How important do you think flexability is?

I was just wondering about others opinions about how important flexability is in your style of martail arts. I was once told that you only need to be flexible enuff to kick your oponents face. This is not what i believe. I just want some other opinions on this matter and why you think it is or isnt inportant. please include you opinion with wether or not flexibility is usefull in you internal martial arts.

 

like strength, the more the better.

More flexible means you can do more things, and things do less too you.

Being able to get stacked and not be a lot of hurt, or pull triangles from bottom of pins is nice

Flexibility also decreases the risk of injury, which is a very good thing

 

You nailed my thinking almost on the head. the more flexability the better off you are. the less you are able to hurt yourself while practicing and sparring. the less others can hurt you when it comes to many grapples.

 

There's flexibility and there's coordination. Look at a teenager who has just had a growth spurt, the guys who are lanky and flexible but have no control over their own body.

Without coordination you can't generate power, but without flexibility you'll hurt yourself. As long as the flexibility is controlled (strong toning, not yoga-type flexibility), i.e. if it doesn't weaken your joints/muscles, it's very important.

 

As your posting in an IMA part of the forum, I assuming you're asking from a IMA point of view.

Though flexibility is nice - beyond the usual, it is usually not required in IMA.

Yes. For an external MA.

The focus of IMA is chi. Focusing the training on chi will ensure that chi protects and strengthens better than pure flexibility.

By all means, if you can safely increase your flexibility, you should.

 

I agree with Zun and NZ and would respectfully add that within forms in Taijiquan you are frequently performing positions and structures which are dedicated to stretching, toning and opening the joints.

Most people can't do a straight right or left heel kick, level at waist height whilst keeping the standing leg perfectly straight and then straightening the kicking leg at the same time. Add to that the standing leg is facing 90 degree's to the extended kicking leg, this is serious opening of the joints, toning and stretching all at once.

I could name numerous positions within the forms of Yang style which force you to challenge your body on many levels. Many people find it very difficult to perform Snake Creeps Down correctly whilst maintaining a vertical spine.

At the end of the day if you perform your forms in Yang style correctly you don't need Yoga. The reason for flexibility is to allow greater fluidity of movement and looseness when striking. I think flexibility is part of a larger jiben gong but it is not an end in itself. You still need to know how to fight.

 

The only time I ever touched my toes was after training some taiji. I agree with the more=better observation but one of the actual qualities you're after is a looseness, which I think might be the fluidity that Syd mentioned.

I despise stretching.

Rgds,
David

 

Good reason why you should do it

|Cain|

 

i believe flexability is very important in IMA as well as externat martial arts. the more flexability you have the better your chi flows, and it makes you more relaxed in the lotus meditation and many othey ways of meditation. Flexability also allows less phisical strain when conditioning your mind.

 

Tangentially....

I've never had any success in seated meditation but I'll swear by standing Qigong and Taiji forms themselves. A big reason for this is that it is through the legs (the bodies biggest muscles besides the heart) that Qi is cultivated.

The slight pressure on the thighs is like a stoking a furnace and creates an upwelling of Qi which then sets the fire in the dantien. Standing meditation is like stoking a huge fire.

I spent 10 years in alternative meditation practices which involved seated postures and I never came close to what I experience with Qigong and Taijiquan.

 

For my style, "Tae Kwon do", ... very important. But I believe flexibility is important.... period!

Not necessarily so .... this is somewhat of a misconception. (Kurz) Even the most flexible person can develop an overuse injury.... it is the imbalance of strength that increases your risk of injury.... such as having an imbalance of strength in the right and left hamstrings predisposes you to hamstring strains.

Stretching by itself does not make the difference in your level of flexibility. What does make the difference is when and which stretch or exercise you do during your flexibility training and incorporate strength training exercises also.

There are three kinds of flexibility one may acquire for the martial arts: (The principles of flexibility training are the same in all martial arts.... only the required level of a given kind of flexibility varies with style).

Dynamic ... the ability to perform dynamic movements within a full range of motion in the joints. High kicks are a display of dynamic flexibility....

Static passive... the ability to assume and maintain extended positions using your weight (splits), or using strength not coming from the stretched limbs, such as lifting and holding a leg with your arm or by other external means.

Static active.... the ability to assume and maintain extended positions using only the tension of the agonists and synergists while the antagonists are being stretched. One example is lifting the leg and keeping it high without any support.

 

i practise jujutsu and ninjutsu, i dont need to be that flexible for either

 

So you don't think that excellent flexibility will help your throws? All that Twisting torsion, flexibility of the waist, back etc?

And Ninpo/ Ninjitsu doesn't require any Flexibility. LOL!

There is alot more to Flexibility than doing the splits and even those are useful.

Flexibility is important for everybody involved in any physical pursuit.

 

Good point KickChick.

What most MAs don't realise is that to perform the explosive kicks they should actually be performing Dynamic/active stretches.

In most real life situations, MAs will not have the benefit of warming up or performing pre-fight static passive stretches.

Static passive is more suitable for sports that do not explosive moves, eg. pilates or non-dynamic yoga, such as Hatha.

 

Flexibility, balanced with muscle tone, is the single greatest asset to any style...internal or external.

Provides the following:

1. Greater range of motions: flexibility opens up the possible targets you have on an adversary, the range of moves you can make in a sparring/competitive situation, and possible retreats/counters. Notice that advanced techniques in any style (hard or soft, competitive or not) tend to require a greater range of motion.

2. Flexibility and muscle tone will improve your balance...key in any martial art: [Note that I'm talking about a "key", NOT a "ki" ] A lot of talk about "ki"/"chi" really boils down to basic physics. Deep yells (as in kihap/kiai) strengthen and tone the four major abdominal muscle groups, ALL FOUR of which are responsible for three major functions. One of these functions is rapid exhalation (that's why kiai/kihap works these muscles). The second function of these muscles is torso flexion (twisting at/above waist, bending motions like crunches or sit-ups, and practically all lifting motions). These are precisely the motions required for maintaining active (while moving) balance (like cats twisting in mid-air when falling from a great height).

3. Flexibility and Muscle Tone will decrease the risks of injury in any physical sport: The third major function of those same abdominal muscle groups is to maintain abdominal pressure. I read online that excess abdominal pressure is the leading contributing factor in hernias. Poorly toned abdominal muscles leave you more vulnerable to an excessive increase during your physical training. Well-toned abs act just like that belt that lifters wear to reduce the risk of hernia. Flexibility will help in other muscle groups, too--one of those "just makes sense to me" things that I will be less likely to injure myself if I am operating at 75% capacity, as opposed to working at 98% capacity (in other words, stretch out so I am not trying to learn and practice new techniques at the farthest outer limits of my range of mobility).

4. Finally, it sure feels great: OK, so it just plain makes old geezers like me feel better when I'm not cracking and creaking all the time. So, stretch out, and pass the glucosamine!!

 

I think flexibility is important in atleast one area in all arts, if i didnt train in flexibility i wouldnt be able to get out off some techniques, and it would hurt more, eg: wrist and arm locks. if you were serious about martial arts i think you would have to be reasonably flexible. i agree with sokklab on natxandus post How long do you all spend trying to improve your flexibility?

 

Personaly i spend monday doing isometric stretching followed by an aerobic exercize. Tuesday i do strevgth training followed by more isometric stretching. Wednesday i do relaxed stretches. Thursday i do no stretches to let my body recover. Friday i do heavy isometric stretching followed by a speed work out on saturday. sunday is another day off cause i hate to miss church. Generally i put in 30 - 40 minutes twice a day for stretching and IMA workouts.

 

Flexibility is important no matter if you are internal or external. It helps prevent injury. Just because you do an internal art doesn't mean that in a sparring or training session one of your limbs won't get stretched passed its normal range of motion. Accidents happen and being at least a bit flexible is like having accident insurance Saying "I don't need to be flexiable to do my art" may be true, but it sounds rather ingnorant of health and saftey factors.

 

i am fairly flexable, but i cant do the splits or side kick to the head etc, thankfully in jujutsu i dont have to do things like that anyway.

 

flexibility is crucial !

- especially if you want to do higher kicks and any sort of grappling.