Overrated Strength
Posted on | December 9, 2008
Strength is overrated by far too many people and it’s kind of sad yet funny at the same time. It’s sad, simply because of just how many people think strength is the most important thing. Yet, at the same time, it’s funny to see those of lesser strength easily overtake those of greater strength than their own.
Don’t get me wrong, strength is definitely needed, but it’s strength in a different way than a lot of people think. Physical strength, as in how much muscle you contain, can actually limit you if you become very huge. I don’t just mean a person with big muscles, I mean a huge body builder. While your muscle mass, and overall strength, may increase, there are plenty of attributes you lose such as: agility, flexibility, etc.
For me, at least the way I currently look at it, there is a point where strength actually converts, or turns into, conditioning. Think of someone who currently isn’t in physical shape, but isn’t overweight, just thin and doesn’t have much muscle mass. Physical strength would be what they would be most likely after in doing their exercises. But once they begin to develop muscle mass and are becoming more and more defined, this is where there becomes a fork in the road and they can go do one of two main paths. The first path leads to becoming bigger and bigger, such as the path that a body builder takes. The second path leads to conditioning(in my view), which is what Martial Artists should take. You can develop an enormous amount of more “strength” without ever growing your muscles much, if any, bigger than they already are. It is the reason you see many Muay Thai fighters able to take blows and deliver them with such power that even a man with much more muscle mass can’t imagine being able to do what they do. Their muscles get conditioned to the point that they are solid like a rock, yet while maintaining their bodies overall agility and flexibility, which is definitely needed in Martial Arts.
Even with conditioning put off to the side, and just focusing about a big opponent versus a smaller opponent. The smaller opponent may or may not be smaller in height, but simply in muscle mass, yet if the smaller person knows how to apply his force more in tune with his body than the larger opponent, then the smaller person will win. This is most commonly seen in Martial Arts like BJJ or traditional Judo, where a smaller opponent will flip or throw a larger opponent with great ease. Most people tend to just apply this to grappling and Martial arts like BJJ and Judo though, when it can actually be applied to far more.
Wing Chun uses the relaxation of the muscles to take down, or take over, the opponent by using the force of the opponent against himself. Any one who has studied Wing Chun or knows about it, knows that in Wing Chun, being tense is a horrible thing. It can also be quite a hard habit to break. By using the strength of your opponent, you not only minimize the amount of strength you even need to have, but also the amount of energy you need to use to defeat him. It doesn’t take long for anyone’s strength or stamina to wear down if they don’t use their energy efficiently. Not using strength allows you to conserve your strength so that when you do find that perfect opening, which is quite easy to find on those who simply use nothing but force, you can use all that conserved energy to put your opponent down to ensure he won’t be getting back up.
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