To my martial arts friends, how have you kept your martial arts training since the lockdowns started?

Here is a list of what I’ve done:

  1. Shoot YouTube videos on solo training tips;
  2. Bodyweight exercises;
  3. Modern Arnis empty hand anyos;
  4. Modern Arnis cane anyos;
  5. Chung Do Kwan TKD kata;
  6. Solo stick training;
  7. Reviewing Modern Arnis videos;
  8. Watching martial arts videos on YouTube for different viewpoints;
  9. Going for walks in the neighbourhood; and
  10. Yardwork.

How about you? What kind of training are you doing? Is anything different from my list?

Now, some of my activity is limited somewhat by my cranky right hip. When a kata requires me to kick with the right leg, I can only lift my leg, at most, 6 inches off the ground before the hip pain gets in the way. Consequently, I skip the kick and just step into the next section. Anyway, this is my main limitation when it comes to training. That said, having a cranky hip sucks.

In any case, solo training is a great way to polish your martial skills. Now, it’s not the same as partner training. I get that. But your skillset will deteriorate if you don’t engage in solo training. Be consistent with it! I’ve been doing some form of solo training six days a week and giving myself a mental and physical break every Sunday. Hopefully, we will all emerge from the lockdown with our martial arts skills being reasonably sharp. We’ll see.

In addition, a good portion of each weekday is taken up by planning, rehearsing, and shooting my solo tutorial videos. I have to tell you, I enjoy doing them! I enjoy the entire creative process.

The post-video shoot involves editing the video and adding the appropriate titles. After uploading the video on YouTube, the final step is to caption them, which can be labour-intensive.

One benefit of being sheltered in place is that I have had to get creative in developing solo training drills. Thus far, you have seen primarily based on what I regularly cover with my students. It’s getting harder coming up with new ideas, but I have not run out of them yet! All that said, I miss teaching classes!

Over to you, what kind of training are you doing while in lockdown?

Below are two of my favourite videos from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy! 🙂

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Notice a theme in these two videos? Sensitivity and stickiness is a topic that I often cover in my pre-quarantine classes. I hope that my students are doing these drills regularly!

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