Cross Training

It is funny how times have changed. Prior to the UFC, cross-training between martial arts was not performed in the manner in which it performed these days. Yes, there were people who 'cross trained' back in the day, but a lot of the cross training was not done simultaneously. That is, one studied akido for 2 years then moved on to tae kwon do. Training simultaneously, however, was very, very rare. As time progressed and more athletic arts/sports entered the mix, cross training became more common. Additionally, there seemed to be a lack of desire to learn the entirety of an art and this desire was replaced with a need to strip arts of their barest essentials and cross train the highest percentage of moves. This allowed for maximum efficiency and time management in training.

Of course, all this begs the question: why did it take so many years to accept cross training as a viable training method? Answer in the next installment.