What is stretching？

Stretching, that is, through the body’s weight plus the application of force to change the angle of rise and fall, the body’s weight into the force of stretching, fully help the human body whole body tendon stretching and soothing.
Stretching is also a way to warm up for fitness exercise in advance, can effectively prevent muscle strain. The correct stretching method can make the body’s blood flow, to achieve self-healing and diagnosis of the body’s purpose.

Why do need to stretch tendons to practice martial arts?

Stretching is very important when practicing martial arts for several reasons, including the following:

1. Improve Flexibility: Flexibility refers to the range of motion of muscles and joints. By stretching, you can increase the stretching of your muscles and the mobility of your joints, which is very important for various movements in martial arts, such as kicking, bending and turning.
2. Injury Prevention: Good flexibility reduces the risk of muscle and joint injuries during training and actual combat. Muscles that are too tight are easily strained during strenuous exercise.
3. Enhance range of motion: Many movements in martial arts require a large range of motion, stretching can help practitioners complete technical movements more accurately and improve the range and strength of movements.
4. Promote blood circulation: Stretching can promote blood circulation, help muscles recover better and reduce muscle soreness after exercise.
5. Improves athletic performance: Athletes with good flexibility are usually able to exercise more efficiently as their muscles can move more freely, resulting in increased speed and power.
6. BODY COORDINATION: Martial arts require not only physical strength and speed, but also good coordination. Stretching helps to improve body coordination and balance.
7. Psychological Preparation: Stretching is also a warm-up activity that can help martial arts practitioners psychologically prepare for an upcoming training or competition and make the mind more peaceful.

The specific impact of stretching on martial arts movements

The specific effects of stretching on martial arts movement can be understood in the following ways:

1. Range of Motion:

• Increase Kick Height: through stretching, the flexibility of the legs can be increased, enabling the kicking action to reach higher positions and increase the range of attack.
• Deepen Horse Stance Squat: good flexibility can help martial arts practitioners to squat lower in the horse stance squat, thus increasing stability.

1. Quality of Motion:

• More Fluent Motion: A martial arts practitioner with good flexibility will appear to be more fluid and coordinated when executing complex movements, such as continuous kicking or turning movements in a set.
• Improved postural accuracy: Stretching can help martial arts practitioners achieve certain standard postural requirements, such as lunge and horse stance, more easily and improve the accuracy of their movements.

1. Strength and Speed:

• Increase Explosive Power: Good flexibility allows the muscles to produce more force when contracted, which is especially important in movements that require explosive power, such as rapid kicks or punches.
• Increase speed of movement: Muscles with good flexibility can contract and extend more quickly, which increases the speed of movement.

1. Technique and Precision:

• Improve the performance of skillful movements: There are many skillful movements in martial arts that require a high degree of flexibility, such as cartwheels and spinning kicks, etc., and stretching can help martial arts practitioners accomplish these movements better.
• Increased precision: Increased flexibility helps practitioners to control their movements more accurately when performing delicate movements such as pointing and grappling.

1. Injury Prevention:

• Reduces the risk of muscle strains: Through stretching, muscles and joints become more adaptable, reducing strains caused by overstretching during training or actual combat.
• Reduced Joint Stress: Flexible muscles reduce stress on joints, reducing the risk of joint injury.

1. Recovery and Endurance:

• Speed up recovery: Stretching helps muscles relax and promotes blood circulation, thus speeding up recovery after training.
• Improve endurance: By improving muscle flexibility, it can reduce muscle fatigue during prolonged training and improve endurance.

Several stretching movements in martial arts

The following types of stretches are especially helpful in martial arts training to improve flexibility and martial arts skills:

1. Leg Stretches:

• Forward Bend: stand and bend forward as far as you can, try touching your toes or the ground with your hands to stretch the muscles in the back of your thighs.
• Side Leg Press: with one leg straight and the other bent, press your body to the side of the straightened leg, which stretches the muscles of the inner thighs and lower back.
• Backward Kick: Standing with one foot kicked backward while grasping the foot with your hand stretches the muscles on the front side of the thigh.
• Split Leg Sit: Sit on the floor with your legs as far apart as possible and lean forward, which stretches the muscles of the inner thighs.

1. Lumbar Stretch:

• Lumbar Rotation: stand up, straighten your hands and rotate your waist from side to side, which can increase the flexibility of your waist.
• Lumbar Side Bend: Standing with one hand extended upward and bending the lower back to the opposite side stretches the lower back muscles.

1. Shoulder and Back Stretches:

• Shoulder Wrap: rotating the shoulders relaxes the shoulder joints and increases the range of motion of the shoulders.
• Cat Cow Pose: Landing on all fours and alternating downward and upward arching of the back can stretch the back and shoulder muscles.

1. Ankle Stretch:

• Ankle Rotation: sitting or standing, rotating the ankles can increase ankle flexibility.
• Back of Foot Stretch: sitting or standing, stretching upward on your toes stretches the back of the foot and calf muscles.

1. Neck Stretch:

• Neck turn left and right: gently rotating your head to the left and right can increase neck flexibility.
• Neck Bend Back and Forward: gently tilting the head forward and backward stretches the neck muscles.
  Here are some stretches especially for martial arts training:
• Horse stance leg press: alternating forward leg presses in the horse stance position builds leg strength and flexibility.
• Lunge Stretch: leaning forward in a lunge position stretches the front and back thigh muscles.
• Kick Stretch: Doing various kicking movements as high as possible can increase the flexibility and strength of the legs.

How to avoid injuries while stretching?

To avoid injuries while stretching, you can follow the following suggestions:

1. Adequate warm-up: Before starting stretching, perform warm-up activities such as jogging, jumping rope or dynamic stretching for at least 10-15 minutes to increase muscle temperature and blood circulation.
2. Gradual Increase: When you start stretching, you should start with light stretching and gradually increase the intensity and duration, avoiding sudden strenuous movements.
3. Correct Posture: Ensure that you use the correct posture for stretching; incorrect posture may lead to muscle or joint injuries.
4. Even Breathing: Maintain deep and even breathing while stretching, this helps to relax the muscles and increase the stretching effect.
5. Avoid severe pain: You should feel a slight stretching sensation or discomfort when stretching, but if you feel severe pain, you should stop immediately, which may be a sign of muscle or tendon injury.
6. Don’t bounce: Avoid bouncing while stretching as this can lead to muscle or tendon strain.
7. Control your movements: You should control your movements while stretching and avoid using too much speed or too much force.
8. Maintaining Balance: Keep your body balanced to avoid losing your balance during stretching which may lead to falls or sprains.
9. Individual differences: Stretch according to your own physical condition and flexibility level, do not blindly imitate others or pursue excessive flexibility.
10. Professional guidance: If you are a beginner, or if you have certain health problems, it is best to stretch under the guidance of a professional trainer or physical therapist.
11. Appropriate rest: Give your muscles appropriate rest time between workout days to facilitate recovery.
12. Gradually Increase Difficulty: As flexibility improves, you can gradually increase the difficulty and amplitude of stretching, but always keep it within your control.
13. Pay attention to your physical condition: If you feel unwell or in pain, you should stop stretching and consult a doctor or professional.
14. Use aids: If needed, aids such as yoga straps, stretching bands, etc. can be used to help with deeper stretching.
15. Maintain consistency: Stretching regularly and maintaining consistency can help improve flexibility and reduce the risk of injury.

By following these guidelines, you can minimize the risk of injury during stretching and enjoy the benefits of stretching.