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Workout: Kung-Fu Fighter
How Seahawks DE Chike Okeafor Prepares to Face Big Linemen
Original article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/players/10/18/workout1025/index.html
By Amanda Cherrin
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The 265-pound Chike Okeafor regularly uses
concepts he learned practicing kung fu to take on bigger lineman.
Nick Cardillicchio |
Chike Okeafor has long admired the way Bruce Lee chopped down
larger opponents, but he never knew what kung fu could do for his game until he
checked out Sifu Eric Oram's Traditional
Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy in L.A. three years ago while playing for the
49ers. "Learning the philosophy, I was like, man, this is exactly what I need.
It's a form created for a smaller person to handle a larger person -- which sums
up what I do," says the 6'4", 265-pound Okeafor, who works with Oram to prepare to take
on linemen who commonly weigh more than 325 pounds.
"Wing Chun's concepts apply to football because players are in
hand-to-hand battles," says Oram, who studied under Lee's teacher, William Cheung.
"They're not fighting, but principles apply to focusing on balance, angles of
approach and coordination of simultaneous deflects and attacks."
Okeafor, 28, says Wing Chun improves his reflexes, power and
strategy. He had career highs of 47 tackles and eight sacks in '03 and has 5.5
sacks this year. "It's perfect because I'm not as strong as my opponent," says
Okeafor, raised in West Lafayette, Ind. "The way to get around the size
difference is efficiency of movement, straight lines and quickness -- I need to
beat him to the punch." Here's how he trains to do just that:
1. MERIDIAN STRETCHES (WARMING UP)
Before practice and games Okeafor does poses that stretch what he calls his
"meridians" or "energy lines." Says Oram, "On a surface level he's stretching
the underneath of the forearm and getting his hands, arms and wrists loose and
relaxed. On an internal level he's stretching the lung, pericardium and heart
and increasing circulation." (The forms and theories found on this page are
described in detail on the academy's website,
www.lawingchun.com.)
2. SHIL LIM TAO FORM (REACTION TIME)
"The purpose of the exercise is to focus your mind, body and internal energy at
the same place at the same time with minimum conscious awareness," says Oram.
"Ultimately, the subconscious is the realm of the reflexes." The exercise is, in
essence, a moving meditation.
3. GUARD POSITION (BALANCE) In
this breathing and centering exercise, says Oram, "his conscious awareness is in
the dan tien, the literal center of the body, about an inch and a half
below the navel. That's where the center of your energy and your physical center
of gravity are." Assuming this combat-ready stance, Okeafor guards his center
while sparring with a fellow kung fu student, alternately taking strikes and
striking back. When Oram's not there, Okeafor often spars with his wife,
Stephane.
Chike's Choices
Okeafor, whose full first name, Chikezie, means "well made
by God" in a Nigerian dialect, tries to live the truly good life:
• "I always eat organic," he says. "Natural is the best way."
• He replenishes his system with multimineral and herbal
supplements and a protein supplement.
• To "link the mind, body and spirit" Okeafor meditates in the
morning and evening. He also runs trails with his Great Danes, Mystique and
King.
• In the off-season he does Pilates and also does yoga with
Stephane. "She's getting into hot yoga," says Okeafor. "I think I'll try it."
• He drinks at least seven 16-ounce bottles of ultrapurified
water a day.
• He is anti-anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen. "They're
synthetic," he says. "They work for symptoms but have side effects. The body
knows the difference between natural and synthetic."
• He runs on "cleaner fuel," though he's no
extremist. Okeafor's favorite morning meal is eggs scrambled with avocado,
tomato and cheese. For lunch he loves a turkey sandwich, piled high with swiss
cheese, spinach, lettuce and pickles. Dinner? "I've spent a lot of time in the
Midwest," says Okeafor, who went to Purdue, "so I have a lot of love for the old
steak and potatoes."
I first saw this article here:
http://www.kungfuomaha.com/faqs/default.asp |
