Hello World! What is Kinsei-Do, and why should you care?

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, practitioners around the world!

In today’s blog post – our very first one, as you can obviously see – I want to go a bit into the questions that likely were on your mind when you heard about Kinsei-Do for the first time (or perhaps still are):

What is it and why should I be interested in it?

You might be thinking – and I know I’m digressing a little already! – why does there need to be a blog post for that, isn’t all of that already said here? The answer to that, I think, is yes and no.

Yes, a brief definition, derivation of the name, explanation of the pillars of fitness, etc are all already on the site, but – and that’s the No – what I want to do with this post (and future ones, if you’ll humor me!) is to go beyond presenting definitions, statements and “facts” in the (one directional) way it is typically done on websites, and instead let you in to our thinking that led to the creation of Kinsei-Do, zoom in on specific topics and discuss them in more detail, and simply also encourage open two way communication and feedback.

So, with that said – and if you’re still with me! – let’s get straight to it: what is Kinsei-Do?

I know the definition, which I don’t want to repeat here, suffers a bit from “big buzzword syndrome” – the years working in consulting have obviously left a mark ;) – so I’ll focus a bit on what it is not.

• Is Kinsei-Do a new revolutionary way of training for human beings unlike anything ever done before?
• Is Kinsei-Do the magic program that will get currently inactive or only occasionally exercising individuals to become super men and wonder women overnight?

The answer of course – sorry to burst anyone’s bubble here – is no.
​
Kinsei-Do utilizes body weight exercises (that means pushups, pullups, and so on, which I reckon were already very popular with the ancient Greeks and Romans), sequences of static and dynamic poses for flexibility, balance and coordination (if that sounds a lot like yoga, that’s because it is!) and interval training based methods.
And while we do believe that the Kinsei-Do curriculum progresses in a linear fashion – workouts gradually increase in intensity and duration, and individual exercises increase in difficulty, as practitioners advance through the ranks – there is nothing magical about it, and there certainly are no shortcuts to awesome fitness. A quote I recently saw on Instagram describes it best:

“You have to put in the effort to [one day] make it look effortless!”

​So, now you might be thinking, Kinsei-Do is not a revolutionary way of training or a set of fancy new exercises never done before, nor will it magically allow you to shortcut months (or even years, depending on your goals) of hard work, why should you do it then? There are already tons of other fitness apps and programs out there, many of which (misleadingly, I might add) promise quick success and incredible body composition changes and fitness gains over unbelievably short times, why should I choose Kinsei-Do over any of them?
 
The answer to that is twofold (and each point probably deserves a post of its own):
 

1. No other program out there works all aspects of fitness (i.e. the six pillars of fitness) in a comprehensive way. Most programs focus only on strength and endurance workouts, which is understandable since training these two pillars typically results in the biggest and quickest visual changes (e.g. weight loss, increased muscle definition, and so on) and makes it easier to “sell” these programs to the masses. But if you think long term, and you really should, especially about fitness and health (see this video), then know that excessively training only strength, or only endurance, or only XYZ, can not only result in overtraining more easily than a balanced regime, but also sets you up for more issues and injuries in the future (keyword: muscular imbalances, see links at the end). So, if you’re not just looking for a “quick fix” to lose weight and get those abs to show, but are interested in making a meaningful and long lasting investment into your health and fitness – which isn’t to say that you can’t also lose weight and bring about positive and significant changes to your body composition with Kinsei-Do – then this is the program for you!
2. Our martial arts-inspired ranking system – which admittedly will be much clearer and really only fully “available” once Kinsei-Do is made into a smartphone app – is unique and works, in our view, as a motivating and driving factor on several levels.
   One, it allows you to track (and, equally important in this social network dominated world, share) your progress and achievements. I mean, wouldn’t it be cool to say you have a Black Belt in fitness?
   Two, by “unlocking” more and increasingly difficult new workouts with each promotion, practitioners are motivated to want to keep training and to reach the next level. Many other apps also award users points for doing workouts, but these points ultimately remain useless. In Kinsei-Do however, you could call this meritocracy or gamification, training more often and getting more points faster than your friends and training partners will reward you with new fun workouts (and improved fitness, of course)!

 
Thus, ultimately the question can really only be: why on earth would you not start Kinsei-Do? :)
 
Comments, feedback and questions welcome and appreciated!
 
Til the next time, Lead the Way!
JC
 
 
Notes:
http://www.weybridgephysio.co.uk/article/muscle-imbalance-and-postural-dysfunction
http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/muscle-imbalances-functional-movement-screen/