Martial Arts Strength Training

According to various sources on the internet, a 1996Elsewhere in the book, Oyama said that he would
article in Iron Man Magazine revealed Bruce Lee'sbench press 175 pounds 500 times a day.
workout. In addition to his cardio and karateThen there are karate-specific exercises such as
workouts, Lee lifted weights three times a week andstraw striking and exercises that are specific to
performed the following routine:clean and presses 2 xboard and stone breaking abilities. All this was in
8squats 2 x 12barbell pullovers 2 x 8bench presses 2addition to practicing forms, sparring, etc.
x 6good mornings 2 x 8barbell curls 2 x 8Comparing Lee and Oyama
Unfortunately, he injured his back doing goodNow, what strikes me as the essential difference
mornings, which nearly ruined his career. Otherwise,between Lee's and Oyama's workout styles is
his weight training was successful in that it is creditedvolume. Lee's weight training routine is relatively brief,
with helping him add 30 pounds of solid muscle to hisand he avoided lifting on days of heavy martial arts
relatively small frame.training.
Although Lee is the most famous martial artist ever,While Lee might do an exercise for 2 sets of 8 reps
it may be that the strongest was a man named(which is fairly typical), Oyama would do it for
Masutatsu Oyama. Therefore, it will be interesting tohundreds of reps. Clearly, Oyama's is a more
contrast Lee's workout with Oyama's.time-consuming approach that would require a lot of
The Karate Bull-Fighterdedication.
Oyama was one of the first to bring Karate toIf you look at pictures of these men, they have
America and founder of the Kyokushin style ofquite different builds. For Lee, his training goal was
Karate. His 1958 classic "What is Karate?" was one ofapparently to add bulk. Before the weight training, he
the first books on the subject written in English, andweighed only 135 pounds, and he added 30 pounds
designed to make the subject accessible toof solid muscle.
westerners.Oyama, on the other hand, was obviously a stockier
Oyama initially became famous with stunts such asfellow, and talks in his book about losing weight
bull-fighting Karate-style. Unlike Mexican bull-fighters,during periods of intense training. Judging from
he would actually wrestle the bull to the ground andpictures of him with other people, I would say that
break off one of its horns. (He wasn't too popularhe was probably slightly taller than Lee (who was 5'
with animal rights activists in Tokyo.)8"). Although Oyama was of average height, he
Oyama's Strength Trainingdoesn't look like a small guy when standing next to
According to Oyama's 1958 book, strength andAmerican professional wrestlers, boxers, and
speed are more important than skill for Karate, andstrongmen.
speed more important than strength. Also, he said itPossible Conclusions
was very important to practice jumping.The point is not to compare them as saying one was
Here are some recommendations he gives in "What isbetter than the other. I do wonder what affect their
Karate?" (He doesn't give an exact workout.)training style had on the way they looked and how
Running - 4km per daymuch was just genetic.
Rope-skipping - 20 minutes per dayAt any rate, if Oyama struggled to keep his weight
Dumbell arm exercise (shoulder press?) - 200 timesdown, it sounds like high volume training helped him
Dips - 100 timesto achieve that. Lee, on the other hand, seems to
Push ups (with hands in fist) - 300 timeshave been naturally lean and wanted the weight
Inclined push ups - 100 timestraining to bulk up (probably to look better on
Jumping side kick over 4 foot vaulting horsecamera). Too much volume might be
Inclined dumbell bench presscounter-productive to that goal.
Exercises requiring a partner:So, maybe the lesson in this is that if you want to
Hitting bag with upper elbow and side of elbow - 200lose weight while simultaneously getting stronger, it
times eachmight be worth considering an old-fashioned high
Practicing jumping kick with bagvolume workout routine, assuming you can make
Exercises for neck (with partner)that kind of dedication. On the other hand, if your
Leg exercise (squat with partner on back)goal is to look like Bruce Lee... well, all I can say is
Back and Abdomen exercises with partner"good luck"!