What kind of exercises for martial arts was done in the old days?

J

Jaylyn

New member
I want to know the exercises the shaolin monks and the okinawans did to work their muscles for martial arts. The kind of exercises I'm talking about art traditional ones from the old days. But what exercises may I do to make me strong like them? I'm not talking about barbells and dumbbells but like the pots of water and things like conditioning I want to know what else they do.
Also ten points to the answer that I'm looking for.
 
Okinawan body conditioning exercises are called hojo undo
This is a very good example of traditional training. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBK5QZ-YsTs
Hitting a rock is just plain stupid and the "wood string covered thing" is a makiwara http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ0iaMx7XM0
Makiwara training is often mistaken as conditioning for the hand as in building up the bone. THAT IS NOT proper use of a makiwara, it is used to develop proper form and technique.
 
Grow your own food. Get a shovel, turn your own soil. Plant the seeds, carry buckets of water to water them (no garden hose), weed the garden every day. By the time you are done you will have a strong back and calluses on your hands.
Wash your own laundry by hand in a bucket of water with a bar of soap. If you have never done this you have no idea how back breaking this is. I still do it when I go back to train in China becausse the school there has no washing machine. Bedsheets are a blast! I am always so happy to see my washing machine when I get home.
Last year we husked corn by hand. My buddy lasted 5 minutes before he got blisters. The husked corn was thrown onto a Chinese pick up which ended up breaking down. So all the students ended up pushing the pickup loaded with the corn.
This is life in rural China at a martial arts boarding school. I kid you not.
 
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