Swimming for Martial-Arts

As I was swimming laps yesterday I was trying to think of all the ways that swimming is beneficial for martial-artists. I have heard of people doing "Aquando" and practicing kickboxing in the pool. I have even done forms a time or two in the pool. But I'm talking about real swimming...laps.

First, the whole breathing thing while trying to swim freestyle/front crawl is a challenge. Unless you have really poor form, timing is a huge issue for breathing. Yesterday I was trying to swim fast enough to get my heartrate up, this meant that I was breathing hard. Unlike running or other cardiovascular activities where you can just breathe every time you need more O2, swimming requires you to breathe in and out at steady pace. Breath control is great for any sport. You learn to control your breathing so that you can fully utilize your oxygen intake. If an athlete breathes to shallow and quickly pushes that air back out, then they will not be getting enough oxygen into their lungs. An athlete should learn to control breathing so that they can take full breaths in and slowly let it back out. In swimming you have to do just that. You breathe in, put your face back in the water and slowly let the air out until the next time you turn your face for air (every 3 strokes is normal).

Second, martial-arts is a high impact activity. We jump, fall, kick and strike people/bags with force, or we get kicked or struck with force. It's fun, but sometimes our body needs a break from all that impact. Running, plyometrics, and jump rope are all typical tools for a martial artist to condition with, but they also add more impact into our routine. All of the impact causes us to be in pain so that we can not train or we just don't want to train. The older I get, the easier it is for my joints to yell and scream at me after a workout. In addition, the more time you spend doing high impact activities, the more chances you have of developing over use injuries and even arthritis and tendonitis. I have been doing martial-arts for 19 years...that is a lot of flying side kicks on heavy bags! Swimming is a non-impact way for a martial-artist to add cardiovascular conditioning. Plus, the water acts as therapy as you push your body through it.

Third, swimming is both a cardiovascular activity and a strength building activity. Building muscle is a great way to protect your body from injury during the high impact activities of martial-arts. Plus, building muscle helps to build power and posture for amazing kicks, strikes, and stances. Swimming utilizes back, shoulder, chest, arm, glute, and leg muscles. Plus, it helps build the core muscles martial-artists need for balance and power. Thats almost the entire body! In addition, I use mostly legs in Taekwondo, so adding more upper body strength is always a smart thing to do to balance out my body.

I am going to try to swim at least 2 or 3 times a week. I am hoping to gain strength and endurance while I try to heal my body.