how to be more flexable?!?! Help meh?!

[Ninja Monkey]

well i cant seem to get anymore flexable i can doa perfect axe kick but i still cant do a split i can omost do one but the last few inches just wont go down?

is there any good advanced stretches 4 splits and split kicks?

and if so wut are they my current avater is a crappy axe kick it aint my highest but as u can see iam flexable

could of u help me out thanks

[Ninja Monkey]

Bump

[Southpaw535]

PM superfoot

[Ninja Monkey]

PM superfoot

kk thanks :)

[Southpaw535]

Actually scratch that you won't be able to yet with your post count

[davefly76]

and don't bump threads 10 mins after they've been posted, you'll make the mods angry :)

i can't make any sense of your avatar pic but if you can't yet do the splits then just keep stretching in a splits position. do you do side splits and front splits?

[Ninja Monkey]

and don't bump threads 10 mins after they've been posted, you'll make the mods angry :)

i can't make any sense of your avatar pic but if you can't yet do the splits then just keep stretching in a splits position. do you do side splits and front splits?

i can do side splits i just cant do center split >.<

[illegalusername]

stratch to make flexable

[Fire-quan]

Bounce.

[GaryT85]

Bounce.

whilst that was a joke... dont bounce whilst stretching, just so the OP knows...

:rolleyes:

[Fire-quan]

It's not a joke at all. For years I had poor flexibility, and the primary reason was that the coach I was training with at the time had been forced by ignorant general consensus to abandon traditional Chinese stretching methods - i.e. bounce stretching. When I started wushu, that coach, like all top level wushu people - in fact, like most low level wushu people in China - had exceptional flexibility, not just of legs but of arms and whole body.

The secret - bounce stretching, the way it's been done in China for centuries. Many, many years later I'm still happily bounce stretching, with no problems whatsoever - apart from, less flexible people tell me it's wrong. D'oh!

Bounce - don't listen to people who say don't bounce stretch - it's one of the best flexibility methods there is. If not the very best.

[Fire-quan]

As an addendum to that, when I stopped training in wushu, to concentrate on more fight based training, I stopped doing so much stretching, and lost a lot of flexibility, which I then had to get back, years later, when I became interested in wushu again.... by bounce stretching. And it soon started to come back.

[Anth]

You could do worse than read this article (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85373).

[GaryT85]

.... apart from, less flexible people tell me it's wrong. D'oh!


apologies.

i might actually give it a go myself :cool:

[Fire-quan]

The one codicil I'd put on it is don't be too aggressive - it all comes in time. Like a lot of things, you will get there, just not tonight.

[Fire-quan]

No apologies are necessary, by the bye - it's just one of those things that became 'conventional wisdom' and people really thought they were helping others toavoid injury by recommending static stretching. It's interesting to me how often I was injured doing static stretching then jumping about!

As an addendum - correct leg raises help a lot with martial arts specific flexibility. Wushu does not allow cheats. When basic front leg raising, your supporting leg, and raising leg, must be straight. Your bodymust be straight - don't 'dip' or bend forwards to getmore height, and don't raise your heel off the floor. So - body straight, leg straight, foot straight forwards - the only thing that doesn't have to be straight is you! You can be as gay as you want, lol.

Raise the leg, usually to the centre, but sometimes to the same shoulder, or, over the opposite shoulder in some cases. For basic stretch, centre - lift, fast down to feet together, one step forwards with the same leg, raise other leg - eight reps, then again. Careful not to shin kick yourself in the forehead - very common injury, lol. My coach could do a side raise that went behind his head - we called it the suicide kick cos if he ever wanted to end it all he could just kick himself in the temple!

Very important - go for perfect technique not height. Never sacrifice technique for height, or you get 'false height' - height you have to lean or raise on one leg to achieve. Just a little effort does things the right way,with better results - and you'll soon be doing things like forward leg stretch with your forehead on the toes of a straightened forwards leg. I could get my chin on my toes, but I've lost a little flexibility due to letting the stretching slide in the past - I still hope to achieve it again though.

Do this directly after a good stretch up.

Then inside out crescent, outside in crescent, side lift, back lift (as often seen in shuai jiao). All keep to the rules of straight body except the back lift.

[aikiwolfie]

Think I'll move this to health and fitness ;)

[Van Zandt]

well i cant seem to get anymore flexable i can doa perfect axe kick but i still cant do a split i can omost do one but the last few inches just wont go down?

When you hit a plateau, focus on making strength gains in the stretch. I.e. tense harder, or longer, or both, in your isometric stretches. You can increase the strength of tensions in your isometric stretches by holding a weight plate, pushing a broom stick against the ceiling, or (safer) wearing a rucksack containing additional weight. Make sure you do not neglect strength training for the entire thigh, i.e. do squats, front lunges, side lunges, deadlifts, and good mornings. Whenever you do strength exercises, do them through the full range of motion. An increase in strength will ultimately translate into a greater range of motion, because a stronger muscle usually requires less activation to support a given load.

is there any good advanced stretches 4 splits and split kicks?

You need just one stretch per muscle group, so just keep doing your split training until you get it. When you say "split kicks", do you mean vertical kicks so that your kicking leg is at 180 degrees (or 12 o'clock)? For this you will need to do dynamic stretches twice a day, as stated earlier. Doing so will reduce the difference between your static and active flexibility.

i can do side splits i just cant do center split

Please clarify what you mean by "center split". There are different names for the splits positions, but in reality there are only two types: the front split (left foot forward, and right foot forward) and side split (toes up, and toes forward). If you can do toes up side splits, you should have no problem doing the toes forward version (and vice versa). However, this is not necessarily true between LFF and RFF front splits, or front and side splits.
It's not a joke at all. For years I had poor flexibility, and the primary reason was that the coach I was training with at the time had been forced by ignorant general consensus to abandon traditional Chinese stretching methods - i.e. bounce stretching. When I started wushu, that coach, like all top level wushu people - in fact, like most low level wushu people in China - had exceptional flexibility, not just of legs but of arms and whole body.

What you must remember when citing examples of Chinese athletes is that most in that country begin training from a very early age (before the growth spurt begins), when manipulating the resting length of ligaments is relatively "safe" (and I use that word loosely - no pun intended). However, for most people who start training after the growth spurt (as is the case with the majority of western athletes), bouncing can aggravate and actually encourage a stronger stretch reflex, making it harder to make gains in flexibility (and in the majority of cases, reverse any gains made). Other problems include the fact that a stretch cannot be adjusted or corrected once started, it may result in immediate as well as residual pain, and it fails to provide sufficient time for the tissues to adapt to a stretch. Ballistic stretching relies on physically elongating the muscle tissue; gains made through this type of training will eventually be lost in later life due to decreases in connective tissue elasticity. It is a proven fact that the quickest and longest-lasting gains are made through adjusting the neurological response during stretching - via dynamic, relaxed and isometric stretching. With such safer and quicker methods available, ballistic stretching has become redundant.

s an addendum - correct leg raises help a lot with martial arts specific flexibility. Wushu does not allow cheats. When basic front leg raising, your supporting leg, and raising leg, must be straight. Your bodymust be straight - don't 'dip' or bend forwards to getmore height, and don't raise your heel off the floor. So - body straight, leg straight, foot straight forwards - the only thing that doesn't have to be straight is you! You can be as gay as you want, lol.

In athletes who began training after the growth spurt (when the structure of the hip joints becomes permanent), it may be necessary to rotate the pelvis when doing leg raises to the side. This will result in a natural tendency for the upper body to lean to the side, and is acceptable if the athlete is not concerned with aesthetics of the movement (as they might be if they were training for a tournament).