*record scratch / freeze frame*
“Yep, that's me. You're probably wondering how I got here.”
Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover
This is Marine Country!!!!
Farmers’ Strength Vs Gym Strength
Martial Arts & Relaxation
Wrap Up
Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover
This post is inspired by another stacker and there are some important lessons I believe can be learned from this recreational activity that go beyond fitness.
For a significant chunk of my young adult/adult life, I’ve been involved with martial arts. My initial involvement was in high school to make myself more, “Marketable” for the the United States Naval Academy(The Boat School) Admissions Board as they like officer candidates who are well-rounded/have multiple skills. As a young man, I served my church in some capacity as well as I was a musician in my high school band. Throwing on some type of fitness activity was part of making myself more marketable. Honestly, marching band can be a physical activity but we doubted whether most on the admission board at the Boat School would know this.
So my folks did some searching and found a martial arts school near our house. Luckily it was a good fit for me and the stuff I would be required to do down the road. It taught a form of Kenpo which not only included various strikes using the hand and feet but also joint locks and grappling techniques. Most of the stuff taught during my one-on-one session would be
striking
sequences of blocks, strikes, and movements (Katas)
& joint locks from the standing position
At this school, there were also grappling classes held three times a week. I would always try to make it to the Saturday one unless I had some Marching/Jazz band competition. These classes would take 1.5 hours and consist of conditioning and sparing either with each other or the instructor. One of the most important lessons I learned from all these classes is not to judge a book by its cover.
There was a woman in the class late 30s/early 40s who looked normal but she was always a tough opponent to grapple with. One time a wrestler joined a session who at his school would train by wrestling with some of his heavier classmates. He was smaller in stature but his strength was comparable to someone who was 50Ibs heavier.
This is Marine Country!!!!
I learned this multiple times throughout my time in the Corps. One of my friends in the battalion on Okinawa would invite me to the gym for some grappling as he knew I had a tad bit of experience outside of the Corps. Although on the surface someone would look at us and point at me and say,
“That guy looks formidable”
The next few minutes of watching us grapple would prove who was actually formidable. I thought I had that dog in me but I guess I was wrong.
Although he was slimmer he was involved in grappling for a much longer time and on a more consistent basis. Although his technique was superior there was something else at work and that was his fascia which is a film/web of connective tissue covering everything in the body and can co-contract with muscles based on various studies.
“I aimed first, to develop the underlying connective tissues rather than the superficial muscles. I developed tendon strength. The tendons are the cord-like media between the bones and the muscles. A large biceps is no more criterion of strength than a swollen abdomen is of digestion. It is the pulling tendon of the biceps that counts.” - Alexander Zass (The Amazing Sampson)
Grappling and exerting force on a moving but somewhat unyielding object will create a stronger fascial network throughout the body. Grappling is a live/more active overcoming isometric(OCI). However, I wasn’t as well versed on OCIs at the time to focus on this modality to see if there would be any crossover/added benefit. But some are….
Farmer’s Strength Vs Gym Strength
I thought for a time about calling this, “Nerve Tendon Muscle Fitness” but it doesn’t have a ring to it. The stories above and many others have taught me that it is not the muscles we have but how they coordinate with one another and our connective tissues.
This is the difference between farmers’ strength and gym strength. Farmer’s strength is the strength developed through manual labor over the years. It can be developed on the farm, while working for a moving company, or for a construction site. Gym strength I’m using to define everything from weightlifting and CrossFit to bodyweight exercises. Through lifting odd-shaped and unevenly balanced objects your muscles and connective tissues are conditioned to work better as a team as long as there’s some degree of rest. This strength, pending any injuries, will stay with you for life. If you’ve ever walked up to an old farmer who looked normal, shook his hand, and needed to put your arm in a cast afterward that’s farmer’s strength.
Kind of like Robert Duval’s character in “Second-Hand Lions…”
Incoming movie reference/not important
I’m a simple guy. I’ve taken up and applied for jobs in the past that required moving stuff around. There’s a strength and coordination that can be gained through such work that can’t be so easily trained outside of this environment.
But there are ways as Steve Justa explains…
“Well, that first day, I was working as hard and as fast as I could. I'd throw a hay bale and my hay hook would go flying with it. l'd step in cracks between the hay bales and fall down while I was dragging bales. l'd miss my spot where I wanted my bales to go and have to rearrange them five to six times to get it right. I was fumbling and stumbling and sweat was running off me like a river….But what was really killing me was my boss was laughing and telling me jokes the whole time and getting twice as much work done as I was. And then he was asking me questions while I was in a state of total exhaustion and mental turmoil….
But my fourth year hauling hay, I tossed the weights to the side and did nothing but isometrics. After hauling hay, l'd come home and do an hour or two of isometrics every night. I did hundreds of different positions of pushes, pulls, one-handed, twohanded; side overhead squats, squat twist— about every direction you could think of, from every angle. (P 28 - 33, Steve Justa, Rock Iron Steel)
The body and our brain receive benefits from doing different movements and exerting force in ways different from our everyday lives. It is essentially a skill and the adaptation that occurs through this skill in known as, ‘‘Neuroplasticity.” Improved neuroplasticity helps with many things like
Memory
Attention
Emotional regulation
& more
This can be developed without exercise as well but exercise has benefits far beyond just muscle, strength, and endurance. It can strengthen our mind which will be important for the future.
Focusing on gym strength has its benefits. The strength that comes from manual labor (connective tissue strength/muscle coordination) also has its benefits. Because of this, I’m like…
Martial Arts & Relaxation
Any martial art is a great avenue for neuroplasticity and certain ones, like grappling, are also great for developing that farmer’s strength if done consistently. Any type of sport or dancing also has these benefits. As long as you move you’ll be fine.
One thing that martial arts as a whole has taught me is the importance of relaxation. All of the hardest grapplers I’ve grappled with had this one thing in common which is being cool, calm, and collected. You’d think grappling with another individual one’s eyes would be popping out the entire time but this is not the case. That relaxation translated to greater strength and agility. During sparring when I would apply this mindset I did much better.
This cool calm and collected mindset can be applied to many areas of life. It’s all about the conservation of energy and proper distribution of force. The better this is done the less energy is wasted and the less energy that is wasted the easier it is to achieve your objective.
Wrap Up
The best workout routine is the one that’s easiest to stay consistent in. It can be the stuff I show you or something completely different. I think it was a calisthenics group in New York that always shouted,
“Health is wealth, movement is medicine!!!!!!”
The human body can be guided toward a better state of health. Our food and environment are factors. Movement is another important piece.
Thank you for making it to the end and let me know your thoughts below.
Until next time…
But what about you? Do you have any experience with any martial art?
*Stares intensely at the audience*
I once learned aikido, but gave it up after my 4th lesson because I couldnt do the whole bow down to the golden idol in the corner thing. We did do some grappling and throws as part of our Australian infantryman training (this was back in 2002-4, before I turned both Christian and pacifist).
Ive been doing your OCIs during my layovers (the bludge time between trips) in my bus; its perfect! Not only do I now get 4 or 5 ten minute sessions per day, in addition to my morning 30 min, public buses are full of bars, handles, straps and other immovable objects at a wide assortment of angles. I think Ive already lost 2kg this week, and I was already 88kg!
Qi gong brings strength and stability.
It’s means it is . Its is possessive. I know it is often misused, but that doesn’t help the language. Spell check is often wrong!