You’ve been lifting weights, doing pushups, eating space-age food supplements, and even running up hills carrying buckets of rocks, but still your techniques lack power. Why? And why is it that sometimes a smaller student can explode into a heavy bag like a cannon ball while some big guys hit with no more power than an old bunny?

    I knew a nationally ranked karate fighter who argued that the spinning crescent kick was weak and ineffectual, and I had to agree when he showed me his. Then I had a student of mine, a man who weighs only 155 pounds, but can kick the bag like a human pile driver, demonstrate his crescent. When the champion saw my student’s, he realized that the kick can indeed be powerful and began working to improve his.

    Why does this happen? Why do some people have power, while others who train hard and look powerful, still have weak techniques? Why do some people have a few moves that are strong, like my champion friend above, but have others that are weak?

    Why after all the sweat and blood that you have shed, does power still elude you? Let's take a look at a few simple solutions that will get you on the track to owning punches and kicks that can knock over trees. Think of this as a troubleshooter checklist to get you thinking about remedies.

General or Specific Lack of Power

    You’ve been training in your fighting art for months now and though you're using correct body mechanics, some or all of your techniques still lack ‘oomph.’ Assuming that your general health is good and you are not over training (a common fault, especially among beginners), you need to supplement with specific power-developing exercises.

    If you're not familiar with weight resistance exercises, look in bodybuilding magazines and weight training books for exercises that follow the same track as the karate movement you want to be stronger. Talk to your instructor or knowledgeable students about specific exercises that will help your techniques. Here is an example.

    Let’s say that your front kick needs improvement. Choose one exercise from the below list, two if you are advanced and in shape.

Weightless squats                 Plyometric jumps
Weighted squats                  High-rep kicking
Leg extensions                     Horse stance exercises
Slow front kicks                   Heavy bag kicking

    Perform these exercises two days a week when you don't train in your art. Do 3-4 sets of 10-12 repetitions. Change each exercise once a month and don't overtrain. When you couple your supplemental exercises with healthy eating and plenty of rest, you can expect to see an overall improvement in your power in three to four months. But don’t stop there. Strength is fleeting; if you don't continue working at it, it's going to dissipate.

    In my 36 years of teaching, I have found that students who supplement their martial arts training with weight-resistance exercises are better than students who don’t.

Lack of Speed

    You may have arms like Arnold Schwarzenergger, but if you can’t deliver your techniques with zip, you are not going to hit the target hard. As a general rule, fast techniques land harder than slow techniques.

    If you have evaluated all of the elements in this troubleshooter checklist, made corrections but still lack speed, then you need to work on specific exercises to develop reflex speed, perception speed, movement speed, timing, and ways to create the illusion of being fast.

    There are lots of  articles and books on the market about how to develop speed (I sort of like mine, Speed Training, available here). Read these articles, get these books and talk to everyone with knowledge who can help you get faster. It’s not that hard, but it does take effort, especially if you are not blessed with a preponderance of fast twitch muscles.

    Here is something to get you started that really works, and works fast: You think yourself faster. No, there is nothing mystical about this; it’s simply a mental conviction that you already possess fast techniques. I happily discovered in the course of writing Speed Training that I was becoming faster simply because I was thinking about it so much. I learned later that many experts on speed training teach that if you believe you are fast, you will be.

    Before you go to sleep and right after you awaken, tell yourself that you are fast. Throughout the day, mentally repeat this: I am fast. My kicks are like lightening bolts, and my hands are as quick as a snake’s tongue. Phrase your thoughts however you want, but always keep them positive. Try it, it really works and works fast.

Timing

    Precise timing will not only enhance your speed, but will create additional power. If your timing is off, your techniques will miss the target. When your timing is on, your blow will hit at the precise moment your opponent is open and the instant he is within range.

    The best way to develop timing is to practice against moving targets, such as moving hand pads, swinging heavy bags, various moving objects, and sparring partners. Sparring partners are the best since they are the most erratic and the most unpredictable. And the larger the variety of partners you can train with, the better off you will be.

    When you spar for purposes of improving your timing, it's important to pay attention to what is going on. Approach your sparring analytically. If one of your punches or kicks gets in, stop and analyze why. If you consistently miss with a kick or punch, again stop and analyze why. Have your sparring partner repeat whatever he was doing just before you made your attempt. Is he too far away? Is he too close? Are you telegraphing your intention? To analyze what worked for you, have him repeat what he was doing when you hit him. Ask your partner his opinion as to what you are doing wrong, and doing right.

    Too often when students spar they are not learning positively, but rather end up reinforcing bad habits. To learn well, make sure you include analytical sparring in your training and watch your power improve.

Lack of Concentration

    It's rather difficult to deliver a powerful blow if you miss the opportunity to throw it. Obviously, you have got to be mentally in tune with your training, your competition, and your fight if you are going to have success. It's not always easy, especially given the busy, hectic schedules so many people have today. It's important to "shut off your day" before you start training, so you have an uncluttered mind free to respond to whatever comes your way. You can’t concentrate if you’re angry about what your boss said to you that morning, or if you’re worried about a math test the next day.

    When I was studying tai chi, I would arrive early and relax in my car for ten minutes before I went in to class. I would scoot down in the seat, close my eyes, and practice slow, deep breathing, concentrating on the cool air flooding into my body, soothing my tension, relaxing my muscles, and calming my mind. This simple procedure made me alert and responsive to the lessons. On those days when I was late and unable to have this little moment, my lesson suffered.

    Many martial art classes begin with a few minutes of meditation. Take advantage of these moments to clear your mind of the day's clutter and to prepare yourself for training.

     Actually, you don't have to wait until just moments before your training to prepare your mind. You can start telling yourself as you get ready for school or work that you will not let the many daily irritations get the best of you. Granted, this is easier said than done, and it's beyond the scope of this article to tell you the intricacies of how to do it. There are plenty of good self-help books on the market that address this procedure, and there are many community colleges that offer stress-reduction classes. If gathering stress throughout the day is causing distractions in your training, it's worth the effort to research ways to deal with it.

Flexibility

    A recent study conducted at Brigham Young University showed that subjects who performed a 40-minute stretching routine three times a week increased their leg strength 17 percent after only 12 weeks.

     When your muscles are tight, you can't hit hard. No matter how strong your legs are, your muscles need to be flexible enough to deliver power smoothly and with speed. A muscle that lacks flexibility is a muscle that is being restrained. Stretching exercises are often overlooked by the younger martial artist, and by some people who simply think they don't need to do them. But it's absolutely mandatory to work on your flexibility, at least three times a week.

A Stiff Body

    Overall stiffness is most often seen in new students for the following reasons: poor physical condition, stress, nervousness, and excessive muscle flexing.

    Your physical conditioning will eventually improve as you learn more and more techniques, as you strengthen your muscles and your cardiovascular system. Approach your conditioning sensibly - be cautious about doing too much - eat healthily, and get plenty of rest.

    If you are new to a martial art’s class, you should know that a certain amount of stress and nervousness are common. The passing of time usually takes care of this problem, though improvement can be accelerated with breathing and relaxation exercises.

    Be cognizant that you are not flexing or tense your muscles as you practice, a common fault usually done under the false belief that you have to flex and strain in order to get power in your techniques. Wrong. In fact, the more you flex your muscles, the slower and weaker your blows. Stay relaxed until the moment of contact.

Trying Too Hard

    This can happen even if you are a veteran of the arts, though it’s more likely to happen when you’re new. In an effort to throw a hard kick or a powerful punch, you throw everything you have into it: body weight, balance and stability. The end result is that you end up losing your balance and crashing and burning in a pile on the floor. This problem will pass as your skill level increases and you begin to understand how much energy to put into a technique.

    Fear and stress can also cause a fighter to put "too much" into a technique, a problem commonly seen in street fights. But as your confidence develops along with your skill, you will gain greater control of your body and your emotions.

     Never accept a problem. Although that sounds like a logical statement, there are many students who simply accept as gospel that they are slow, weak, clumsy, or whatever. Seek out a solution to your training problems. Self-discover is part of what the martial arts are all about. Discuss the problem with your teacher, an advanced student, or research the tons of literature in the library, book stores and in magazines.

    Strive to be the best that you can be.
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