| How do you deal with pain during training or | | | | We roll, until the arms ache too much to continue. |
| fighting? After all, isn't pain an indication of the old | | | | Then I break contact from my partner for a 10 - |
| being destroyed and the new being rebuilt? (Not | | | | 20 second rest. I swing my arms in the air, trying |
| so fast.) | | | | to work out the pain. |
| So, how do you break through the mental barrier | | | | Then we go back to rolling again. If my left side |
| of pain? | | | | starts hurting more, I'll roll to the other side, so |
| Pain, Even martial arts Pain Indicates... | | | | the left hand is now on top. Then when the right |
| Well, first of all, you always have to remember | | | | hand fatigues, I roll it to the top, in a position |
| that pain is a signal; it's telling us something. In the | | | | change. We keep rolling, the entire time... until the |
| case of a wrist lock, it tells my opponents that | | | | pain is absolutely unbearable. |
| damage to the body is about to occur. It can also | | | | Break, and shake out the pain by swinging the |
| be used to direct my opponents to follow my | | | | arms loosely, again, 10 - 20 seconds. |
| directions. (I add more pain when they resist.) | | | | Then back to rolling. |
| But I think that most martial artists "in training" | | | | Within a week or two, I find that it takes a lot |
| want the kind of pain that you have to push | | | | longer for me to get to the "burn" point in the |
| through... not the kind that does irreparable | | | | muscles; I can roll A LOT longer. This is the |
| damage. | | | | interval-training component.martial arts Attitude |
| Maybe my own experience with chi sao will help: | | | | Now, combine this with "attitude." Believe it or not, |
| Training Pain -- My Own Experience | | | | the burn is a friend. No, I am not a fan of pain (I |
| When you roll in chi sao (sticky hands), after a | | | | avoid the "m" word because of the filters), but |
| short period of time, your shoulders start to ache. | | | | this brief shoulder burn is a great gauge. It lets |
| Most would say that they "burn." | | | | me know that my endurance is building. |
| This forces beginners to stop... and complain. | | | | Also, and this is the key point of the entire article, |
| Whenever I take a hiatus from chi sao practice, I | | | | I have learned to push past the pain. |
| seem to experience an early muscle fatigue all | | | | Over the years, I have come to expect the pain |
| over again. (I lose my muscle endurance.) | | | | in the shoulders at some time after I start rolling. |
| - ~ BUT ~ | | | | Great -- no problem. I feel the uncomfortable |
| I get it back quickly. | | | | burn in the shoulders, and I keep going. |
| It's a combination of interval training and attitude. | | | | ... after all, it's just a little pain. |
| Martial Arts Interval Training | | | | |