Systema in Sydney Pardon my dumb statement/question - I have just been informed that Malcolm Griffin from Ireland will be teaching the Systema workshops in Sydney Australia from early January 2006. For information and booking contact Malcolm on 0416943343 or e-mail malgri@hotmail.The location for the workshop will be the Wagner oval football ground in Ashbury ,Ashfield.
isolates muscles, can slow our movements, can inhibit our movements, and actually makes us weaker. It is a myth that body builders are "strong". Not that they can't move heavy weights, but their actions are limited and the body builder usually has a major muscle group in a state of recovery and is therefore "weak" Totally agree with the later, The number of times I have turned up to a Jiu Jitsu class feeling like I have just been run over by a truck after the previous days workout... BUT Please don't try to tell me bodybuilders are not strong! Come down and watch, or even train in with, most guys at my gym are benching at least 120kg, dipping 40kg+ bodyweight minimum, and squating well over 160kg, I'd like to see anyone in good physical shape who does not lift weights try that... Weights limits my flexibility - not good - but the benifits to my Jiu Jitsu and life in general far out way that.
Its difficult to quantify the impact of weight training on the body. There are so many methods to weight train that it is difficult to say. Whether strength gains as a result of weight training are useful functionally to a martial artist are also impossible to quantify. My personal critisism of weight training is that it does not always prepare the surrounding tissue for the increased strength of the exercised muscle nor do we see a simultaneous and arguably necessary increase in cardiovascular function. If we are trying to acheive our ability to do work then we should try to minimise muscle mass while increasing functional strength and flexibility. Weight training is very time consuming, especially if a trip to the gym is involved. Would we rather spend that time out on the mat? At the risk of self-promotion, I wrote an article on flexibility and strength that may be of interest....HERE (word doc.)
Its a very well written article with alot of common sense in it. Well done Sam! One could argue all day about the merits of weights etc. However although on a bit of a tangent, research an athlete, called Carl Lewis (USA). I think it will back up what Sam is saying. Training methodology is key, a true understanding of the human body, mechanics etc.
