Strecthing for Flexibility in Martial Arts

About Strecthing and flexibility

Flexibility is improved by stretching. A person's flexibility can be defined as the range of movement possbile around a joint or a range of joints and is considered by many specialists to be one of the most neglected areas of fitness.

The ability to function correctly and engage in all our activities of daily living is dependent on our ability to move safely and correctly through all the different planes of motion. Stretching can help us achieve different levels of flexibility, that is why stretching before, during and after exercise is so important. Therefore it is important to understand the benefit associated with stretching, it can be used to prepare a person for exercise, return a muscle to it's normal length and to increase flexibility and range of motion.
 

Stretching should only be started when muscles are warm and the body temperature is raised. To be effective while stretching, force applied to the body must be held just beyond a feeling of pain and needs to be held for at least ten seconds. If held too long, the muscle will become too loose and stretchy. Increasing the range of motion creates good posture and develops proficient performance in everyday activities increasing the length of life and overall health of the individual.
 

It is important to remember that a large portion of injuries experienced in martial arts are caused by flexibility issues, mostly because the person does not have flexible muscles or fails to stretch the muscles properly before carrying out techniques. Increasing flexibility through stretching is one of the basic tenets of physical fitness. Yoga involves the stretching of major muscle groups, some of which require a high level of flexibility to perform, for example the lotus position.
 

Strecthing technique

 
Some methods of stretching:

Dynamic: Dynamic flexibility is classified as the ability to complete a full range of motion of a joint. It also controls movement as the speed increases while stretching parts of the body.

Static-Active: Static-active stretching includes holding an extended position with just the strength of the muscles such as holding the leg in front, side or behind. Static-active flexibility requires a great deal of strength, making it the hardest to develop.

Hip strecthing, hold hip for a period of time

Static-Passive : Static-passive stretching is similar to static-active, but one holds a position with help of gravity. Doing the splits is an example of static-passive stretching.

A Taekwondoin is doing leg split.

Ballistic: Ballistic stretching is separate from all other forms of stretching. It does not include stretching or any kind of bouncing motion. The actual performance of ballistic movements prevents lengthening of tissues. These movements should only be performed when the body is very warm; otherwise they can lead to injury.

The risk of stretching

Stretching can be dangerous when performed incorrectly. There are many techniques for stretching in general, but depending on which muscle group is being stretched, some techniques may be ineffective or detrimental, even to the point of causing permanent damage to the tendons, ligaments and muscle fiber.The physiological nature of stretching and theories about the effect of various techniques are therefore subject to heavy inquiry.
 

How to perform the strecthing ? 

One article by Ted Brooks at http://www.intermartialarts.com said:

"Every time you undergo a stretching session, very small tears in the fibres of your muscles occur - they are so small that you probably will not feel them however it is important that you allow your muscles to recover. Unless you feel your muscle is in pain then it should be safe to stretch almost every day. However it is important not to stretch every single day to allow that redevelopment of your muscle fibres.
If you are a martial artist looking to have excellent flexibility, you should be looking at undergoing a stretching session twice a day, almost every day. Whilst this may sound like a lot of work , the more supple you become, the less time you need to dedicate to each session. People with excellent flexibility need only spend 5 mins per session. It is the frequency, regularity and efficiency of each session which directly afffects your flexibility."

For further information about strecthing you may visit:
http://www.intermartialarts.com/martial-arts-flexibility 

[FM]