In some ways I am in a unique position. A fourth degree Black Belt/Instructor AND an endurance athlete. In studying both sports there are a lot of similarities both from a physical and psychology perspective.
So what are those parallels and what would someone have to do to earn a Black Belt in running?
White Belt – The art of being off balance
My first instructor, who coincidentally was also an endurance runner, used to say that walking/running is the art of losing and finding balance. In kicking and punching this means being able to project your body forwards but being able to control yourself whilst moving.
How does this apply to running.
Most people don’t lean forward enough or lean forward but bend at the waist. Running at pace involves leaning at just the point where you lose balance and then using this momentum as part of generating speed. Like Martial Arts the focus should be on forward – not upwards.
Yellow Belt – The knee points the way
When kicking, the trajectory of a powerful kick is dictated by where the knee is pointing prior to the foot extending. If you want to round kick or front kick to head height you must start the kick by pointing the knee at the target. You cant have your knee pointing at your opponents ankles and expect to hit their shoulder.
How does this apply to running.
In running, the knee leads the way. The knee points forward as the body drives forward. Too many people have their knee pointing straight down and try and generate speed by just flicking their foot back. And No, I am not purporting lifting your knee up to head height whilst running – just raise it a bit to control stride length.
Blue Belt – Core Power
If you look at top martial artists like Bruce Lee they were not big, heavy guys yet they could kick people off their feet. How? Because they generate all their power from the core and from hip drive. The power in a karate strike comes from two things – hip extension and a plyometric energy release from the core and hips. In Martial Arts there is very little shoulder movement as the punch is extended by the arm and powered by the core.
How does this apply to running
Similarly power and energy comes from the core and from hip extension. Martial Artists all do one thing that most age group runners don’t – they spend a significant amount of time stretching especially through the hip flexors and hamstrings so that their inflexibility doesn’t inhibit the release of this power. There is also little shoulder movement need in running as this typically means a misdirection of energy and can introduce injuries as the result of twisting can be torsional stresses.
Green Belt – Elastic Energy
If you watch a traditional martial artist when they punch and kick the elbow of the opposite arm is pulled hard behind the body. This is setting up the plyometric load of the next movement. Very few martial arts movements are in isolation – they are typically setting up the next move.
How does this apply to running
This is exactly the same in running where the focus should be on pulling the elbow back in order to create elastic load for the next stride. The power generated by the arms is in the pull back – not the forward movement. 80% of power for a good runner also comes from store/fire reflexes as it does for Martial Artists.
Brown Belt – Relax, Strike, Repeat
Try clenching your fist as hard as you can and then, whilst keeping it clenched, try hitting a bag. What do you find? It is slow and doesn’t have much power (and tiring to try and do too many times). Now picturing a rod just in front of your target. Try and grab the rod as fast as you can and hold it tight when you grab it. What happens? Your punch is fast yet still has power.
Most Martial Arts strikes are short in terms of contact time and extension but are powerful at the point of contact.
How does this apply to running?
Use tension when it is needed. Relax for 90% of the stride. Take the tension out of your shoulders and back. Align your breathing with your cadence (another huge martial arts concept is in controlling of breathing both in how and when). When your foot hits the ground or your elbow is pulled back use your power then – and then relax again. Try and minimize the contact/power time. You will use a lot less energy. Ever noticed how the runners that don’t seem to be trying always seem to run the fastest where the people that look like they are running hard are often slower?
Black Belt – Train the way you want to fight
At martial arts classes we always teach people that the way you train will be the way you fight as that is what you are teaching your body to do. I don’t recommend this but we also used to sometimes train with full contact so we knew how it felt. And after the class we all went and had a pizza together.
How does this apply to running.
If you want to run at 4min/km pace off the bike sometimes you have to train by running at 4min/km off the bike. Sounds obvious but it is amazing how many people don’t do this. Too many people do long slow runs and hard fast track sessions but never actually train the way they want to race.
Train with intensity. ‘Beat’ you friends up on the track. Train with 100% intensity and get everything you can out of the session but at the end of that day remember it is just a sport.
Congratulations. You have now achieved your Black Belt. Easy? No. In the same way that you don’t earn a black belt in days these techniques can take some time to master.
One last thing to consider when thinking about your Black Belt in running. The first belt in Martial Arts is the White Belt. What is the ultimate belt? After gaining your Black Belt and working through all of the levels (Dans) what color is the final belt (Tenth Dan)?
White – Because we never stop learning.
Graeme Turner
Fit2Tri Triathlon Coaching
http://www.fit2tri.com.au
Run Coaching | Triathlon Coaching | Sports Nutrition