NON-CONTACT TRAINING

A lot of people spend countless hours practicing contact training, which focuses on 'taking' and 'giving' heavy strikes or holds. Non-contact training differs from this type of approach.

Simply put, non-contact training involves avoiding or "closely taking" any strikes or holds through body movement and breathing. It is a difficult practice and requires an in-depth knowledge about body dynamics and movement - both your own and your opponents.

The Basic Principles of Non Contact Training

Awareness

In practicing non contact training, you must be aware of your entire body. Here are some ways to heighten your awareness:

Sit in a chair and think about the various parts of you body while breathing.

Tense and relax all parts of your body. This way you know the difference between the two states - tension and relaxation.

Take punches and kicks close to your body, but not on your body. They should literally be skimming you.

While training concentrate on yourself as much as your opponent.

Honest Movements

Your opponent should be honest with his or her movements and make sure punches, kicks or grabs are deep and true. This in turn will force you to be honest with your reactions.

Please do not practice guided punches and kicks, instead pick a target and go. Start slowly and as you become more comfortable with your movements, you can then increase the speed.

Breathing

Poor breathing is a common problem, but in non contact training it is even more so. Often your attention is focused on your opponent or the situation and breathing is forgotten.

The "catch 22" is that in order to move properly when faced with a situation, you need to breath properly. When training, pay careful attention to your breathing - make sure to continue breathing in and out as you move.

A good training partner can help remind you to breath if he or she sees you stopping.

By practicing 'contact' and 'non contact' training equally, you can improve your skills and much more.

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More training tips...

Obviously it’s best to have someone to practice with, but visualization is also a valuable tool. Try to visualize the technique you want to develop in every small detail. How do you shift your weight? How do you stop your opponent from moving, or how do you encourage them to move? Which muscles do you use? Where, exactly, are you making contact with your opponent at every stage of the technique?

Watch instructional videos. In lieu of having a regular instructor you CAN learn from watching videos, especially if you can occasionally try out the techniques on somebody’s body. A lot of top instructors have helped a lot of people with a lot of material.

Watch footage of competition. This will familiarize you with a great number of strategies and techniques. Be analytical and watch good matches more than once to see what is going on.

When teaching people who are not as good as you, don’t hold back on the instruction. You want to improve the level of your training partners so that they challenge you – this way everybody gets better.

When sparring beginners allow them to start with you pinned or nearly submitted – work your escapes!

For cardio conditioning the minimum that you need is a pair of running shoes. Running was good enough for Mohammed Ali, so it should be good enough for you. You can also use treadmills, stairmasters, elliptical trainers, etc.

When you stretch, do not bounce (ballistic stretching); this can harm the ligaments, tendons and muscles. It is much better to perform a holding stretch (static stretch) for about a count of 4 to 8 then releasing.

Pace yourself. Work hard, but when your body tells you to slow down, listen to it. It is perhaps most important to listen to your body.

The most beneficial breathing during exercise is deep breaths inhaled through the nose. Breathing through your nose filters and warms the air along with increasing the moisture content.

It is best not to eat anything at least three or four hours prior to a workout. When you eat, oxygenated blood is needed for digestion and is not available to your exercising body.

Drink plenty of water before and after your workout, to replace the water lost through perspiration. This rule is especially important during hot, humid months. Remember water helps to cool the body.

Knowing how to use your body weight to its fullest can provide an advantage in any sport. Whether you are playing golf or studying martial arts, by learning how to use your body weight appropriately you can have a huge advantage.

For most people the heaviest part of their bodies is their torso/hip area. Not surprisingly, most people move these areas very slowly when fighting,if at all.

In your training and excerise routine, you should make sure to practice moving the heaviest parts of your body as much as you practice moving your hands and feet.

Although training these parts is not traditional, just be persistent - you will grow in ways you never thought.

When sparring with your partners try applying this principle - use the heaviest parts of your body on your opponents smallest parts.

For example, sit on your opponents wrist, lie across the neck, roll on the ankles, step on the fingers/toes or place your chest across the elbow.

By working in this fashion you will use less energy and your moves will be less predictable, giving you a decided edge.

Russian Martial Art Training Articles

by Emmanuel Manolakakis

The Seven Principles of Systema Breathing
Consider your partner
Laugh at Yourself
Stick to it!
Five Monkeys
Shoulders To Consider
Youth And Systema
Check Your Gauges
The Distance
Multiple Attackers
Working the Wall
Rolls & Falls
Non-Contact Training
Training The Legs
The Squat
Get Focused
Give Yourself A Mission
Precision
Keeping Your Vision In Check

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