No stretching in class?

[Alan Armstrong]

As a martial artist, maintaining one's flexibility should be as normal as brushing one's teeth three times a day. As for doing flexibility exercise before starting a class, remember that all of your movements in the dojo is already stretching muscles. Are you stretching or straining your muscles. Ballet dancers spend about three hours stretching and warming up before a performance. So brushing your teeth three times a day, the same for stretching only adds up to nine minutes a day, is that enough time? Adequate warm up time is the key to improve flexibility and enhance performance in or outside the dojo. Personally I spend most of my wakened hours stretching from my toes to my nose. For me stretching is a way of life. I've stretched this topic out enough; THE END

[Nidan Melbourne]

Not Stretching in class is unusual, but this will depend on your own definition of stretching in Class. Often Stretching is done in some shape or form during the Warm Up (read below), and dependent on what was done during the class at the end as well. As JR137 Said on the first page of this thread, Exercise Physiology (What I'm training to become, when I undertake + complete my Masters in the field. Note: Personal Trainers are not this field and has its own recognised governing body ESSA) as has exploded over the last couple of decades.

The issue is that Personal Trainers and even instructors who teach (not all instructors) continue to perform certain stretches or exercises that should be avoided like the plague.

Many stances in Karate will stretch muscles in various ways, and whether it is dynamic or relatively static. Look at Shiko Dachi for instance it is a static stretch (relatively speaking) when not moving, but is more of a dynamic stretch when transitioning or performing certain techniques i.e. Mawashi Geri.

Flexibility is one of those things that you need to do everyday, due to the nature of the muscles, ligaments, tendons and the joints ROM themselves. Stretching 3x Weekly isn't sufficient due to the nature of the beast itself, even though Governing Bodies that promote stretching that often.

The martial arts always seem to lag behind when it comes to changes in what we know about exercise physiology for some reason. I think it has to do with such a reliance on tradition, and many teachers doing what they were taught and passing down what they were taught to the next generation.

Exercise physiology has really exploded over the last 20 years. So many old-school things have been proven counter-productive or outright wrong, yet we continue to do them.

Another example is crunches. They don't strengthen the abdominals much. They're a highly inefficient exercise compared to so many other things, yet they're done religiously in MA. Instead of having students do 20 crunches, have them hold a plank for 20 seconds.

On the flip-side of that, a lot of old-school stuff that gets forgotten actually gets proven to be highly effective too. Squat thrusts, aka burpees are a great exercise that used to be as common as push-ups have made a come back because they're a great exercise. Mountain climbers too.

Traditional MA teachers need to keep an eye on the rest of the fitness industry and exercise physiology. If you're doing scientifically backed stuff (from a credible source, not fly by night personal trainer mail order certifications), it can only help your students.

I am biased having a background in sports medicine and working with NCAA Div I athletes for 15 years. Rant over.

On a strength and conditioning related note... Why is it so much harder to do 10 knuckle push-ups on the hardwood floor than 30 on my palms on my carpeted living room floor?

JR don't forget that there is a difference between the Fitness Industry (Personal Training) and the Health Industry (Exercise Physiology, Sports Physiology, Physiotherapy etc). Because it also comes down to whether they are not just insured, but the Health Industry can accept Medicare (Australian Version, where people can be bulk billed or pay the difference) or accept Private Health Insurance. But the Health Professional must have a Medicare Provider Number and be given a Private Health Insurance Number for different Insurance Companies.

I deal with Personal Trainers on a regular basis, and majority of them do not have the slightest idea on the science behind why we do certain exercises over others. Because for them, they see it as make the person sweat and no pain no gain. BUT obviously there are those Trainers who do take the science of this seriously and actually read Journal Articles and learn from those in Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology and Physiotherapy. The ones that do read those articles and the text books that give various information (especially on Contraindications; especially when it applies to your students/clients)

Crunches I despise seeing because they place undue stress on the neck if done incorrectly or prescribed to those who cannot safely do them (Overweight/Obese Clients, back injuries/neck injuries etc). This is also where some people get given the 'advanced' form of the exercise instead of going from the 'beginner' position and then slowly work up to the harder variants.

In relation to MA lagging in relation to this, i can totally understand because (most likely, but may not be the case) majority of School Owners or Instructors don't have that background in either the Health or Fitness Industries whilst others do. My Sensei works in the Health Industry as a Remedial Massage Therapist and requires a high level of knowledge in Human Physiology.

Mountain Climbers are a favourite exercise of mine because it activates a lot of muscles and not just one area (i.e. Core or the Hip Flexors).

Also to the last bit of your post, Knuckle Push Ups are harder due to the reduced Surface Area that you have and also to the uneven nature of the knuckles in comparison to the palms where you can stretch your fingers out and grip.

[bushido_man96]

Believe it or not, static stretching is very overrated. It's best done after activity as part of a cool down. It has been scientifically proven to decrease performance in runners when done before exercise. Yes, we're not runners, but it should be studied IMO. If you watch professional athletes warm-up, you won't see them do static stretching at all. Not since probably the late 80s - mid 90s. Static stretching is along the lines of touch your toes and hold for 20 seconds.

Dynamic stretching is far more beneficial. Dynamic stretching is stretching while moving. Front stretch kick (Mae keagi), side stretch kick (yoko keagi) are some examples. Your important flexibility gains are going to be had this way.

Not sure what your dojo's doing. Mine does a lot of static stretching, but we do a good bit of dynamic as well.

I agree with JR here. Static stretching is most beneficial after a hard workout, where you can really stretch and gain some flexibility. Dynamic stretching, or better yet, just warming up using the exercises you are going to do in class, is the best way to prepare your body for those movements.

At my TKD school, we don't spend any time stretching. Students are expected to arrive early and stretch on their own, and then stretch on their own after class. We save class time for technique work, forms, one-steps, sparring, etc.

[gunner]

I believe everyone is different as Sensei8 said before. I know all about the research and our dojo follows the modern theory of Dynamic stretching at the beginning of class and static stretching at the end.

Personally, I didn't find the dynamic stretching to be enough. I began to do a light warming up and moderate static stretching before the class which made the dynamic stretching more effective. After class when I'm really sweating, I do deeper static stretching to the limit of my ROM.

I've been able to increase my static ROM since I started this a couple of months ago. I also do yoga stretches and they have helped immensely. Two days a week I don't stretch at all so my muscles can recover.

[Alan Armstrong]

If stretching isn't on the agenda before a class, to get warmed up fast by getting psyched up.

Another trick is to do hip decompressions and all joint rotations. While standing on one leg "stack your hip one on top of the other"

NOTE: Strengthen leg lifting muscles and weaken the other side of them for flexibility and pliability

Light stretching during class mid warm up "pandiculate the muscles that you will need to prep before physical action.

NOTE: Tired muscles stretch better because they are warm and also because your willpower is stronger than they are; remember to breathe deeply and relax harder as if pretending to go to sleep.

Full out end of class stretching to maximize your flexibility. You are doing this so that when you have your next class you will be more flexible than the last...

NOTE: Stretching with a partner will increase your flexibility more rapidly than stretching alone. Your part is to relax while being stretched and your partner is doing all the tension effort Yin/Yang wisdom.