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FULL AND LIGHT
CONTACT FITNESS TRAINING
Training for full or light contact is virtually the same. Your training should be of a more intense nature than that of a semi-contact competitor with particular attention paid to stamina work. The following sections are important to your build up to a fight.
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RUNNING OR SKIPPING
Running should be an important part of your
routine with around 2 miles being attempted 2 times a week. Do not over do your running, as it needs to be kept in
proportion with your other martial arts training.
Sprinting is also very important to develop your
explosiveness, which you need for sparring or in the ring.
Shuttle runs or bleep tests are a very good way to boost your fitness.
Skipping is a valuable alternative for those unable
to run. Skipping should also be
done prior to bagwork as a good warm-up: - 3 x 2-minute rounds.
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BAGWORK
Bagwork or padwork is a very
important feature of your contact training without it you will not be able to
develop your explosive fighting to your full potential.
As mentioned earlier make sure you
have a good warm up before commencing a bag or pad-work workout by either doing
rounds of either skipping or footwork or shadowboxing.
Make the first one or two rounds of bag-work, which you do nice and light so as not to do damage to your joints, wrists, ankles and hands and feet. Once warmed up the workrate should gradually start to become more intense each round. Start off with 3x2 rounds with a 30 sec break in between and work up to 10 x 2 min round when peaking up to a big fight or tournament. When working out always try to use maximum speed and power for full benefit.
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Contact
Sparring
Sparring
for a light contact event or a full contact bout should be exactly what it says
– sparring. If you are training
for a fight or competition, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be
fighting club-mates full contact. The
only things which you will achieve from this is possibly an injury which could
be serious enough to prevent you from competing at all e.g. a broken nose or
also cause bad feelings to develop between clubmates. To compete in light or full contact you need to spar at a
high workrate but without using a high degree of contact.
Getting regularly beaten up by a clubmate or instructor every week prior to a fight does you no good whatsoever. Over the years I have seen many people with cuts and severe bruising who think that is what training for full or light contact is all about, this is not true. Of course, it is easy even in semi contact sparring to obtain the occasional slight black eye or an uncomfortable punch on the nose. These go part and parcel with participating in a contact sport but there is a difference between the odd accident and someone intentionally causing you a serious injury. So spar safe
