A new study has concluded that bathing in cold water after training is great for helping your muscles recover and preventing muscle soreness. 366 people were forced to run for a period, then immerse themselves in tubs of icy water for up to 24 minutes. The result was those who were cruelly frozen reported less muscle soreness then those who didn’t. We of course realize that tests like these are nothing more then propaganda from coaching lobby groups. The coaching and instructor lobbyists are dedicated the justification of hazing preformed on athletes of all kinds. The glaring flaw with this study is that of course those people who had to sit in an ice bath reported less soreness, they were afraid that they would be forced back into the ice tubs if they didn’t give the answer researchers wanted! Its like saying “New study has found that people who are threaten with violence are less inclined to testify in court then those who haven’t been subjected to intimidation!
Anyone who has done any serious training knows that trainers and coaches of all kinds thrive on hazing their trainees. Martial artists are no different. Look at the Shaolin monks, they made their students stand on their heads for hours and then they made them break bricks on their heads. Judo classes normally start off by making their students repeatedly throw themselves at the ground to “learn how to fall”. (What stupid excuse, everyone knows how to fall! Its basic gravity.) You know that Judo sensei is just standing in the front of class laughing. Karate guys have had to hit wooden poles with their bare fists for years. MMA fighters…well… mixed martial arts training is where the people who like getting hazed go…
But whatever you do now, you can look forward to a nice ice bath when you finish. Remember, I’m gunning pulling for you!
