Nature, mind, and body

- August 10, 2023

The other day I was going for a walk with my wife Visakha in Llanbedrog beach and hills in Wales. We saw a group of kids building a small pool in a stream by making their own anicut out of sand and rocks. They had such fun in their own natural pool. What is the price tag of that happiness brought without expensive "stuff"? When we grow older, however, we often find ourselves giving excuses to do regular workout, stretches, and to be with nature. We let go of our freedom in certain ways and confine ourselves indoors.

Nature offers magical sensations to heal our minds, provides the space to reflect on things that bother us, and sometimes provides clues for ground-breaking ideas. We evolved in natural habitats. Therefore, a part of the "wisdom" that makes us happy and competitive is in natural woody areas themselves.

I am 52 years old as of 2023. I practice karate as a sport regularly because it allows me to challenge my own mind and body. The attitude of a Karate-Ka is to maximise the effectiveness by integrating seamlessly with the surroundings at the present moment. The famous martial artist and philosopher, Bruce Lee said "be like water. Take the shape of the container and flow like water".

The aim of this blog piece is to show some examples of stretches and workout we do in karate to promote outdoor workout for adults. In my case, I do not go looking for an ideal environment. I live near Richmond Park in London, and I use its natural walking paths and hills to do outdoor workout. I spent the summer of 2023 in a beach village called Llanbedrog in Wales, and I continued the practice. My wife Visakha was kind enough to record some short sessions for this blog piece.

First it is good to do an easy stretching exercise to warm up. Widening the legs about 2-soldier widths apart and reaching out to the opposite foot alternatively is usually the first thing we do in the karate dojo. I usually do about 100 of them and then try to reach down a couple of times to relax the hips. This sets the hip more flexible to do some more stretches.

The following video shows a stretching exercise we regularly do in karate. Shift your weight sideways with both feet flat on the ground. The stretched leg should be straight, and the foot should be oriented for a side kick with the outside edge of the foot. Try to turn towards the straight leg. The bent leg should take the full weight of the body. Then turn sideways with both legs bent nearly 90 degrees. Keep the trunk straight. In karate, this posture is used during a punch. Finally turn back to a posture like the first but have the straight leg rest on the heel this time. Toes should be pointing up, and you should try to turn towards the straight leg. The bent leg should take the weight of the body. After repeating this several times, you can do some side splits. It is important to do these stretches slowly to avoid pulling muscles.

Then it is good to move to some side splits. After several rounds you gain some flexibility in the hips. Then try to reach to one ankle, then the other, and finally to both. Repeating this several rounds will make you feel very flexible and warmed up.

If you find a hilly area, it is good to do some jogging after doing the above stretches. Choose whatever the surrounding opportunity as you wish. Usually, it is good to monitor the heart rate if you have a history of cardiac issues. Even for healthy adults, it is recommended to keep the peak heart rate below (220 - age).

After some jogging, it is good to do some kicking practice. Be careful not to do any kicking before proper stretching, because kicking involves rapid muscle action to throw the leg from a relaxed state while rotating the hip. If you have not learned to kick under proper guidance, do this slowly to prevent injuries. In the following video, I show a front kick, then a side kick, and finally a back kick all starting from a lifted leg posture. This because the art of karate always involves lifting the leg up before performing a kick. Starting from that transit stance trains the brain to get to it every time we do a kick.

Then you can move onto some workout to exercise the upper body and thighs. A good set is pushups, squats, and situps. I start with 15-15-15 of each, then 14-14-14, and go all the way down to 5-5-5. Then rather than going down to 1-1-1, do another four rounds of 5-5-5. I must say that this takes about 30-40 minutes and elevates your heart rate. Give yourself at least one day rest between two of these sessions. If you are new to this kind of workout, my recommendation is to start at 5-5-5 and increase one per week till you reach a comfortable number. For me 15-15-15 seems to be a comfortable start. I tried 20-20-20 once and it was too exhausting.

The following video shows a form of stretching that helps you to improve box splits. Start with a box split and walk your hands forward getting your own weight to drop the hip. Then walk your hands as far back as possible without sitting. This has been a very good stretch for my hips.

Finally, moving while bouncing with bent knees like in a sparring session helps to condition ankles and calf muscles. This makes a real difference in sparring because bouncing helps you to relax and jump to attack or to avoid a kick.

If you are interested to know how this should be combined with formal karate practice in a dojo, the following video shows a typical training session with a colleague.