1. Combat Conditioning – Preface

Reading Time: 2 minutes

A warrior organization serves the purpose in both engaging in battles against enemies of those they’ve sworn to protect, as well as to mold people into a warrior. Everything the warrior organization does is meant to condition the individual into a warrior. Due to this philosophy alone, the warrior will need to be in peak condition to be able to tackle on a variety of uncertain and difficult threats. Where a professional athlete would reach a peak point in their career, a warrior must consistently keep their peak performance levels or risk being caught off guard and devoured by his opponents. The warrior training regimen has to incorporate a mix of strength, power, speed, flexibility and mobility, so they can boost the combat skills, especially those of hand to hand combat, they were taught to use, in environments and situations that are constantly changing and testing the mental and physical boundaries of the warrior. Keeping in superb physical shape, together with sharpening mental acuity, increasing self esteem and testing the boundaries of their self discipline, a warrior is able to circumvent the efforts of any enemy bold enough to test him.

A warrior needs to constantly be reminded that in combat environments where opponents are fighting to the death, there are no breaks, fair play, round ends or timeouts. The fighting will be dirty, brutal and their opponents will utilize whatever means necessary to eliminate their opposition. Therefore, the warrior must combine gymnastic, cardio or bodyweight exercises that will prepare him for this type of intense and unpredictable combat environment, embedding him in strength, flexibility and speed required to get the job done.

Warrior organizations and their leaders must recognize that combat is the most physically and mentally challenging activity a human being can endure so they can tweak the programs they design for their units to be ones that are capable of achieving optimum fitness levels required for combat and martial arts, as opposed to just general physical activity, such as jogging, pushups and crunches. Any martial arts program that a warrior is taught therefore should comprise of methods meant to condition the warrior for combat, and should be a supplemental regimen on top of the program used for generalized physical training and fitness. They should not be separate or optional, but go hand in hand. This training combines martial arts, water survival, generalized physical fitness and navigation through rough terrain and extreme climates. Using these conditioning methods, the programs are meant to stabilize the negative effects of combat on the human body and to increase endurance to make the warrior capable of withstanding combat for a longer period of time through a plethora of environmental conditions.