I'm actually doing Red Zone these days to improve my fencing and judo. Red Zone is essentially the same as S&S except that you switch out the TGUs for 1h military presses.
I'm more worried about my fencing than my judo these days, and fencing is an extremely ASYMMETRICAL LOAD combat art and sport. Thus, all the 1 handed swings and especially presses replicate beautifully the kind of strength and power needed for fencing. However, that stuff is all still excellent for judo too.
The presses strengthen the shoulders and forearms, which are critical for manipulating the swords. However,
it's actually the stabilizing muscles on the other side of the body that need the strengthening the most. The body has to get used to a constant, violent asymmetrical load where the critical point is the right hand being balanced out by the entire left side of the body. Asymmetrical exercises where you have the weight in your right hand and where your left side is doing hard work balancing the moving weight out, are ideal for fencing.
Doing equal amounts of asymmetrical exercises on both sides of the body cures the physical imbalances that happen to every fencer who does not do this. The old school advice was to train equally with the sword in your right hand as in your left hand. This can be circumvented with asymmetrical weight training. (However, you aren't giong to become an ambidextrous weapons master then though!!!)
While mere asymmetrical strength from my kettlebelling was not enough to jump into fencing and do well at first, now that I have two years of intensive fencing training behind me, I have reactivated my kettlebell asymmetrical strength training, and it is jumping me up several levels in fencing FAST!
- Sport appropriate strength without skill is a good start only.
- Sport specific skill without sport appropriate strength means you need to develop the sport appropriate strength!
