Pullups and its effects on martial arts

chrisw08 · Orange Belt

I was wondering because I have never really been able to do pullups that much it effects on martial arts. Does it give you incredible power if you train really hard on them because I have done pushups with weight vest and the results of power were amazing but is the results of pullups any better since it is more difficult or are those muscles not as important

Canadian77 · Orange Belt

I don't have an answer, but I wanted to say, good question! I'm very curious as well. We do plenty of push-ups, but no pull ups, and I hadn't even thought about it before. I'm not sure if that's due to lack of facilities - - not easy to have something for a class of students to do pull ups - - or if it isn't as useful an exercise. I hope someone knows the answer!

Zaine · Black Belt

A lot of martial arts don't do pull-ups in class but that doesn't mean that they aren't super useful. Most pull-ups work the back and upper arm muscles. Both of which are important to martial arts (and all muscles are important to your body). Remember that you can generate power through the use of your back muscles as well as your core, your arms and many other muscles. I would suggest that during your warm ups for at home practicing you buy a pull-up bar and start working on it.

Long story short, symmetry in your body is important for balance. Working out your pectoral and not your back is not a good idea. For the best result in your martial arts journey (and maintaining a healthy body) you should make sure that you work out your entire body.
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wagnerk · Purple Belt

Personally I would say that pull-ups along with Horizontal Pull-ups (or reverse push ups) is a great way of balancing out your muscles.
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Anaku · White Belt

Any bodyweight exercise is helpful to increase ones general strength. However, to be proficient in MA one needs to use their whole body in a dynamic way. Traditionally martial strength and awareness was fostered by some sort of qi gong training. Unfortunately there are a lot of people teaching it that have no idea what they are doing and done incorrectly can severely damage ones health. Lastly, a true martial art uses leverage, strategy, timing and skill to overcome an opponent not raw strength.
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mal103 · Purple Belt

Hikite is the pulling part of most actions, the open hand pulling down as you upper block, the open hand pulling in as you outer-to-inner block etc
(Please understand my use of the word block means to me response which translates to forearm smash...)
Pulling towards your heart is supposed to be the most powerful so any exercise that strengthens your arm pulling muscles is excellent for your MA!

Nidan Melbourne · KF Sempai

it has some benefits to do pull-ups, but it is obviously different depending on the variant that you do of it. As you have to work muscles even more if your doing the vertical pull-ups as you have to move a greater distance.

ShoriKid · Pre-Black Belt

Bruce Lee with his batwings. If they didn't help the small man hit hard, why would he work so hard on them?

Pull ups will develop the back, which help lock the torso down and move the core explosively. Do not over look them. For close range sparring, where pulling, gripping and moving over people is useful they are good, as with any grappling art.
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Kisshu fushin, Oni te hotoke kokoro. A demon's hand, a saint's heart. -- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

brickshooter · Green Belt

Boxers also work at enlarging their lats. It's probably the only muscle that they try to build mass in, fearing weight gain would bump them from their weight class. Judokas also heavily work on pull-ups and pulling excercises. In other words, pull ups are extremely beneficial.

Wastelander · KF Sensei

Pull-ups are an excellent exercise for building strength in the arms and back which, in addition to being important for muscular balance and posture, are vital for clinchwork and grappling situations. I try to do some variation of pull-ups every time I work out--and there are many different variations to try that will focus on different movements and muscle groups. My current favorite is the kettlebell clinch pull-up.
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