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Stretching
It's good to know how to stretch probably. It's fun because most people don't know how to! Even the people who teach stretching, the instructors the seniors, even a lot of gymnasts. Stretching is VERY easy. Don't say to yourself that you can't stretch, or that you're naturally a non-flexible person, because you may have simply been using the wrong method.
Stretching, for a martial artist is probably most associated with the legs. The greater the flexibility is for the legs, the higher and often stronger a kick can be.
Side splits
The traditional method of stretching employed in martial arts classes is the stereotypical, pushing your legs as far apart as you can on the ground. This does very little good for permanent flexibility. The point of stretching is surely so a person can use it at any time! When we stretch like this we try to get into the splits position by putting weight down onto both our legs by opening them as far as you can.
THIS IS POINTLESS, DON'T DO IT
Yeesh, It's so lame! Plus, it hurts! I don't like it. I used to do it twice a day, half an hour a piece, and eventually, yes I could do the splits. But I could only do the splits after half an hours of stretching! I have completely scrapped this method of stretching, it is evil. To stretch in a way that muscles is constantly loosened, and constant flexibility can be found is by raising one leg as far to the side as possible using nothing but the legs own strength. When stretching, keep as close to the position of the desired movement as possible. This means, when stretching to do a high kick, stand up and hold your leg up as close to a high kick position as possible. There's no point using the floor!
Like so.... you just put your leg up like that and hold it as high as you can for as long as you can. Great.
AAHHHHHH Why don't they teach this at martial arts schools that I've been to!?
Yes. I do leg raising about twice a day for about ten minutes a go. If you do this for two months, with both legs you SHOULD be able to do the splits, otherwise you're either not doing it right or you're just not built for it. I can do the splits now with out any warm up, and I don't do that crummy stretching that I described earlier.
FRONT LEG STRETCHING
This is a lot more simple. I'm not quite sure how anyone could need help doing it. the basic on is to 'touch your toes' or at least try to. A better version of this that I found that focuses on one leg at a time is to put one leg behind the other, so that they're actually touching, THEN try and touch your toes. You should feel more of a strain. The way that the taught it to me in tae Kwon-Do is called Ap Chou Ligi, I THINK, where you just swing your leg up as high as you can upwards to your front. This does work, it means that you can kick high without doing any warm-ups which is really what we want isn't it? But wait there's more! Once you've got a good deal of flexibility in your legs you can do an even harder type of stretching that is even more beneficial. This the daddy of forward leg stretching. Actually HOLD onto your heal, then lift the leg up as high as you can, holding tight onto your foot, while standing upright. To do this even better, pull on the foot with the other hand as well.
Well, you do this and you'll be the stretching God.
Ok, I should roughly go over the rules of stretching in general. BE CAREFUL springs to mind. Apart from the legs other stretching is quite obvious, it's all the same really. Just be gentle but consistent. Be patient, it will never happen overnight. (Although it did for me, but I'm just odd.) Don't 'bounce' when you stretch, just be gradual.
I expect everyone doing the splits when I get back.
