Tag: mobility

The most important movement we forget to do

Oscar AgramonteConditioning, Kung Fu, Tai Chi

If I asked you to demonstrate your best vertical jump ever, how would you start?

Go ahead and channel your inner Michael Jordan. Imagine him loading up for that magical vertical leap and freeze right there. 

Just the start, not the full motion. You are probably bent at the waist, hips pushed back, chest forward, ready to explode upward.

Get into the position you need to produce the most power. That is the hip hinge.

And it is one of the most important movements you can practice.

To understand why, we have to go back in time. As newborns, we come into the world infinitely mobile, but we have to earn our stability starting from the center. 

We learn to breathe diaphragmatically, gain head control, build strength in our arms and legs, roll over, and eventually make our way to standing.

After thousands of repetitions in each of these stages, we start walking, running, and jumping. The newborn had to stabilize to express mobility. 

Essentially, from birth, you are working your way toward an explosive hip hinge.

Having four sons (only one year apart) and the last two being twins, my poor mother watched these stages with delight in the beginning, and then in fear and anxiety. 

True story: there was a year where we had an average of one ER visit a month. Back in the 80s, we had to go outside and “play.” 

My brothers, being way more athletic, got into scrapes from athletic moves. Being clumsy from reading too much, I got scraped up by not being able to produce or reduce power!

Some people think of the hinge just as a gym deadlift, picking something “dead” off the ground from a dead stop. 

But the hip hinge done slowly and explosively is used in almost every sport, everyday life, and even at Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi.

  • In Kung Fu: When we drop our weight in our horse stance to generate an explosive strike as we move into the hill-climbing horse stance, we are hinging.
  • In Tai Chi: When you sink your weight (folding at the hip crease) to absorb an opponent’s push and redirect it into a Bow Stance, you are using the exact same mechanics.

 

Losing Power = Getting Slower

As we age, we get slower at a much faster rate than we get weaker. This translates to older adults slipping and falling simply because they haven’t moved quickly in years.

Being able to get into and out of a hip hinge quickly shows that you can produce power (jump) and reduce power (land safely). 

You can train for power to prevent a fall or to keep up with your children, or train to throw a more effective punch.

 

How to Test and Train Your Hinge

We all need to hip hinge in the same way that we all need to squat. You’ve done it before; your body just needs to be reminded how.

  1. The Toe Touch Test: Can you touch your toes? This requires a certain amount of mobility, but it also has a lot to do with your ability to weight shift. Here is a video that can help.
  2. Toe Touch To Pull Down Squat: If you can touch your toes, grab them and pull your hips down into a deep squat. Now stand back up. You’ve just shown me a mobile pelvis and a stable trunk. You are ready to hinge. Watch the video here.
  3. Training Wheels: Use a light stick held against your back to practice pushing your hips backward while keeping proper form and a straight spine. Watch the video here.
  4. Load it Up: The next step is to load the hinge. I like the Kettlebell Deadlift. Watch the video here.
  5. Build Explosive Power: Finally, progress to a great power movement: the Kettlebell Swing. It is a dynamic deadlift that uses hip-hinging, power acceleration, and power deceleration (think: lifting, jumping, landing). Watch the video here.

From the KB Swing, you can progress to many different explosive movements depending on your goals.

What an elite athlete considers power training might be impossible for the average client. And what an older client considers power training might be a warm-up for the athlete. It’s all relative.

Either way, train for power. Know your capabilities and go practice the hip hinge.

You’ll still be standing while others are falling.

See you in training,

Sifu Oscar

 

 

P.S. Build power safely. People often avoid martial arts because they think they aren’t explosive or mobile enough to start. The truth is, we rebuild those abilities from the ground up. If you are ready to start moving better, here are 2 ways I can help:

  1. See it for yourself: The best way to understand Wah Lum is to see it in person. Comment with OBSERVATION and we will set up a time for you to come visit a class.
  2. Start from home: Comment with FOUNDATIONS and I’ll send you the details for our 21-day remote prep program.

Your muscles’ retirement plan

Oscar AgramonteMindset & Philosophy

When was the last time you moved fast?

I mean the kind of fast that happens when you trip on a curb and your body catches itself before your brain has time to panic. Or when you reach out and grab something before it hits the floor.

If it’s taking you a while to think about it, that’s already a bit of information. According to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, your ability to move quickly might be the most important physical quality determining how long you live.

And most people are losing it without even realizing it.

Researchers followed 3,889 adults aged 46–75 for nearly 11 years. They measured two things: muscle strength (how much force you can produce) and muscle power (how fast you can produce it). Then they watched to see which one predicted survival.

The answer wasn’t subtle.

Men with the lowest power levels were almost 6 times more likely to die than those with the highest. Women in the lowest group faced nearly 7 times the risk. And muscle strength, measured on its own? Not statistically significant.

Power won the longevity contest by a landslide — and it wasn’t even close.

Your body runs two types of muscle fibers. Type I fibers are your slow-burn workhorses — built for endurance, posture, and the long haul (think holding a deep Horse Stance or doing a slow Tai Chi form). Type II fibers are your explosives — fast, powerful, and built for moments that require immediate action (think jumping, throwing a fast punch, or a snapping kick).

Type II fibers are also the first ones to disappear, and we lose power at a faster rate than we lose strength. Age and inactivity, accelerate their decline. You can maintain a respectable amount of strength for years while your fast-twitch system quietly goes away.

Until a stumble that should have been a quick save becomes something much worse.

The researchers called this loss of power “powerpenia” — a word that sounds made-up but represents a very real, measurable decline that most standard fitness programs simply don’t address.

The good news? Power is trainable at any age. And you don’t have to become an Olympic athlete to develop it. You just have to ask your muscles to move quickly — on purpose, consistently, and with intention.

This is exactly why the right type of training is so vital. We don’t just lift heavy things slowly. We want to train our bodies to be explosive. 

Here is how you can ensure you are keeping those Type II fibers alive, whether you are training Kung Fu or Tai Chi.

  • Strike with intent (Kung Fu): When you practice your forms, don’t just go through the motions. Find time to move with sudden, explosive speed.
  • Intent (Tai Chi): Tai Chi is famous for slow movement, but advanced practice requires Fajin—the sudden, explosive release of power. Even if you aren’t jumping, a quick, intentional shift in weight, a fast block, or the rapid kick in Part 3 trains your nervous system to fire instantly.
  • Lower weights, higher speed: Power doesn’t require lifting 300 pounds. Moving your own body weight or light resistance bands at speed is surprisingly effective and keeps your nervous system sharp.
  • Aim for consistency over intensity: Even one power-focused session per week creates meaningful adaptation over time.

The goal isn’t to be the most explosive person in the room. The goal is to maintain the biological quality that determines whether your body can respond when life gets unpredictable — because it will.

Strength is the foundation. But power is the thing that shows up when you actually need your body to work. The research is now telling us — with nearly 4,000 people and a decade of data — that the ability to move fast is the fitness quality most closely tied to survival.

Train your muscles to move. Train them to fire. And do it before your fast-twitch fibers get the memo that they’re no longer needed.

See you in training,

Sifu Oscar

P.S. Make movement a value. People often fail to start training because they think they need a complicated system to begin. You don’t. You just need to show up. If you are ready to build a new habit, here are 2 ways I can help:

  1. See it for yourself: The best way to understand Wah Lum is to see it in person. Reply with OBSERVATION and we will set up a time for you to come visit a class.

Start from home: Reply with FOUNDATIONS and I’ll send you the details for our 21-day remote prep program.

Longevity Training: Staying Strong in Kung Fu and Tai Chi After 56

Oscar AgramonteConditioning, Kung Fu, Tai Chi

Lately I have been thinking about what my training will look like 10 years from now, when I am over 56. At that stage, my priorities will shift. 

The goal will not be chasing personal records or max lifts. The goal will be staying strong, mobile, and consistent so I can keep practicing Kung Fu and Tai Chi.

For martial artists over 56, here is where the focus belongs:

  • Mobility: keep your joints moving so stances and transitions stay comfortable.
  • Hypertrophy: build and maintain muscle mass with higher reps. This does not have to mean machines — kettlebells, bodyweight movements, bands, and light dumbbells are all excellent options.
  • Cardio: enough to support health and recovery. This can be as simple as practicing forms at a faster pace with good control, or walking daily.

After 56, it is less about maxing out and more about staying consistent with quality movement. 

Show up, move, breathe, keep the reps high, and release tension between sets. 

In Kung Fu and Tai Chi, that might mean practicing stances, transitions, and balance drills with steady repetition until they feel effortless.

The key is to keep going. Keep training. Keep showing up.

See you in training,

Sifu Oscar

 

P.S. The principle of stretching what is stiff and strengthening what is weak starts on day one. That is what our Foundations program is all about. Reply with Foundations and I will get you started.

 

P.P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are ways we can help you get started.

1. Schedule a time to observe a class.
Interested in Kung Fu or Tai Chi?  First step is to watch a class and see if we would be a good fit! Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for an appointment.

2. Become part of my exclusive Coaching Group with CYH Remote Coaching.  Get personalized coaching delivered right to your phone and catered to your specific goals.
Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for info.

Push, Pull, and the Lessons of Middle Age

Oscar AgramonteConditioning, Kung Fu, Mindset & Philosophy

In your late teens and 20s, the choices you make with food and training will stay with you. Strength coach Mike Boyle shared the best advice I know when it comes to body composition, and it is especially true in your 20s. 

Learn the Push. 

Push the table away. Push the extra beer and pizza away. 

Build the discipline now to keep fat cells from multiplying.

Why? Because once you create fat cells, they don’t just disappear. Fat cells act like balloons. When you overeat, it is like blowing air into the balloon and it expands. 

When you train, eat better, and lose fat, you don’t pop the balloon. You simply let the air out. It shrinks, but it never disappears. 

That is why learning the skill of Push early is so valuable. But even if you did not learn it in your 20s, it is not too late. 

The ability to push away what does not serve you is a practice you can strengthen at any age.

By the time you reach middle age, the Pulls of life become more obvious. 

Careers get busier, parents get older, kids need more of your time, and financial pressures pile up. At the same time, your body starts sending reminders — tighter hips, rounded shoulders, slower recovery. 

Strength coach Dan John sums up the solution perfectly: Stretch what’s stiff. Strengthen what’s weak. For most of us, that means:

  • Stretch: hip flexors, hamstrings, pecs, biceps
  • Strengthen: glutes, ab wall, deltoids, triceps

Over six years ago, Sifu Mimi and I started a video blog series called 40 Fit-Fu. We recorded more than 100 episodes on training, nutrition, and health. 

If you scroll to the bottom of the playlist, you will find our final episodes where we looked back at the first ones and shared how our approach has evolved. 

Training is a lifelong process. What works at 20 might not be what you need at 40, and what you build at 40 sets you up for your 60s.

Kung Fu gives us a clear example of this principle. 

The iron bridge stretches what needs lengthening while strengthening what needs support. 

It is also a classic Push-Pull exercise: pushing the hips up, pulling the shoulders back. That combination is exactly what keeps us strong, mobile, and balanced through every stage of life.

See you in training,

Sifu Oscar

 

P.S. The principle of stretching what is stiff and strengthening what is weak starts on day one. That is what our Foundations program is all about. This is also remote coaching through our app, with daily actions and accountability built in. Reply with Foundations and I will get you started.

 

P.P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are ways we can help you get started.

1. Schedule a time to observe a class.
Interested in Kung Fu or Tai Chi?  First step is to watch a class and see if we would be a good fit! Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for an appointment.

2. Become part of my exclusive Coaching Group with CYH Remote Coaching.  Get personalized coaching delivered right to your phone and catered to your specific goals.
Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for info.