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TRAINING INTENSITY
If you ask any competitive fighter what the biggest difference is between heavy sparring and fighting an unfamiliar opponent in front of a crowd, the majority answer that the fitness demands are much higher when fighting.
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>Maintaining intensity for a whole round
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On fight-day, the additional affects of anxiety and adrenaline make it far more physically demanding, and the same applies to self-protection situations. In reality your fitness needs to exceed the duration/intensity requirement of the situation for you to perform anywhere near your intended level.
Your training therefore needs to prepare you for these demands, and the key is to get two main elements right:
Both of these elements are mutually dependent in that the duration of exertion will dictate the maximum possible workrate, through the body’s energy systems (more detail at http://www.martialconcept.com/html/martial_fitness.html). When I discuss intensity I’m referring to how close you are to your personal 100% effort-level for a given duration.
Duration
Training should be broken into rounds, providing definitive work and rest boundaries. This allows you mentally to push harder, and mimics the demands of competition more closely. The number and duration of rounds should also reflect those of your competition. Generally, aim to either perform extra rounds, or of slightly longer length than you’ll endure when fighting.
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>Train how you want to fight
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Intensity
Don’t get too carried away with extended durations as they won’t be as sport specific, and you can find yourself ‘conserving energy’ to last the distance. Concentrate on intensity; work as hard as you can for the round duration you’ll be competing under. If you’re adding extra rounds then make sure you treat each one with equal intensity – don’t start pacing yourself for the extra rounds or you’ll lose some benefit.
High intensity training is designed to provide both physical preparation and the mental determination required for competition. Intense training isn’t appropriate when learning new technique, which should be practised while you are fresh to ensure quality repetition (badly performed, tired and sloppy technique will reinforce bad habits).
Intense training enhances your body’s ability to physically function (coordination, strength etc) when fatigued and also improves your ability to mentally motivate yourself in such situations. Become accustomed to ‘digging deep’, it could be the only difference between you and your opponent. Many skilful fighters have lost to less skilful but fitter opponents. When your fitness fades you’re not only unable to attack effectively, but your defence also depreciates significantly.
If you are equally matched in terms of skill, then the next differentiating factor will be fitness. If you are also matched on fitness, then mental determination will win the fight. If you get your training intensity right, the fight itself will come far easier.
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