flexability in legs and hips / pelvis...

[Nick_sam]

having started karate (shotokan) recently, i have realised that i am unable to comfortably do a lot of the warm up stretches at the beginning of the class (sitting on the floor, legs wide apart and leaning forward for example) as well as any sort of kick that is to the side. i find that i end up hurting my pelvis / hips (where the thigh meets the body!! sorry bad anatomy!) and am unable to raise them very far. it feels like there is some something blocking me from moving my legs that far up.

if it helps, am also unable to properly sit cross legged - my knees wont properly rest down as they should.

does anybody have any ideas how i can improve flexability here?

thanks

[Sohan]

---Get a solid warmup of the muscles you are stretching before you begin. Warm muscles stretch much easier.

---Hold your stretches longer. At least a minute, more is even better if you have time.

---Never push a stretch to the point of pain. You risk tearing the muscle fibers.

---Use a combination of static and ballistic stretches. Learn how to do PNF stretching and get a partner to help you, or do it solo.

---Get a good book on stretching and learn. Here is a great link to Michael Alter's book, Sport Stretch:

http://books.google.com/books?id=89FUREpWL_oC&dq=sport+stretch+book&oi=print&pg=PP8&ots=TxOqHKp0J6&sig=-o7D4TrXRuyy60jGbCCgbnOu5W0&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fsourceid%3Dnavclient%26ie%3DUTF-8%26rls%3DHPIC,HPIC:2006-13,HPIC:en%26q%3Dsport%2Bstretch%2Bbook&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1

With respect,

Sohan

[Heather Smyth]

Sohan nailed this one for you. I just have one thing to add. Be patient. Flexability is something that just does not come naturally to some of us and can take some time to achieve. Do not ever give up.

Heather

[fosforlu]

from one beginner to another: I agree with heather. Patience and constancy are the key in my humble opinion.

When I started shotokan last year I thought I would never be able to do the stretches correctly. But I kept pushing myself inch by inch and now -even after taking a break due to hernia!- I'm one of the most flexible colored belts in the dojo.

I think one thing that also helped me was doing yoga on days that I don't train. Whether it helps with shotokan stretches or not, it'll improve your overall flexibility. It also relieve some of the soreness

[Nick_sam]

thanks for the replies!

unfortunately i dont really have time in the week to do yoga (martial arts take up a lot of time as it is!) and was wondering if anyone could suggest some movements / stretches / exercises i can do in my bedroom??

thanks again

[Sohan]

thanks for the replies!

unfortunately i dont really have time in the week to do yoga (martial arts take up a lot of time as it is!) and was wondering if anyone could suggest some movements / stretches / exercises i can do in my bedroom??

thanks again

There are some great dvds out there on yoga that may help. Perhaps that will be better because of your time constraints. Not as good as an instructor, but with your MA training you should derive some positive benefits.

With respect,

Sohan

[Vladko]

One routine that helps with over all flexibility is sun salutations.

You don't need much space for them.

http://www.scn.org/anon/dossiers/namaskar/namaskar.htm

[fosforlu]

What about the leg& hip stretches you do before class? You could do those in your bedroom.

[tdiedwards]

hi,

really good advice for you there. i had similar flexibility probs for a long time. 1) patience - it maybe seems impossible now that you will one day be able to kick to head height, but you really will! just keep doing what they advised above

2) everyone says who should stretch before you exercise, but you also should exercise a bit before you stetch, to get things warmed up. A routine that worked for me was starting with a gentle run, and then alternate between kicks (start with easy/ low ones which don't test the tendons at all) and stretching. Make the stetching harder and the kicks tougher with each cycle, but build up very slowely. I wouldn't like to start training with less than 40 mins of this kind of warm up. If your place of training doesn't do 40 minutes, do some before you rock up.

Cheers,

Tim