The Importance of Weight Training in Your Self-Defense Program

No matter how much we want to believe that the deadly techniques we learned in our martial arts classes are the biggest key to winning a fight, the truth is, they are not. It's not really about the martial art you're learning, although the choice for what's best for your goals are important. It is all about you. Or more specifically, your personal attributes. Attributes are qualities such as speed, strength, or stamina. This blog is going to explore attributes and their role in solidifying your self-defense training. We will focus on the importance of strength and power training for combat, because that is a big attribute when it comes to fighting.

Strength and Size Matter in the Real World

If you want to be successful in combat, you have to be strong. In the real world, strength and size matter very much. If you're dealing with an opponent who is, let's say, 6 foot, 5 inches, and weighs 275 pounds, and you're half his size, your odds of survival are pretty low. If you don't have the right attributes and you don't have a clue what to do, then you're doomed. If you're out of shape and you're not sufficiently trained in the proper fighting arts, then you're doomed. The only way to defeat such an opponent is to have better attributes than him. What attributes are we talking about? Let's explain this in terms of offense and defense.

On offense, your main objective is to stop your opponent, by any means necessary. There are two ways to accomplish this.

• Pain compliance - hurt him enough so the pain you're inflicting forces him to stop attacking you. This is based on his pain tolerance and susceptibility to pain.

• Physical damage - damage him enough so he is physically unable to attack you. This has nothing to do with pain tolerance or susceptibility.

In both ways, you have to be able to generate enough force to cause pain and damage. That force creation is not easy to do. Let's understand the physics behind force creation. First, the formula:

Force = Mass x Acceleration

This means that in order to generate sufficient explosive force, you have to accelerate your hand when you punch, your foot when you kick, your elbows and your knees when you use them. Notice I said accelerate, not move at a consistent rate of speed. Acceleration means increasing velocity, not the same velocity. One of the best ways to generate this explosive acceleration of the muscles is lifting weights. This type of weight training is also called speed-strength training. This is when you use the basic lifts, such as the barbell squat, deadlift, overhead barbell press, barbell bench press, or the barbell bent rows. You load the bar with 60-70% of your 1 Rep Max, and accelerate through the positive phase of the lift (the concentric phase). It's best to consult with a personal trainer or sports training specialist about speed-strength training. Another variation of this style is called plyometrics training, also known as jump training. If you've seen people jump up on a jump box for training, that's another method that's perfect for combat. The more powerful and explosive your legs are, the better you will be in a fight. There are many types of plyometric exercises that you can explore. Cross-Fit is well-known for using plyometrics and speed-strength training, so you may want to give it a try.

The Most Important Weight Training Exercises for Overall Strength

If you want to maximize your force generation powers and become stronger overall, here are the most important weight training exercises you need to train on a regular basis:

1. Barbell Squat

2. Barbell (or Hex Bar) Deadlift

3. Barbell Bench Press

4. Barbell Overhead Press

5. Barbell Curls

6. Pull-Ups

7. Dips

As much as I'd like to go into detail on each exercise, I suggest consulting with a personal trainer on how to begin this type of weight training program. Remember: basic barbell exercises are the most effective at building pure strength and muscle. You'll need all of that when it comes to fighting a bigger, stronger enemy.

Women: Don't be afraid of lifting heavy weights. Those are the weights you'll need to really build and strengthen your body for fighting. And trust me, you will not look like a man.

Durability and Toughness is Necessary for Survival

Think of your body like a motor vehicle. As I mentioned earlier, when you strike, you have to accelerate into your target to generate force and cause penetrating damage. Now imagine that your body is a car accelerating into a wooden wall. You're going 60, 70, 100 miles an hour. If you're driving a sturdy vehicle like a Humvee or a Volvo, then chances are, you'll penetrate the target with minimal damage. The steel frame and the solid chassis will absorb the impact and protect the driver. However, if you're driving a Kia or a cheap, used car with a crappy frame, then when you impact that wooden wall, you're going to disintegrate into a thousand pieces and most likely die. You see, one of the biggest benefits of weight training is that it builds muscle all over your body, it strengthens those muscles, and it strengthens your skeleton. By strengthening your skeleton, it strengthens your joints, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissue.

Weight Training Benefits You By:

• Builds Muscle

• Builds Bones

• Strengthens Joints, Ligaments, Tendons, and Connective Tissue

• Strengthens Skeletal Structure

• Builds Flexibility

• Increases Durability and Toughness in the Whole Body

Newton's Third Law: For Every Action, There is An Equal and Opposite Reaction

Punching someone has consequences on you. When you fire punches at another person, you have to be able to withstand the rebounding force into your own body. If you punch with 300 pounds of pressure, you have to withstand that 300 pounds of pressure back into your body. If your muscles, bones, joints, tendons, and ligaments aren't strong enough, you will most likely get injured by your own strikes. Another way to explain this is, when you shoot a gun, there is a recoil effect. If you're not strong enough to hold onto the gun when it recoils, you will get injured. A strong and fit body can withstand this rebound effect, while a weak body cannot.

Your Body Has to Be Strong Enough to Absorb Damage

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is, it's almost impossible to get into a fight without absorbing some damage or injury to your head or body. Your goal is to make this possibility a very minor one, or if you're lucky, you'll escape unscathed. Some scratches, a headache, or minor ankle sprain are things you can recover from. But, for example, if you get hit really hard in the body and the face ten times, and your body is physically weak, has no real muscles, has weak bones and joints, then you'll probably suffer a hundred times more than someone your size and weight who is physically fit, strong, lifts weights, and has strong muscles and joints.

Think of building muscles as building body armor.

Muscles can help absorb the incoming attacks, blows, and damage. Bigger and stronger muscles equal better armor. No muscles equal having no armor.

Think of building skeletal strength as building a strong and sturdy frame.

Weight training isn't just for appearances. When it comes to self-defense readiness and preparation, you absolutely need it. So I recommend you find a gym and start a weight training program for yourself. Consult with a personal trainer or athletic training expert to help you. If you're interested in training self-defense with me, please contact me at the Tandez Academy.

Adrian Tandez