Tip. #5 Every martial artist knows that practice makes perfect. Depending on your goals, trick to performing well as a technician is to retain worthwhile combat strategies via repetitive practice until they become natural instinctive reactions. In English; good technique + practice, practice, practice = skill. The benefits of being well rounded and active are going to contribute to your overall fitness but won't be enough to keep fat off. It's true; physique does not make a good martial artist. That 's why we see so many porky masters who are pretty tough. However, if you want peak performance you'll need to take off excess flab. Reducing weight is by far easy phase in weight control. Eat less, exercise more, and wallah! However, maintaining ones target weight is tough phase. This is achieved with a sustained life style program. Once this is established, you'll wonder what life was like without it. More muscle and less flab will translate into improved fighting prowess, a better instructor image, and a happier you.

Tip #6 The accepted regimen these days is to eat a fist full of food, six times a day. That is, a chicken breast, yogurt, or whatever, in portions about size of that lethal knuckle sandwich of yours. For each body pound, consume approximately ten calories, one gram of protein, one gram of carbohydrates, and at least .6 oz of water. In all, you'll be eating six small meals that contain about 200 - 400 calories each depending on your weight and drinking lots of water (almost a gallon). Of course, restrict your fat intake and remember your multivitamin just in case your diet doesn' t give you what you need. You may not feel any different taking a multivitamin but believe me; your body will make good use of it. I focus on taking my carbs in morning when I need energy. My protein is consumed after workouts, and I avoid eating late at night.

Tip #7 Relaxation is key to optimum performance in martial arts. Rest and work compliment each other. Do yourself and your body a favor and rest. You need down time for peace of mind and your muscles need time to grow and recover between workouts.

Tip #8 Work on yourself from inside. Avoid addictions and general bad behavior. There are few things as ugly as a martial artist who lacks character. It wouldn't hurt for you to consider some personal introspection. In fact, being a better person can relieve stress and help you feel a whole lot better. Exercise can make a difference too. I believe that these primary influences will ease tension and stimulate creative thinking and overall alertness.

That's it. In time, you'll bump up your metabolism, burn fat, think more clearly, build muscle mass, and perform better at your art. What more could you want? Well, okay, you have me there. But if you genuinely want to see some results, I encourage you to stick with these tips for a few weeks and make improvements that I know you deserve.

Withdrawal and Craving As with any addiction, anger has a detoxification period. Craving is high during this time. Those who abstain from name-calling, profanity and yelling during this period report more depression than usual for first three months. Typically, during first 90 days of abstinence, ragers feel vulnerable and spend a lot of time thinking and hoping for a situation that will allow us to use violence for some heroic purpose. Afterward, however, if we have achieved complete abstinence and maintained it for 90 days, we find we no longer think in profane or disparaging terms. It may even become shocking when we hear others do it.

Unpredictable Behavior Another definition of alcoholism is that when an alcoholic drinks, there is no way to predict his or her behavior. He may drink appropriately from time to time, just as rageaholic may express anger appropriately from time to time. However, when alcoholic starts to drink alcohol, all bets are off. No one knows what is going to happen. When rageaholics start to express anger, no one knows where it is going to go. The most likely think is that they will explode, rant and rave. Rageaholics would like to learn how to express our anger appropriately just like alcoholics would like to learn how to drink appropriately. While there are some exceptions, I encourage those with rage problems to abstain from expression of anger for one year.

This plan is only for that small percent of population who have rage or violence problems. The approach described here is not for everyone; but for those addicted to rage, it won’t work to express your anger.