Martial arts and speed: a vibration exercise

The secret to build real speed

After making all the necessary premises about the exercises related to speed development (read Find the maximum speed that we can express), we move on to describe the first: the vibrations one.

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

The idea behind this speed training practice is to start to condition those parts of the body that are normally trained only in terms of strength.

The areas we are talking about are the ones that are near our center of gravity (read How to improve balance: tricks and exercises) and therefore, inevitably, the slower ones.

How to execute this vibration exercise

Let’s start with the basics:

  • First of all, let’s eliminate any constraints, let’s wear comfortable clothes (very wide and / or elastic) and let’s free our feet from shoes
  • If we are not used to it, even if this practice is not so demanding, let’s do a proper warm-up and stretching (read How to correctly perform warm-up and How to correctly perform stretching)
  • Let’s choose an environment without obstacles, let’s free our mind and relax our body
  • With “vibration” we refer to an explosive and cyclical micro-movement, back and forth on a straight or curvilinear line
  • Every vibration that we are going to do must be repeated at least 25-50 times
  • For the first sessions, let’s maintain relatively “rigid” the body parts that we want to involve
  • Each series should be performed at increasing speed / intensity for a total time of 10-20 minutes; to start even 5 minutes is good (and we will probably have difficulty even just maintaining a constant speed)

A note by Master Kongling – This exercise, depending on the intensity we choose (read Intensity of training: depends on what?) is within everyone’s reach and it is a good starting point for those who have never trained or who are totally out of shape (read How to start practicing from scratch). In other words, the faster / widers we vibrate (but at first we can’t do it) the more demanding the exercise becomes so (as always) let’s be gradual.

The exercises: the basic vibrations

These are the three of the most basic single vibrations:

  • Full body vertical vibration I – By standing and without detaching our feet from the ground, let’s vibrate our whole body up and down (with particular attention to the abdomen and chest) as if we wanted to jump (the arms can help the motion or even remain stationary); in this case, the movement starts by slightly bending the knees
  • 1 leg vibration – Balanced on one leg, we have to vibrate the other one laterally as to kick; let’s concentrate the vibration on the knee
  • Head vibration I – By standing (with the rest of the body still), we vibrate our head to the right and to the left on the Y-axis focusing on the jaw motion (as to say “no”); let’s pay particular attention to this practice if we have neck problems (in this case let’s move slowly the first weeks)

A note by Master Kongling – This type of exercise may appear unusual but is the cornerstone of our approach to the maximum speed that our body can express in combat. At the beginning, we do not have a complete view of what we are doing but after some time that we will perform this practice, its value will automatically become more and more clear.

In the next article of this series, we will see the asynchronous vibration, the circular ones and the evolution of these exercises (read Speed: asynchronous and circular vibrations).

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Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

  • Can you make the vibrations without interruptions and maintaining the same speed?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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