High Intensity Interval Training - Another Plus For Karate?

High intensity training (HIT) features in every gym and magazine column these days. It comprises short bursts of intense activity (30 seconds to a few minutes) followed by a lower intensity short recovery period of 30 seconds or less. It takes less time than a jog or bike ride, but you do have to work as hard as you can during those short activity bursts.

HIT was used to help people recover from heart attacks in the early 1970's, but is applicable for sports training and general population fitness. I tend to be put off by anything sold to me in a gym environment so I've tried to find out more. Gyms can be places full of the most ridiculous pseudo-science you will encounter outside of holistic therapy. Places where grains of fact are taken up by the scientifically illiterate and turned into 'treatments' and 'programs' conducted by people who drink oddly coloured drinks to 'stay hydrated'. As an aside here, over hydration with the ensuing brain swelling, kills more athletes than dehydration, a state to which the human body is quite well adapted in health. So what evidence is there for HIT? Well the HIT programs used are heterogenous and applied to differing populations (the unfit healthy, unhealthy and athletes are quite different animals), so it can be difficult to establish what the true effect is, but a trend is emerging. A meta-analysis published this month by BMJ Group reviewed 10 studies in people at risk of cardiovascular disease and supported the use if this type of training to improve cardiorespiratory fitness as measured by maximal oxygen uptake which is known to link strongly with improved survival. HIT was better than medium intensity workouts in this group. It was also safe and enjoyable.

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2013/10/21/bjsports-2013-092576.full.pdf+html

There is also evidence that HIT is effective in healthy individuals, even if the time periods are very short indeed. Enter the 7-minute workout.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23734250

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2013/05000/HIGH_INTENSITY_CIRCUIT_TRAINING_USING_BODY_WEIGHT_.5.aspx

When you're next in the dojo you may feel that karate training is also a form of HIT - short bouts of intense activity followed by a brief rest, then off again and again and again. So perhaps we are already reaping the benefits without the need to become trendy and join a 'program'?

What Gichin Funakoshi Had To Say On Karate Women

In both his book 'Karate Do My Way Of Life' and the second edition of his Master Text, Master Funakoshi referred both respectfully and sensibly about women with reference to martial arts training. Despite the time period he lived in, his very traditional upbringing and chosen path of following and developing martial arts, he excluded no person from his philosophy.

He seems to encourage women to develop martial arts skills for very similar reasons to why men should wish to adopt this way of life - mental and physical improvement - he does stress the beneficial effects on the female form. Quite correct, but quite possibly this could be achieved by any sensible exercise program. However, all practitioners take up martial arts with self defense somewhere on the agenda and possibly women more than men. Far from a quick fix, a walk-anywhere-alone, wear-anything-now-you're-free-to-defend-yourself attitude, any woman taking up martial arts will realize that in general we are not well placed to defend ourselves, particularly against men.

Master Funakoshi knew this and at least in the 1950's you could say it without evoking a feminist rant. His rules were as follows:

1. Don't put yourself in harms way (alter your behavior, don't walk alone late at night if you can avoid it, don't get paralytically drunk in public - he doesn't use this exact example)
2. Be alert for trouble
3. If you detect a possible threat, take evasive action fast
4. If you have to defend yourself, be prepared to do so, but remember you will not do so successfully by physical force alone
5. To successfully defend herself, a woman must be faster and more skilled because you'll probably only get one shot, not the luxury of a protracted fight that a man will get. So a woman needs to repeatedly practice different attack-defense scenarios
6. Time your response for one effective, powerful, blow to somewhere effective - give it everything you've got, because if you fail you're likely to escalate the attack against you 
7. Escape fast

Good advice now as it was then.

Karate Is A Great Activity For Unfit Beginners!

It is one year, almost exactly, since I started karate. At this time I was unfit, moderately overweight and had no habit of regular exercise. One year on, I exercise regularly, have lost 10kg, have a different (better) body shape and have improved my overall level of cardiovascular fitness as well as strength. I'm about where I should be with my karate skills - obviously still a novice, but that does not bother me since I can now do so much more than I could one year ago. In fact, I would never have imaged then that I could do what I do now.

Obviously, I liked karate and stuck with it, but karate will not be for everybody. Regardless, some of the things that helped me to persist in the early stages were firstly, not much is expected of you early on and secondly, you simply cannot do most of the class! Nobody on their first day can execute a half decent step-in back kick, or hope to learn more than a couple of the basic combinations, let alone do kata. Even pad work is slowed down while you are taught to hold the pad correctly and receive a blow. So overall, you are prevented from taking part in the strenuous work out everyone else is doing. This basic knowledge takes a few months to build up before you can make a decent stab at most of the class, still sitting out the kata's you don't yet know.

So overall, karate makes an excellent beginners activity which grows with your own ability.

How Much Energy Does Karate Burn?

Karate is a surprisingly demanding activity if done well with good power and technique. Kumite is much harder cardiovascular work then kata, but the latter is still exhausting. A study published last year in The European Journal of Applied Physiology found that half of the energy burned was through anaerobic metabolism for a single, simple kata lasting only 30 seconds and it used 61kj or 15kcal - not bad for 30 seconds work!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22441830

Real Or Simulated Combat May Cause Stress - Better For You Than You Think?

Kata and particularly kumite are not just physically demanding, they can be emotionally stressful since both are forms of simulated combat. Well what effect does this have on us? A 2012 paper published in Sports Science Health by Benedini et al found increases in glucose, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) after 3 minutes of kata or kumite activity in elite karateka, with the greatest difference found following kumite.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573715/

What is interesting about this is that firstly, it demonstrates the fast physiological changes that humans can display to appropriate mental and physical stress and that secondly, this is likely to be mediated by the sympathetic nervous system rather than hormonal systems. The levels of insulin and cortisol did not change over this time scale. The effects of this would be predicted to liberate glucose from liver glycogen for our muscles and brain to use. It would also stimulate the production of lactate from muscles which can be used by the liver to generate glucose by a separate pathway. This all makes perfect sense as a fast way for our nervous system to push out glucose to fuel a fight. However, the effects of these two neurotransmitters over a longer term on fat, muscle and other tissues, let alone their overall effect on metabolism is complex and unclear. It has been proposed that alterations in the sympathetic nervous system may predispose to metabolic disturbances such as types 2 diabetes and obesity and it is also known that exercise has a very beneficial effect on glycaemic (glucose) control in people with diabetes. Contrary to the conclusion of the authors that such activity may need to be avoided in 'dysmetabolic individuals', I suspect it may be more beneficial than most forms of exercise. See the review below if you have the strength.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs001250051341

One of the things missing from Western life is real physical stress that you can physically respond to - really put the fight-or-flight response into action. We do have an abundance of other stress - stressful jobs, frustrating traffic queues, people we can't control who control us etc. etc. Their is no physiological outlet for this and it is widely acknowledged that this is generally bad for us. Perhaps stress you can respond to is less bad, or even good? I'm not aware of any definitive medical evidence for this yet, but there are interesting articles appearing.

Will Karate Prepare You To Fight The Enemy?

Will Karate Prepare You To Fight The Enemy? Yes without a doubt, if your are able to adapt your mind and lifestyle to karate, after a lot of practice you will be well placed to do this.

But who is "the enemy"? Most of us will hopefully never be attacked if we don't go looking for a fight and we are alert to high risk situations and get away as soon as possible. If this is not the case for you, then you need to learn how to fight, by any means possible and preferably get really good at it. For those like me living a comfortable Western lifestyle, I am my greatest danger. So many of us adopt lifestyles that increase our risk of early death and disability through chronic disease and make us unhappy. We over eat, eat food that is bad for us, don't keep that active, smoke cigarettes, drink too much alcohol and get fat. We may do high stress jobs that make us prone to this sort of lifestyle and develop the problems that come with long term stress - depression, anxiety, disrupted sleep and poor relationships. This is the modern enemy that attacks us all to a greater or lesser extent and reduces the joy of being alive.

This is the enemy that adopting Karate as a way of life can help you fight. Karate gives us a way to defeat the enemy within as well as the enemy outside.

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

Should Karate Be Adapted For Women?

I have commented previously that karate is not just practiced with the intention of developing fighting skills. If you want to be a good fighter you will need many different skills and disciplines of which karate is only one. Most people who practice karate do so for the overall package of benefits to fitness, mind, self-discipline and also self-defense. Also, the aim when practicing is to develop effective technique, so that if you did have to defend yourself, what you've been practicing has a realistic chance of success. To that end, women are different to men. Primarily, they are weaker and smaller and because of this, much less likely to be effective in a fight against a man - even if they are more skilled. I'm not talking controlled sparring, I mean a real fight. Most women do not engage in bravado mock fights with other women, which comprises the majority of male on male petty violence. Outside of Hollywood, most women unfortunate enough to be involved in violence, are victims of attack and frequently by people they know. The method of assault is different from male victims and the pattern of injures sustained is also different. They are much more likely to be seriously injured and sexual motive is more common. Obviously, every method to predict and avoid potentially dangerous situations and personalities should be deployed. I change my behavior if I feel it is needed - is it fair? No. Does it make me safer? Yes. Since I'm too old to change the world, or rather the less pleasant people in it, I bend a little. Your choice.

Anyway, given the ugly truth, what is the point in me learning to punch hard to the abdomen? In reality, any man ready for a struggle is unlikely to be deterred by it, let alone injured. What is says is "ok, lets make this physical." So if I can generate a certain force I had better use it effectively and direct it at the eyes, ears, neck, groin or any other soft spot that will either hurt or stun for long enough for me to run.  Additionally, we sometimes practice getting out of holds or grips as part of self-defense. In reality, some of these will only work for you with people of a certain size or strength.

So when you practice a bit of self defense in your class ask your self "would this really work for me, a 5ft, 55kg woman, against a 6ft, 80kg man?" If the answer's "no" then ask your Sensei to adapt it for you so that it's worth practicing. If you have lots of women in your class, or always get put with the size-match opponent, ask to swap, it will change your perspective of how effective you can be.