Hello guys, girls, in-betweens and non of the before mentioneds! I'm somewhat of a martial-arts geek and have tried a lot of different schools. Taido, Ji-Jutsu, Taekwondo and boxing (which stuck, lovin' it). I've been boxing for a couple of years but I'm eager for a new way of fighting and additional body-control. So I'm gonna try out Taekwondo again in the autumn. The thing is, I've tried it once before when I were kind of limber, and injured muscles in my groin and right inner thigh. I still got issues (stiff and kind of sensitive) with it, and it were five years ago I screwed up. The other thing is, that I wan't to get a little more flexible and limber before I start again and since my damage would kind of hinder me or at least slow the process down. I'd like to know if any of you guys know simple and/or less harmful stretching exicerises to soften up and stretch the area which is more sensitive. Or just some good regular exercises and stretching tips. I'm quite muscular and have good balance if that helps in some kind of way. (Just a side note, it's nothing life threatening or grave. It's just that if I pressure the area without a good warm-up, I've problems walking for a few days. Hurts like fudge if it gets real bad. Just torn muscles.)
Hiya, There are two separate points to consider here. The first is stretching and exercise and the other is technique. Starting with the former, I think you already understand the importance of warming up and stretching before you train. Where I train, we always do a 20 - 30 min warm up and stretch before we start. This includes light loosening up moves, followed by star jumps, push ups, sit ups and squats followed by various stretching. Now, it's difficult for me to say what stretches to do with out being able to physically show you. We do a good variety to stretch out the legs. These will include dynamic and static stretch positions and include a lunging stretch as well as sitting on the floor with one leg out and stretching head to the knee followed by repeating the other side. We then put both feet out in front with legs straight and stretch head towards the feet (this is an intense stretch on the back of your legs). We then separate legs to as close to splits as can and stretch body towards each leg. The key with the stretching is to push to where it's a little uncomfortable but not painful. You also need to do it regularly for it to be effective. There's not much else I can say on that. As I said, it's difficult to explain without being able to demonstrate and there will be stuff I haven't covered. The second point is technique, which is very important. You see, I personally cannot stretch really far when doing static stretch. In fact others at my club can stretch a lot further. However I still have much higher kicks than they do as well as better control and rotation. I myself am around 5ft 10 and in once head kicked a 6ft 4 person in a sparing match (much to their surprise) whilst still keeping one foot on the ground. The key here was good technique. Having your legs and hips positioned in the correct way throughout the kicks will vastly increase your height and range. Tae kwon do focuses a lot on kick and so if it is a good school,the instructor should be able to teach you this as well as appropriate stretches. My last bit if advice concerns training martial arts in general. When starting a new class, make sure you go along and watch first. Unfortunately there are a lot of sub standard schools out there which are a waste of time and money and will do more harm than good. Make sure the instructor is good and is up to time standard they expect of their students. Also ensure they train realistically, especially when sparring, with none of that no touch nonsense or fighting with their hands at their sides. Unfortunately Tae kwon do is notorious for these types of school and finding a good one can be hard. If you decide to take up a different martial art, remember there are no superior styles, just good and bad teachers. Anyway, I hope that helped a bit. If you have any further questions, feel free to message me or port on my wall again. Happy days
I'd say do Yoga, but that will need time for flexibility. Why don't you ask the Taekwondo teacher? I have seen flexible muscular guys, but I think they was flexible before getting the mass.
I've thought about Yoga a lot, my sister does it. But, the thing is, I like to be prepared. I always prepare my body beforehand if I know I want to try something new. I am quite flexible, though not in the splitt-kinda way. I've got a good hammer-kick, reaching about 2 meters in height. But since the injury, my inner thigh's become really stiff and I need to be extra careful if I wanna stretch that part. I don't see mass as a hindrance. I see it as a harder route but since I'm not a bodybuilder by a long shot, I don't think it will hinder me. I have long-distance running legs so they are a little bit thinner.
