I have just finished Part 1 of an Article about flexibility. This was requested by me from one of our members, so I hope they find it useful? It can be found in the Members' Area under "Heath Matters".
A snippet is:
"This is an important aspect of Karate and other Martial Arts. Indeed, it is in fact a sign of good health and should be apart of any training regime. However, it is important to note that it should go hand-in-hand with strength and cardiovascular fitness. For example, for a karate student to be able to kick correctly and perhaps to the head, they will need the flexibility as well as the core strength to achieve this.
It involves various types of flexibility, which falls into two categories:
- Dynamic Flexibility
The ability to perform dynamic movements of the muscles to bring the limb through its full range of movements.
- Static Flexibility
This can be further sub-divided into two groups:- Static-Active Flexibility
The ability to perform and maintain an extended position. For example, lifting the leg and keeping it high without any external support.
- Static-Passive Flexibility
The ability to perform and maintain an extended position using only your weight, the support of your limb, or some other apparatus such as a chair. An example of this is being able to do the splits, where the floor is supporting your limbs.
- Static-Active Flexibility
To read more you need to be a members so that you can log on. In part 2, I will further explain about the warm-ups, exercise order and when to stretch so keep posted!