So where did you learn these stretching methods Waya? By your own research, or from your instructor(s)?
Mostly my own research.... I have found that most instructors don't ever know/learn the difference between types of stretching and their results. Personally I think it's a good idea for any instructor to put themselves through schooling to be a physical fitness trainer for that reason.
I am a great believer in stretching. Having played rugby for eighteen years and squash for twelve I have seen numerous people pick up injuries that could have been easily avoided had they stretched off properly. It also helps in terms of speed and agility. If your muscles are stiff and tight they cannot move as smoothly and quickly as when you are well stretched. I agree that people need to have individual warm ups and stretches. Everybody is different in terms of what their bodies need (beyond sex and alcohol obviously!) and so should stretch/warm up as such.
That's why I think being a certified fitness trainer would be usefull to a martial arts instructor. Fitness Trainers are educated on identifying personal needs and the mechanics of the individual instead of just one set way of working the body.
had the pleasure of training with bill (superfoot) wallace a few years ago and i have stuck to what i learned from him, and my god does it work
What ate pnf stretches, I think I've heard the term before. Has anyone got Tom Seabornes 'Martial Arts Athlete' book, lots of good stretches in there. Thanx
Well, well, well!!! I am TOTALLY amazed at this discussion on stretching in MA. It reminds me of discussions about whether a newborn baby should be breast-fed and whether it is good or bad for it. Just as I cannot imagine a baby not being breast-fed by it's mother (except for reasons of health complications) so I cannot imagine any MA discipline without it's stretching routines. No matter what techniques you learn in theory, without a supple body you will have no chance of applying them effectively. And stretching makes your body supple. But the secret of stretching is in doing it gently over a period of time. If you try to 'force' the stretch you will most probably do more harm than good. My own experience tells me that Yoga exercises are probably the best. Yoga concentrates mainly on stretching and the techniques have been known for thousands of years. When I practiced Kung Fu two years ago stretching formed a large part of our exercising. And now I practice Tai Chi again stretching plays a major role although the exercises are a little more intense than in Yoga. No machinery or gym equipment is employed in any of our stretching exercises. Now to my own observations on stretching - The CAT !!! Watch the cat carefully when it get's up from a sleep. Stretching each individual leg, arching and curving the back, rolling and twisting the spine when playing and lying on it's back. It's a most incredible and enlightning observation to make. ___________________________________________ {A note of caution here:- Keep your cat away from Andrew Green - he likes to put them in microwaves } ___________________________________________ My first movements in the morning are stretching excercises for probably some half-hour, often more. Not only does it loosen up the body but also increases your blood flow and gets the CHI going. Well that's my 'Tuppence' worth!
It ok, I found what pnf are in that Tom Seaborne book I was talking about. I normally like to start off with some press-ups, sit-ups before I strech in the morning, for some reason it just feels better, maybe gets the blood flowing or something? Thanx
Starting off with gentle anaerobic exercise does actually make stretching easier, but if you do a full work out and then stretch all you'll do is damage yourself in the work out, and the stretch'll do you no good whatsoever. To be honest one of the best warmups you'll find is yoga.
The Thomas Kurz method had a couple of interesting points mentioned in the book! He suggested that; When you sleep, all your muscles relax. Most people get out of bed and walk about, then walk to work, drive, or cycle etc. He suggests that this actually sets a limited range of motion for the body. If, when you get up, you do a light warm up. then some careful ballistic stretches, you set your self a higher plateau to start your stretching program from later in the day. As Alienladd said, the cat wakes up and stretches automatically. Never seen my cat do pushups, but then she doesn't brush her teeth in the morning either. Often neglected point is to stretch all muscle groups, not just legs! Andy
I severely tore my hamstring 2 years ago while training and still suffer from muscle spasms. In my quest for alternative methods of relief other the muscle relaxers I stumbled upon a website on Kinesiology and Biomechanics. The following is the section on Stretching and Flexibility. It has alot of good information. http://www.bl.physik.tu-muenchen.de/~k2/budo/sfaq/stretching_1.html
sites Hey Melanie, We found the exact same info. about stretching on different websites. It was rather informative.
