Weight Loss and The Karate Kid Principal
Are your movements precise and repeatable? Would you even know how the movements are supposed to be performed?
That’s what I’m here to do; to empower you with the knowledge of proper movement!
A lot of people have come to me over the years with the goals of losing weight, general fitness, and eliminating pain. Before they even walk through the door, they have a preconceived notion of how things will go. After our initial greeting and we have spoken about their health history, goals, diet, job, and current level of activity we are ready to begin the workout. I ask them to put their hands up as high as they can, feet shoulder width apart, and take about 6 seconds to squat as low as they can without taking their heels off the ground. The typical look that I get reminds me of a look Ralph Macchio’s character in the Karate Kid, Daniel, gave to his teacher, Mr. Miyagi when he instructed the young man to wax his cars.
Aside from being a great underdog story, the Karate Kid is filled with knowledge and wisdom, mostly provided by Mr. Miyagi. When Daniel had enough of being bullied, he sought the help of Mr. Miyagi in hopes the karate master would teach him how to fight. The only goal Daniel had on his mind was to kick, punch, and win a fight that would take place at a karate tournament.
The first day of training for the karate tournament started with Mr. Miyagi telling Daniel to wax some of his cars. Daniel gave Mr. Miyagi a look of confusion and bewilderment, (the same look I have seen many times from client’s coming to me for weight loss or general fitness). Daniel reluctantly took the sponges and began to apply the wax in a haphazard way. Mr. Miyagi stopped Daniel, grabbed his hands, and demonstrated the correct way to “wax on, wax off”. Daniel started slowly duplicating his teacher’s instructions until he was able to repeat the motion with perfection, speed, and consistency.
The next day, Mr. Miyagi told Daniel to sand the floor of his wooden deck. Another bewildered look came across Daniel’s face as he begrudgingly took the sanders and began haphazardly doing the task. Mr. Miyagi immediately stopped Daniel, grabbed his hand, and showed him the correct motions to sand the floor. Again, Daniel started slowly until he had mastered the new movement and was able to repeat it over and over. This same sequence of events was repeated two more times with “sand the floor” and “paint the house”.
After an entire day was spent painting Mr. Miyagi’s house, a very frustrated Daniel approached his teacher and demanded answers as to why he wasn’t being taught karate. Understanding of Daniel’s frustrations, Mr. Miyagi asked Daniel to perform the four motions he had taught him over the past few days as he began throwing punches and kicks at Daniel. To Daniel’s surprise and on instinct alone, he was able to block all of Mr. Miyagi’s punches and kicks with the four movements he had learned. It was in that moment that Daniel realized the importance of creating precise movements that become instinctive. Daniel first looked at karate only as a way to fight while Mr. Miyagi taught him that karate was actually a science with very specific movements and patterns. Wax on, wax off was a corrective exercise for Daniel.
Whether you’re interested in weight loss, eliminating pain, or general fitness, welcome to my dojo! You will learn that using your body in full ranges of motion will help you build more muscle and burn more calories than you can with improper form. You will be able to target specific muscles and engage more muscle fiber which increases your metabolism. You will learn the proper way to move your body which will keep you injury free and allow you to push your body further than you once thought possible. You will take charge of your body, fitness, and recovery because you will gain the awareness of how your body was designed to move. Although I won’t ask you to paint my house, I will have you master the 7 Fundamental Human Movements; push, pull, hinge, squat, twist, lunge, and gait (walk). You may be able to perform movements that look very similar to those (like Daniel before he was taught correctly), but are your movements precise and repeatable? Would you even know how the movements are supposed to be performed? That’s what I’m here to do; to empower you with the knowledge of proper movement! Don’t become so focused on your long term weight loss and fitness goals that you lose sight of the fundamentals that keep your body balanced and aligned. When you prioritize the consistency of quality movement you empower yourself to take charge of your body. Now go out there and kick some ass!
