[seienchin]

Well, at risk of sounding like a Jap Man fan, I have to agree. Nothing builds Karate fitness like....karate.

Tigress, I have noted your account elsewhere of how your fitness let you down in a tournament. I think that most of us have experienced that - nothing prepared you for the intensity of a really hard 3 min bout (with a 3 min extension, x 2)..like the real experience. Now you know what to aim for.

I would recommend learning a little bit of theory about how your body works. Learn about aerobic and anaerobic fitness, and above all, before a tournament, do everything you can to build your lactic acid tolerance. This means KIHON and IDO KIHON, and bagwork and stamina in Hard, hard sets, until you feel like throwing up.

Ibuki breathing is a great recovery technique, adn I think there is a scientific expanation why. I think (and this is just my theory, but it is plausible), that by breating out against a closed throat, you increase the gas pressure in your lungs. This means that more oxygen can pass across into your blood than would happen at normal atmospheric pressure. So for recovery (in the event of landing an extentions) practice ibuki breathing.

Ultimately tho, the only secret is sweat!

OSU