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Matsuyama's
Shotokan Karate |
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This section helps you to meet the karateka who practice at DoShiKai.
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Cross Training
Class Schedule |
Monday & Wednesday
4:00 - 6:00 PM
Doshi-Kai Karate Dojo
New Exchange Place
138 Main Street (Route 27)
Top Floor
Acton, MA 01720
Ask a question here: frank@doshikai.net
Frank Paolino
Tel. (978) 635-9332
Next Class Starts Feb. 1, 2006
There is no charge for Acton-Boxboro students. You will need to sign and return a commitment letter before you can join this class.
For everyone else, this class costs $250 for the 8 week course (16 classes), and is limited to 20 people.
Read the commitment letter here.
Click here to register for this class |
| Karate Cross Training
Athletes who are looking for superior levels of performance can cross train in rigorous Karate classes. All sports utilize very similar body motions while performing or competing. Our bodies are machines that work in predictable ways. As we train these machines, we strengthen specific functions that enhance overall performance.
Cross Training builds strengths to help you perform at higher levels. Benefits to this are:
Development of your entire body, instead of specific parts
Add Variety to your workouts to keep it interesting
Regular training in the off-season when outdoor facilities are closed
This series of classes will emphasize total body conditioning with its application to players in baseball, football and soccer who want to maintain their conditioning level in the off-season.
These classes will focus on:
Leg Strength and Developing Thrust
Total Conditioning
Core Control and Balance
Concentration and Focus
Students Working on Developing Thrust from Hips.
Notice we practice throwing with both hands to emphasize the hip motion, and how it helps in throwing a baseball.
At around 27 seconds, we practice counter punch and then throwing with the same arm, always using the hip to develop thrust and velocity.
Students Working on Balance during Front Kick and Side Kicks.It is very difficult to stand on one leg and kick hard. This takes a lot of balance and core control. We do a variety of one-leg techniques during the class. During active sports, you are standing on one leg a great deal of the time.
Core Control and Balance
What is Core Control and why is it important to all sports?
Your center of gravity, or your "Core" is located about 2 fingers below the belly button.
Every movement in every sport starts from this point. One of the essentials to both balance and forward movement is to gain core control.
When a pitcher stands on one leg before delivering a pitch, if he does not have good core control, he will wobble and possibly deliver a bad pitch.
When a player absorbs a hit in football or hockey, control of their weight from their core is essential.
This class will enhance core control significantly, utilizing a variety of karate kicking and holding of balance postures to help build better balance during athletic competition.
Click Here to look at photos of students demonstrating good core control and balance |
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The instructor for the Karate Cross Training Course is Frank Paolino, a Black Belt in Karate since 1980.
An Acton resident and parent of 4 students in the Acton-Boxboro school system, Frank also coaches Babe Ruth baseball.
Frank started taking Karate in college at UMass Lowell in 1977 under Master Kazumi Tabata. In his senior year, he was captain of the Karate team. Frank currently trains with Master Nago Matsuyama.
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Frank Paolino coaching Babe Ruth baseball at Jones Field |
Leg Strength and Developing Thrust
In all sports, athletes accelerate by developing thrust by pushing off from the ground. Most players do not think about this, as they have been running since early childhood.
Many athletes are not conscious of either their footwork, balance or relative position to other players or opponents. In Karate, this is essential to successfully defeating an opponent.
This class will focus on developing thrust, accelerating and lateral movement, utilizing a variety of karate "stances" and "pushing off" from a standing to improve acceleration. |
Concentration
I have found that a few athletes that I have trained in baseball naturally have strong concentration, while most do not. It is a difficult thing to teach on a playing field, but I have taught it many times in a Karate dojo (gym). This skill is one of the most important skills. I believe it is easier to teach when you face an opponent in a karate class, as there is some risk of personal harm, so you naturally pay attention better. This "focus" is transferable to other sports. Again, some people have this sense naturally. For others, it needs to be learned.
So, my goal here is to help students gain better focus, determination and strength to be stronger and more competitive in their chosen sports.
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Why did I decide to create this Cross Training class?
I started teaching my oldest son karate at age 5. At his soccer games, many parents would comment on how he had strong kicks. As he advanced into high school, we have noticed his ability to use his body more, and not shy away from contact.
He also has excellent "core control", which is essential for all sports.
So, I started thinking about how Karate Cross Training would help all sports, utilizing this core control concept. I have classified most of the activities in Karate as enhancing either Flexibility, Core Control or Cardiovascular performance. I have looked at which technique, stance, body movement or block augment activities in other sports. These are covered in the Cross Training part of each class.
Each class must work on all of these areas. Repetition is an essential part of enhancing performance. Most exercises need to repeated 10-50 times each class before they are fully absorbed by the brain and the body so that they are automatic and proficiently performed.
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What does a Typical Class Look Like?
These are two hour classes. They are designed to be a complete workout: Stretching, Cardiovascular conditioning, Leg Strength, Kinetics, Cross Training and Concentration.
Karate Cross Training Class
Time
(minutes) | Activity | Training Element |
10 | Warm-up exercise, such as jumping jacks, sit-ups and push-ups. | Warm Up |
20 | Stretching, with emphasis on arms and legs, joints, neck, hands | Flexibility |
30 | Basic karate techniques, with emphasis on low center of gravity which strengthens the legs, and Core Control (movement around the center of gravity of the body). | Core Control
Leg Strength
Cardiovascular |
15 | Body Kinetics - Learning to use your weight in various ways as you move around | Kinetics |
30 | Application of karate to various sports. Learning to use body in ways to complement other sports. | Cross Training |
15 | Warm-down stretching | Flexibility |
Next course will begin Wednesday, February 1, 2006.
Course Meeting Dates
This 8 week (16 class) meets on
Mondays and Wednesdays
4:00 - 6:00 PM.
New Exchange Place
138 Main Street (Route 27)
Top Floor
Acton, MA
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| Monday | Wednesday |
| February | | 1 |
6 | 8 |
13 | 15 |
School | Vacation |
27 | March 1 |
| March | 6 | 8 |
13 | 15 |
20 | 22 |
27 | 29 |
| April | 3 | |
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Ask a question here: frank@doshikai.net |
Fees and Registration
There is no charge for Acton-Boxboro students. You will need to sign and return a commitment letter before you can join this class.
For everyone else, this class costs $250 for the 8 week course (16 classes), and is limited to 20 people.
Read the commitment letter here.
Click here to register for this class
Self Defense and Sparring
These classes do not emphasize sparring and self defense, but students who want to attempt sparring can attend the adult class at 7:30 (once they have learned the basic techniques) at no extra charge. Students who complete the course will also be eligible for ranking, if they choose, at a promotion class run by Sensei Nago Matsuyama.
Who else has done
Karate Cross Training?
This is a photo of Tony Conigliaro, who played for the Boston Red Sox in 1967 (the Impossible Dream Team that won the Pennant). He did Karate Cross Training with my first instructor, Master Kazumi Tabata, during the offseason in Nahant. The photo below was in the Boston Record American newspaper.
BTW, we won't be practicing with metal spikes, just barefoot or with sneakers.
- Frank Paolino
Here is the caption from the newspaper:
"High stepping Tony Conigliaro, Red Sox slugger, displays his form at spring training in Winter Haven, Fla. If it looks like rather extreme form to you, you're right. He's doing a karate kick. Tony's been getting in shape by taking lessons from 5th degree black belt champ Kazumi Tabata." |
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