… Speed Training for Martial Arts How to maximize speed for competition and self-defense Conditioning And Speed Drills (DVD) Secrets Of Championship Karate.  Has some interesting conditioning drills. Errors In Training For Speed In Sports And Martial Arts Article by Thomas Kurz Improve Your Speed For Martial Arts Article by Sang H. Kim Speed Punching Tips And Exercises Article by Rob LaPointe The Reflex Tester Test your reflex response time! How To Become Proficient In The Martial Arts Through Speed Techniques Article from eHow What’s Different About "The Formless Way" ? Wu Ying Tao – The Formless Way – is unique in the Martial Arts world for being a practical, realistic approach to Martial Arts training. Are Your Nerves Putting You At Risk? What you need to know about your body to protect yourself. Sparring – The Ultimate Training Method? Or…? Has sparring practice become obsolete in Martial Arts Practice? If you believe what some Martial Artists say, Sparring is just a waste of time. 8 Easy Exercises to Release Stress With just 15 minutes a day, you can become Stress Free and have more Relaxed Energy. Some people say these exercises are as good as a nap and a cup of espresso! Flexibility Training Tips Learn how to do the splits! You’ll amaze yourself once you understand the fundamentals of PNF stretching. Develop Lightning Fast Speed! There’s fast, and then there’s FAST. These 3 Easy Speed Exercises will help you develop lightning fast kicking and punching. Learn About The History of Wu Ying Tao Wu Ying Tao ("The Formless Way") was developed by Grandmaster Bruce Terrill in Portland, Oregon.   © 2008 Northwest Martial Arts of Salem, LLC Please read our disclaimer