Martial Arts

[nothingleft]

I did self defence when I was little. It was strange, and I can't remember much (apart from being beaten up by my sister) ^_^ To be honest, Taekwondo is the one that appeals most. I'm thinking of taking it up soon, though I'll most likely die from my unhealthy diet and general unfitness :P

I can't believe you could teach yourselves these things though, definitly need a master

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Aota

Nooooo!!!! Bajiquan! Bajiquan!! >.< It feels so gooooooooooooood.

Yeah, but the problem is you can't even find a real authentic school that teaches Bajiquan

[godwine]

Originally Posted by nothingleft

I did self defence when I was little. It was strange, and I can't remember much (apart from being beaten up by my sister) ^_^ To be honest, Taekwondo is the one that appeals most. I'm thinking of taking it up soon, though I'll most likely die from my unhealthy diet and general unfitness :P

I can't believe you could teach yourselves these things though, definitly need a master

TKD is great if you are flexible.... otherwise the stretches will kill you.. I never stopped training in TKD, been training for about 14 years now, trust me, the stretches kill me everytime

[nothingleft]

Originally Posted by godwine

TKD is great if you are flexible.... otherwise the stretches will kill you.. I never stopped training in TKD, been training for about 14 years now, trust me, the stretches kill me everytime

Brilliant. Bad thing I'm not flexible I guess it's good to push yourself sometimes though!

[Aota]

Originally Posted by godwine

Yeah, but the problem is you can't even find a real authentic school that teaches Bajiquan

Exactly what location are you talking about? o.o

But... Bajiquan isn't exactly a good starter. Some people take basic karate as a starter, and then build around that.

[Jaydelart]

Originally Posted by godwine

TKD is great if you are flexible.... otherwise the stretches will kill you.. I never stopped training in TKD, been training for about 14 years now, trust me, the stretches kill me everytime

I know I have to stretch - It's important in any martial art... But I hate it immensely. lol

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

Stretching is not that important. I dont do it and can do kicks at my own head height quite well (I am 186cm) and with ease. If you want to get good at kicking, practice kicking, if you want to get good at stretching, practice stretching, but the two are unrelated. Someone good at stretching is not automatically good at high kicks, and someone good at high kicks, like me, might be poor at stretching, like me. I never do it unless the teacher tells me.

What you can do is "throw" your leg up but I suspect you can't control it. I'm somewhat the same... I can "throw" my leg up past head height quite easily but when it comes to transitioning from one kick to another or when throwing multiple kicks with the same leg I lose height on the subsequent kicks because I'm not as flexible as I'd like to be.

[Asakura]

You don't nessesaraly "have" to stretch. But if you're going into really complicated kicks or manuvers that require you be flexible, it's a good idea, it can avoid injury so it's not totally without merit. But Tenchu has a point in that streaching dosen't automaticly make your limbs powerful.


It's simple anatomy. Streaching your muscles frequently makes them longer and springier. Meaning you can extend, twist, contract, or move with them better. Now there are millions of ways to do this. But the key to becoming flexible is time and practice.

Now just becouse you are flexible,it does not make your techniques perfect. And it does not give you the technique, mental power and raw physical strength that you have to combine with flexibility, that makes your techniques sharp. But Stretching, if you do it conventioanally, or if you just thow lots and lots of kicks and punches, over and over again. Is very important. Anyway you look at it.

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

Hmn. Not really. At first, yes, I was throwing my leg, about a year ago, but with practice I got control. I can now do a side kick at my head height and hold it after full thrust for about 1 second and then have to retreat it. This is from hours of practice. I saw once, Bruce Lee do the same kick I am talking about, and then hold it there for an extended time. I expect if I keep practicing the kick I will eventually be able to do the same thing. Kicking is stretching, it develops the flexability you need for that kick, and unlike stretching, you practice the technique and power and muscle you need for it at the same time. I see no need to stretch in martial arts unless you think it is good for a cool down to loosen up the muscles. But I just do a slow walk around and shake my body up for this and am fine, so...

I see.. well if you're happy with your ability then that's fine as your kicking will maintain you flexibility but it won't improve it. Personally I find high kicks are beautiful and while Asakura is correct, flexibility is but one factor in the equation, it's a factor that needs to be improved in my case nonetheless to achieve the results I want. Therefore for me stretching is important in training.

[Jaydelart]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

Stretching is not that important. I dont do it and can do kicks at my own head height quite well (I am 186cm) and with ease. If you want to get good at kicking, practice kicking, if you want to get good at stretching, practice stretching, but the two are unrelated. Someone good at stretching is not automatically good at high kicks, and someone good at high kicks, like me, might be poor at stretching, like me. I never do it unless the teacher tells me.

I understand what you mean.

In my case, however, some of my training involves various dodging maneuvers that require a significant amount of flexibility and control to perform. Therefore, it is essential for me to stretch.
Muay Thai fighters (like yourself) generally don't flip or roll during a fight, so it's somewhat understandable that you wouldn't emphasize stretching to the same degree.

Different martial arts may encourage stretching at different levels -- but recognition of it's importance exists, nonetheless. It provides many of benefits.

~ But that still doesn't change the fact that I hate doing it, of course.