To become a master of martial arts, you must become a master of home training. A towel workout is a great way to start.
Here are four of my favorite towel exercises you can try the next time you’re looking to do some martial arts training at home or in a hotel.
If the video doesn’t play, you can find a written summary below. Go grab a towel and give it a try!
Martial Arts Towel Workout
DISCLAIMER:
I am not a personal trainer or physical therapist. I’m just a martial artist sharing his experience. Proceed and practice at your own risk!
1) TOWEL SLIP BAG
Take the biggest towel you can find and fold it lengthwise.
Toss it over a shower rod.
Voilà! You now have a slip bag. Work on your timing and hand-eye coordination.
For an even better workout, use a damp towel. That will add a little extra weight and a little extra pop.
2) TOWEL PULL-UPS AND ARM DRAG
If you watched my video Shoulder Flexibility and Strength, you know I’m a fan of balance in martial arts training. So, if you’re going to work your punching muscles, you should do some pulling, too.
Yes, you can throw a towel over the top of a door to crank out some pull-ups, but if you’re worried about pulling the door off its hinges (like I am!), here’s something simpler.
Lace a towel around both sides of a doorknob. Grab both ends.
Squat down. Lean back.
Voilà again! You’re ready for some towel pulls!
SAFETY NOTE: Wear sneakers on this one. If you wear socks, you may slide your crotch right into the door. Workout over!
Using both hands to pull yourself up like a rowing machine is a great warm-up. But you know what’s even better?
Use one hand to grab both ends of the towel. Now you can practice your arm drag or hikite technique.
The trick is to lean back at all times to engage your back and arm muscles. Just holding the towel and walking to the door won’t be much of a challenge!
Alternate your left and right side to work your grip, back, and footwork.
3) TOWEL FRONT KICK
Grab the towel at both ends and place your foot in the middle.
Now pull your leg up into your chest and extend your front kick.
Do this right and you’ll be working your grip, arms, back, and leg. Make sure to resist the chamber and the kick in both directions. There should be no resting on this one!
Want to kick up the challenge? Of course you do!
Hop up on your bed. Now you’ll be working your balance, strength, and stability.
4) TOWEL BATTLE ROPES
Battle ropes are an effective way to develop grip strength, endurance, and body flow. But ropes are hard to pack into a suitcase or keep around the house.
So, grab a couple of towels instead! The bigger, the better.
You can practice all your favorite battle rope exercises with the towels—
- Up and down
- Side to Side
- Hip Toss
- Circles In
- Circles Out
- Figure 8’s
Actually, towels are even better than battle ropes because you can move your arms across and around your head without getting entangled. That means you can also practice weapons patterns!
Swing the towels just as you would a stick or nunchaku.
See that? You can get a great workout at home, in a hotel, or anywhere using a towel. There’s always a way to train!
But don’t stop there. Check out these videos for two more easy home training ideas.
Neck Exercises for Martial Arts Using a Bed
How to Punch Harder Using a Wall
Did I miss anything? Let me know your favorite towel workout for home training!
Well done! Creative and effective….now there ARE no excuses!
Thanks Sensei Ando!
Thank you! I hope you’ll be hopping up on your bed immediately! 🙂
So…this video was informative, interesting, and entertaining…lol. Thanks for the great ideas because working out in your house or hotel room can be extremely boring and that’s why I lack the motivation to do it! I’m gonna grab a few towels whenever I can and before I head to the beach or the shower, I’ll do a few “exercises!” Thanks Ando!
Ha! Never boring! I hope you’ll be excited every time you see a towel from now on! 🙂
Rockin’ awesome! Immensely helpful to have a video of what you’re talking about.
Here’s a drill for if you have a partner – “grab the towel.” The partner holds a washcloth or hand towel (loosely!) at his or her own face level. Grabber gets in fighting stance. With the hand that’s over the lead leg, grabber tries to grab the washcloth . Partner, try to flick the washcloth out of the grabber’s reach (hold the washcloth loosely – otherwise people get hurt). Grabber – try not to give away what you’re about to do. Partner – watch for the grabber’s “tells” and give feedback (i.e. “you scrunch your eyes” or “you move your foot way before your hand”). If the grabber gets too good at this game, the grabber should start movement from a little further back
I’ll leave you with this thought from _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ by Douglas Adams…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels.
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value — you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble‐sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand‐to‐hand‐combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindbogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you — daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
Have a great weekend and thanks for the travel tips!
OSU, JO!
Thank you for the towel partner drill. Hmm… I feel a book taking shape!
And thanks for the excerpt from Hitchhiker’s. Inspiring, creative stuff there! 🙂
Appreciate your insight and helps. A towel. Who knew !?!
Especially love workouts on any unstable surface–a BED. Who knew !?!
(And, Joelle, a very timely note about towels. RIP Mr. Adams.)
A book? Yes!
So happy you like the towel and bed ideas, Terry! Guess I better get to work on that book… then write a book about how to work out with the book! 🙂
Now THAT was innovative. Now I can stop trying to figure-out how to throw the TV into the pool, and get to work!
GJ
Ha! Trashing your room like a rockstar is also a great workout! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Very creative towel work outs, there actually working for me…..
Awesome! Happy to hear that, sir! Keep it up! 🙂