The MMA Zone has put together a series focusing on science of physiology in mixed martial arts.  We start here with the building blocks of mma physiology that you can use in your MMA training.

I feel that physiology is the most important “ology” an athlete can know. I am talking about human physiology, which can be defined as the science of the functions of the human body and the chemical and physical processes involved. The better you understand how the body works, the better able you are going to be table to train in MMA and give your body what it is needing.

There are six building blocks of life. Simply put, if you are missing any of these components from your diet, you are going to die. This is stated not to scare you, but to help you remember. These six building blocks are water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. A basic understanding of the functions, sources, and appropriate amounts of each of these building blocks in MMA is essential for optimal performance. Without this knowledge, there is no basis for how you choose to eat.

Water

The body is 70 percent water. Your muscles are 80 percent water. You can go without food for some time without dying, but only a few days without water.

As an athlete, you are constantly losing water to the environment, and it must be replaced. Most MMA athletes do not do this at the correct rate, and most are, therefore, in a chronic state of mild dehydration. This has a huge effect on performance and injury. Being dehydrated just 2—3 percent can produce adverse affects in performance.

Our simple analogy is, picture a muscle cell of your body as a grape. Then picture a dehydrated muscle cell as a raisin. Now ask yourself which one you would like to use when you are staring at your opponent across the ring.

Drink nothing but water for a week, and drink a lot of it. Try to drink an ounce for every pound that you weigh, and see how you feel.

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Learning Judo’s individual throws one at a time is similar to learning the vocabulary of a foreign language, the difficult part is to put the words together in the correct order to make fluent sentences. Sooner or later the judo player has to learn to combine techniques in order to be effective in contest. There is an old saying in judo that one technique mastered is worth a thousand sampled, which remains as true today as it ever was, but five or six techniques mastered is even better.

There are basically two kinds of combination techniques in judo, renzoku-waza and renraku-waza. The first is a combination of two or more techniques in the same direction, where the first technique begins to break uke’s balance and the second or subsequent attacks finish the job. An example of this kind of combination would be ko-uchi-gari into o-uchi-gari where the direction of both throws is to uke’s rear, or uchimata into harai-goshi, where both attacks take uke to his left front corner.

The second kind of combination in Judo is a reaction combination, where the first attack provokes a strong defensive reaction, inviting the attacker to switch direction to exploit this defensive effort. Tori may attack with o-uchi-gari, causing uke to step back and push off with his arms, tori then switches to ippon seoi-nage exploiting uke’s defensive push to throw him forwards. The switch of direction might just as easily be from left to right as from rear to front. Tori can attack with right uchimata which uke must block strongly to prevent himself from being thrown; tori releases his left-hand grip on uke’s sleeve and spins under uke’s left arm with left seoi-nage. At the higher levels the first attack may become just a threatening feint designed to provoke a defensive twitch, but for the first attack to provoke such a reaction it has to feel dangerous: uke has to be convinced on a subconscious level that if he does not react strongly he will be thrown. Tori’s job then is to transmit to uke, through his grip, footwork and body movements that he intends to do a particular throw and uke must be made to react.

One of the problems with such reaction judo is that it only works on well-trained opponents. Often, less skilful players fail to react to the threat of the initial feint. In such cases the initial attack needs to be real and committed; if it is an effective technique in its own right, as it ought to be, failure to react to it should make uke easy to throw.

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The mind of the warrior is just as important to work out as any muscle of the arm, torso, or leg. Without the cooperation of the warrior’s mind with the body of the warrior, no success is possible. Without proper control over your mind, you can’t reach your full potential.

When discussing the warrior mind and mind-set, it is easy to be distracted by what is going through a fighter’s head during an actual MMA match. However, not only is the everyday mind of the warrior more important, but

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proper training of the mind in everyday situations will lead to control during an actual fight. Although you have to give recovery time to muscles you train, the mind of the warrior can and must be trained consistently every day.

The mind-set of the warrior will eventually determine his destiny as a fighter, and his eventual destiny in life. To control the mind is to control one’s thoughts. When this is done correctly, the warrior is able to control his actions.

Acquiring the ability to quiet the mind and stop it from running wild in emotions like fear and negativity is often one of the toughest tasks for the warrior, but through constant training and practice one can master this. The mind and the body are interrelated. Without a strong mind, a strong warrior is impossible.

You must make sure that your mind is right or that you are taking the steps to improve your mind in its areas of deficiency. Without the right mind-set, becoming a warrior, regardless of one’s physical ability, will be impossible.

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Ninjas are well know for many things and one of these is a mystical mental power that eclipses the average person. As important as the weapons of the ninja was their mental acuity inside a mission. One of these spiritual and mental strengths is know as Kuji-in which is a communication process with the hands. These signals were said to channel a universal energy. This type of hand signals for focused mental energy was started by the Budists.

The Kuji-in was performed before missions to help visualize a success full completion and bring about the powers that are need to do this. Below we have listed some of the Kuji-in signs performed by the hands. There are 81 total hand symbols but with 9 primary ones:

Power/Rin	Harmony/Sha	Healing/Pyo
Intuition/Jin	CreationZai	Energy/To
Awareness/Kai	Dimension/Retsu	Absolute/Zen

Each hand signal gives the trained ninja different strengths and abilities. The Kuji-In hand signals symbolize the following:

• Rin: To face.
• ky /Hy/Hei: The soldier.
• Th: To fight.
• Sha: The man (or the people); a foe
• Kai: The all, or the whole effect, or whole effort.
• Jin: In Formation, or position in camp or to prepare.
• Retsu: To move in column or a row, in a line; or marching, or to focus.
• Zai: To appear, or to exist to make yourself known, or create existence.
• Zen: To be in front. or show up in front.

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Just wanted to let everyone know that this is the last day for guaranteed Christmas Delivery from your favorite martial arts supplies store. After December 14th contact us for special arrangements if your item is needed by the 24th.

Great Gift Items:

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VersaFlex - Ultimate Stretching Machine
Wavemaster Gift Set
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Thanks,
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Indian Martial Arts

The world’s most populous democracy and the seventh largest country by geographical land mass, the Republic of India shares its borders with China, Nepal, and Bhutan in the northeast; Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east; and Pakistan to the west. It has given birth to four major world religions—Sikhism, Buddhism, Hinduigni, and Jainism—and the region’s long history and diverse culture has spawned many philosophies, great thinkers, brave warriors, and influential martial artists.

India is often considered the birthplace of martial arts and, although this claim may not be strictly true, it could be said that the existence of many of today’s martial arts is due to the actions of an Indian monk called Bodhidharma, who was also known as “Da Mo” in China.

Born around 440 CE in Kanchi (at that time the capital of the southern Indian kingdom of Pallava) into the warrior caste, Bodhidharma received Buddhist teachings from a young age and was also said to be proficient in kalarippayattu, an empty-hand and weapons-based form of Indian martial arts. He later traveled to China and started what became known as the Chan (or Zen) School of Buddhism.

Arriving at the Shaolin temple in Song Shan in Henan province, Bodhidharma was initially refused entry but, according to legend, he went off to meditate in a cave close to the temple for nine years, not speaking for the entire time. The monks, realizing Bodhidharma’s dedication and wisdom, eventually allowed him to enter the temple. While he was there he taught a number of Zen principles and yogic martial-art exercises to strengthen the weak and sickly monks who, after years of static meditation, lacked physical strength and vigor.

Bodhidharma was later credited, somewhat contentiously, with writing the Chinese classics Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing. These books were effectively the first “qi-gong” manuals and are thought to form the basis of modern Shaolin kung fu.

India’s varied landscape—it is pocketed with mountains, vast plains, jungles, and deserts—has also had a major influence on the country’s martial-arts scene. Various cultures evolved in isolation and the martial arts that grew within them were influenced by the terrain, the religious beliefs, and the philosophical practices of each particular region. As a result, a number of unique indigenous martial arts—such as aki kiti and mukna—have evolved over the centuries.

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Christian Monks Influence on Martial Arts

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Christian monks have a close connection with European martial-art traditions, much as Buddhist or Daoist monks influenced Asian martial arts. In the 13th century, Germanic monks were well known for practicing martial arts as a sport, a pastime, as a means of improving their fitness, and so that they could defend both their churches and their religious beliefs. Some Western monks were so proficient in unarmed wrestling matches that even knights were often unwilling to challenge them through fear of losing face. If challenged by monks, many knights would only engage them in weapons fighting, as traditionally a knight’s sword skills were second to none.

Many quality publications, dating back centuries, can be found describing the techniques, philosophy, and tactics of ancient European martial arts. Fabian von Auerswald produced a fascinating illustrated manual in the 1500s, which describes, in good detail, joint-locking techniques, throwing methods, and pin holds, alongside ground grappling and other wrestling tactics.

One of the most famous literary sources, the Collecteanea, first published in 1509 by master of arms Pietro Monte, is a body of literature on weapons, mounted fighting, and wrestling. The work outlines the importance of physical fitness in relation to being an effective warrior. The book also describes fighting tactics and the underlying philosophy of exploiting vulnerable areas and openings in the opponent’s guard and attack—similar to the philosophies found in Asian martial arts.

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An illustrated guide written by Johann Georg Paschen in 1659, VoUstandiges Ring-Buch, describes martial-art techniques such as parrying, boxinglike punches, arm locks, and finger jabs, along with submission holds, chokes, and techniques for countering and disarming assailants with edged weapons.

Russia has also had a long history of martial-arts practice, both in unarmed wrestling and in weapons-based arts. Some of these arts were so effective that, when Peter the Great assumed power in 1682, one of his first acts of office was to ban stick fighting among the peasants. Banning the practice of martial arts has been a common occurrence throughout the history of many of the world’s cultures and was used as a tactic to thwart any possibility of warrior clans challenging the government or power-base in authority at the time.

The biggest change to the face of European martial arts, however, came during the late 1600s with the advent of firearms. This naturally led to a decline in the practice of unarmed martial arts and those employing edged weapons. This technological advancement quickly swept the world and led to an unprecedented transmutation of combat arts. As a result, the emphasis of martial arts shifted more toward self-defense and self-development, as opposed to the previous, more brutal emphasis on battlefield killing.

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The Pirates vs. Ninjas debate has hit an all time high when google is bloging about it! Take a look and tell us what you think!

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European Martial Arts

The second smallest continent in the world, Europe contains a largely wealthy and extremely diverse community of cultures. In most peoples’ minds, it is probably not a continent particularly associated with indigenous martial arts. However, Europe has a long and fascinating martial arts history. As power-bases among civilizations came and went—often as a result of violent conflict and large-scale warfare—martial arts developed as a response to the environment in which warriors found themselves.

The term martial art comes from Latin—it means “the arts of Mars,” after the Roman god of war—and was coined to celebrate the martial prowess Roman gladiators displayed during their bloody and brutal battles in the arena. And although most popular Western indigenous martial-art forms have gone on to become sports—such as fencing and many forms of boxing they really only represent the tip of the iceberg. The European tradition of martial arts is actually as rich and engaging as that found in Asia, and many European art forms offer their practitioners enhanced self-development capabilities.

The best-known European martial art is pankration, an unarmed combat technique. A combination of Greek boxing, wrestling, and grappling, it focused on the use of knees, elbows, kicks, punches, and chopping movements, alongside joint-locks and choke-holds. It was a brutal, competitive sport and, although eye-gouging and biting were forbidden, pretty much anything else was acceptable. The goal of the game was to force an opponent to submit and, in many ways, this 2,000-year-old art bears a striking resemblance to the modern mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting championship movements prevalent in martial arts today.

Pankration was so effective that the young Alexander the Great, on his conquest to dominate the world,

Pankration Martial Arts

trained his troops rigorously in pankration for close-quarter, hand-to-hand battle with the enemy, along with the use of the spear, the shield, and the sword. His conquest of Asia would certainly have led to a cross-fertilization of fighting techniques between the Greek warriors and the indigenous civilizations with whom they came into contact.

Martial arts were also popular in ancient Rome, not only as a gladiatorial sport but also among civilians of many different social classes, who would engage in knife-fighting for self-defense. Highly codified fighting systems evolved as a result of this fashion and, as the Roman

Knights and Swordsmanship

The knights of the Middle Ages were the romanticized ideal and embodiment of martial arts and chivalry. They developed a staggering array of weapons for combat, training, and sport, such as those used in jousting. Technological advances and improved metal-forging techniques during this period saw drastic improvements in armor and swords, some of which was so well crafted that the United States’ space agency, NASA, still studies medieval plate-armor design when it develops new spacesuits today.

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Taekwondo’s origins date back to the 2,000 years when it was created as a way of unarmed combat. It wasn’t until 1955 when Choi Hong Hi helped to modernize the art making it both a self defense and a sport. The unique feature of Taekwondo as compared to Karate, Judo, or Kung Fu is that is focuses on attacking the opponent with kicks. In 2008 it is estimated that there are over 50 million practitioners of Taekwondo. It also received a boost by the Olympics when it was added to the games in 2000.

Origins of Taekwondo

Taekwondo is known to have two forefathers. The first one is the ancient art of Taekyon, which was known for its complex kicking and quick takedowns. The second arts is Subak which was created to be used on the battlefield with its deadly and powerful movements. One such movement is known today as the flying side kick. This was originated as a technique to take soldiers off their horses. The rest of this article can be found here: The emergence of Tae Kwon Do.

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