It still amazes me that in some corners of the martial arts world, people are still saying that lifting weights will make you bulky—and therefore slow.
Even more bizarre? These same folks will also claim:
“Weight training takes too long to work.”
But also, “Just looking at a barbell will make you blow up like Arnold.”
Let’s be clear: that’s nonsense. Unless you’re eating and training like a competitive bodybuilder, you’re not going to “accidentally” get huge.
And even if you could? Being stronger makes you better at martial arts. Period.
You Don’t Need to Train for Hours
If you’re spending more than 60 minutes, three times a week on resistance training, it’s probably more than you need. Efficient programming and consistency beat volume every time—especially if you’re cross-training with martial arts.
Injury Prevention Starts With Strength
I used to think that flexibility alone would protect me from injury.
So, I stretched all the time.
But I also avoided strength training because I believed it would make me stiff and slow.
And yet… I kept getting injured. Weird injuries. Like the time I threw my back out catching a 4-pound medicine ball. Why? Because I had no muscular support for my range of motion.
Flexibility without strength is a liability.
– Author
Real, functional mobility comes from strong, supported joints. Resistance training teaches your muscles how to engage, not just stretch. That improves:
Energy efficiency
Coordination
Joint stability
Injury resistance
Stronger = More Useful
Let’s keep it simple: strong people are more useful—to themselves, their families, their training partners.
If you’re stronger, you’re probably:
Healthier
More mobile
More durable
Less stressed
And when it comes to martial arts? Strength amplifies everything:
You hit harder
You move faster
You absorb impact better
“Strong people are just more useful—to themselves and to others.”
– Author
Where’s the downside?
How Strength Is Built (and Why Reps Aren’t Enough)
All strength gains follow the same basic formula:
Stress → Recovery → Adaptation
If you’re detrained, anything makes you stronger—even walking or doing bodyweight exercises. That’s why beginners make fast progress.
But once your body adapts to those inputs, progress stalls. You’ll hear people say:
“You just need to do more reps.”
That works—for a while. But if you want to go further, you need to be specific. You need real resistance.
The Big Four: The Foundation of Strength
“If you want to get better at martial arts, you need more than just reps. You need resistance.”
– Author
Once you’ve moved past basic calisthenics, it’s time to add compound lifts. Start with:
Low-Bar Back Squat
Deadlift
Bench Press
Overhead Press
These lifts train your body as a system. They engage multiple muscle groups, force full-body coordination, and build resilience like nothing else.
The Art of Manliness – YouTube playlist covering the Big 4 lifts and a couple extra.
A Simple Plan:
Learn correct form (get a coach or reputable guide)
Warm up properly
Lift progressively heavier weights over time
Rest at least 48 hours between lifting sessions
Yes, you’ll be sore at first. Stick with it—your body adapts quickly.
Training for Your Art
Once you’ve got a base of strength, shift your focus to specificity.
That means:
Keep lifting 2–3x per week
Add mobility work on off days
Drill footwork under light resistance
Use isometrics to strengthen martial movement patterns
Strong muscles only help if they support strong technique. Build both.
Voluntary Hardship is a Superpower
Strength training is uncomfortable. So is martial arts. So is growth.
But leaning into discomfort builds mental calluses. It trains you to:
Push past resistance
Delay gratification
Stay calm under pressure
That’s not just good for fighting. That’s good for life.
This is the same discomfort that helped humans build civilizations. It’s a superpower most people never develop.
Don’t run from discomfort—train it.
“Voluntary hardship is a superpower—and strength training is how you train it.”
– Author
Final Thoughts
Lifting weights won’t make you bulky. It won’t make you slow. It won’t hurt your martial arts—it will enhance them.
With strength comes:
Resilience
Speed
Power
Confidence
That’s not a distraction from martial training. That’s the foundation of it.
“You need experience to know the right questions to ask—but the humility of a beginner to actually ask them.” — Eye Square Martial Arts
Start Where You Are, Not Where You Think You Are
I’ve been around martial arts for a while now, and I’ve realized something: I may not have any natural talent—but I do have one advantage.
I can set aside what I think I know and approach training with the mindset of a beginner.
That mindset? It’s everything.
🍵 The Lesson of the Full Cup
Senior Grand Master Ed Parker Sr. once shared a story:
A potential student came to visit a master. As the master began to demonstrate some basic movements, the student kept interrupting:
“Oh, you mean like this?”
Each time, he’d perform his own version of the movement.
Finally, the master stopped and said:
“I’d like you to practice these two things.”
He showed the student two deceptively simple techniques and told him to return in a couple of months.
The student did as instructed. When he came back, the master asked him to demonstrate.
The student replied:
“I practiced those two movements so much… I forgot everything else I knew.”
The master nodded.
“Good,” he said. “Now you’re ready to begin.”
🧠 The Beginner’s Mind
If you’ve trained even a little while—maybe just enough to earn a green belt—you’ve probably started building a mental collection of techniques you think you understand.
Then you visit another school.
It’s different. The movements feel off. Maybe even wrong. And yet… something about it sticks.
“You can imitate technique—but you can’t fake understanding.”
There are always skills that transfer across styles, but martial arts isn’t just mechanics. It’s mindset. It’s movement with meaning.
🔄 Try Emptying Your Cup
Walk into a new style as if you know nothing. Leave your “technique backpack” at the door and just… learn.
Ask yourself:
🟢 What’s different?
🟢 What feels familiar?
🟢 What’s the intention behind these movements?
🟢 What strategy is this art trying to express?
There’s an odd paradox in martial arts:
You need experience to know what matters— But you need the humility of a beginner to see it clearly.
💡 Final Thought: Return to Zero
The more you grow, the more important it is to let go.
True mastery doesn’t mean knowing everything. It means returning—over and over again—to the beginning.
Empty your cup. Then refill it. Then empty it again.
“Cultural Preservation… with Bruises.” — Eye Square Martial Arts
There are martial arts from all corners of the globe—many with lineages that stretch back centuries or more. These arts didn’t stick around by accident.
They’ve endured because they work. They work in the context of conflict, and more importantly, they work for the human body.
🧍♂️ A Common Platform
People often claim, “That move looks just like the one from Art X—it must have come from there.” Never mind that these arts may have developed continents apart.
More likely? Similar movements evolve from the same foundation: the human body.
Two arms, two legs, a head, a torso. That’s the platform.
And with it comes some hard truths:
Cut off blood to the brain? You lose consciousness.
Restrict air? The body fails.
Push a joint past its range? It breaks.
It’s not about style—it’s about structure.
⚙️ Good Body Mechanics
A good martial art teaches you to move efficiently:
Without hurting yourself
While making it easier to hurt your opponent (if necessary)
It respects the mechanics of your own body, and shows you how to exploit the weaknesses in someone else’s.
It should also scale with you—whether you’re 18 or 80. If it breaks down when your joints do, that’s a problem.
🧩 The Big Picture
A good martial art should:
✅ Support your personal training goals
✅ Minimize risk to yourself while maximizing effectiveness
✅ Adapt with you over time
Outside of those factors, the question stops being “Which martial art is good?” And becomes “How well can I use what I’m learning?”
Even the most “effective” art in the world is useless if you can’t apply it.
At the end of the day, it’s not just about the art—it’s about the artist.
So maybe the better question isn’t “Which martial art is best?” But rather: “Which one is best for you—and are you willing to do the work?”
