Kettlebell training provides combat athletes full-body strength, power, and balance without gaining excessive muscle mass that may impede their performance. Combat sports, such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, sanda kung fu, and muay thai kickboxing, all require different techniques and skills, yet they all require total body power, balance, and stability to perform. If you wish to improve your strength and power base for martial arts, then kettlebell training is one of many types of exercise you can do daily to give you an extra edge.
Basic Kettle Swings
The basic kettlebell swing allows you to become familiar with the use of momentum in kettlebell training. Use your legs and hips to generate the force necessary to swing the weight. Do not use your arms and shoulders to do the primary work.
Stand with your feet hip-distance apart with your toes pointing forward. Hold a kettlebell that you can swing with both hands with your knuckles facing forward. Brace your trunk and bend your knees and hips together to produce the drive to lift the weight up. Do not hunch forward. Swing the weight up until both hands are parallel to the ground. Swing the weight between your legs and repeat the pattern for 10 reps for three sets. You may also modify the exercise by doing it with one hand.
Uneven Squats
In some combat maneuvers, such as in grappling and takedowns, there is an uneven distribution of weight and balance. When you strength train to provide a base of support, perform squats with uneven loads of resistance can help you strengthen a weak side of your body.
Start with bodyweight squats before adding free weights, such as a pair of kettlebells. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and point your feet forward. Hold the kettlebells with your elbows tucked close to your center and the kettlebells are resting on your forearms. Lower your hips down while maintaining a tall, neutral spine. When you reach your lowest point, exhale and brace your trunk to stand up. Once you master this, hold one kettlebell instead of two. As you do the same movement pattern, you may extend the free hand in front of you or to your side as a counter-balance. Do 10 to 12 reps for three sets.
Snatch and Clean
In many strikes, such as in wing chun kung fu or muay thai, you use the leg drive to produce powerful punches with your whole body instead of just the arm and fist. The leg drive is the strength generated from your legs to push against the ground to transfer energy to your upper body.
The snatch and clean is a total-body power exercise that uses your leg drive to lift a weight up over your head. To do the snatch and clean, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a kettlebell with your left hand in front of your body with your knuckles facing forward. Then bend your legs and hips and drive your body up to lift the kettlebell and flip it over your hand in a catch position where your left arm is bent and close to the center of your body.
From here, drive your body up with your legs and hips to again lift the kettlebell over your head. Look up as you do so to keep your posture tall. Do not use your arm and shoulder to lift the weight, but rather use your hips and legs to drive the energy up to your arm and shoulder. Lower the weight and resume the starting position. Do 5 to 6 snatch and cleans per side for four to five sets. Gradually work up to 10 to 12 reps with the same number of sets.
About this Author
Nick Ng has been writing fitness-related stories since 2003, focusing on nutrition, injury prevention and exercise strategies. He received his Bachelor of Arts in communications from San Diego State University in 2001 and is a certified fitness coach from the National Academy of Sports Medicine since 2002.
