Have you the reader experienced a decline in flexibility that prohibits you from doing techniques such as high head kicks or spinning hook kick to the head, no matter how many stretching hours you put in? If yes, when did you feel this shift?
Yes, but there are a few extenuating circumstances. Major injury caused a 12 year break. I went from high level competition and school owner/instructor to just school owner. Plus MS, so I do not think my flexibility is typical compared to a person who trains on a regular schedule. I fully believe lifestyle, fitness routine, diet, and genetics all play big factors. To give you an idea, I had a greater than 180° seated split and could pull my back foot up to my head on a side split in my mid 30's. Now at 58 my seated split is maybe 150° and I cannot go all the way down on a side split. For me, muscle is a factor in kick height now.
still sounds pretty good for 58! 41 here and it has been harder to maintain, granted I spend less of my available time on stretching focused workouts, but it is noticeable. I used to be able to drop front split on both sides without much regular flexibility training, side split I used to be 2 inches from the hip to ground, but now with twice as much stretching I could get to 6inches from the ground. Front split is close, about 2 inches both side. Time out of training adds a curveball to it, compared to consistently training, I expect that a stop and return to it after a few years would have an exponential impact.
For me the worst thing we can do is stop moving as we age. We should continue to move like either toddlers, or elderly gardeners, in that we bend, squat, twist and reach. I personally wouldn't promote a flexibility programme over regular movement that included stretching. Habits are the key here. I had to re-learn an entirely new way of stretching and moving when I started grappling and it was just rolling and twisting like I did when I was a kid.
I have a desk job and my hamstrings and hip flexors have noticeably shortened in the last 10 years (I'm now 48). The hours sat with my thighs at 90 degrees to my torso and shins 90 degrees to my thighs have "set in" that range of motion while my abduction is much less effected. Was once upon a time I could front splits but sadly no longer. One thing I have to guard against is short-cutting technique to try and maintain the height of my kicks.
I trained in Karate' for 12 years in my 20's and 30's. I was pretty flexible. I stopped training, got old, overweight and out of shape. I am now 69. About 15 years ago I started taking hot, power yoga classes. It was good for me, but it also made it obvious that my flexibility had declined and that I could bring some of it back, but not all of it. I injured myself pretty bad once trying too hard in one of the classes. I did notice flexibility seemed to decline for me when I hit 60. The yoga classes provided a pretty good measure. About six months ago I started pursuing a bucket list item to get back into martial arts and started training in Muay Thai and BJJ. Flexibility is an issue, although anaerobic cardio and carrying too much weight are bigger issues. Gone are the days of head kicks, but I don't take that as a problem. There are plenty of other techniques. I am flexible enough to figure out ways to do what I need to do.
