I recently had an individual email me on advice about flexiblity so I thought I'd drop it here in the message board and perhaps you guys have suggestions on doing the splits.

I will tell you what I have done for my flexibility. BTW...I can do the Van damme splits w/ chairs. The secret to my flexiblility is consistency. You must stretch out everyday sometimes as much as 3 to 4 times. once in the morning, before bed, workouts. Now, that we got down the schedule....let's get down to the flexiblity....there are other misc issue. I've been told that by the age of 21...your liagaments begin to harden which means to become more flexible after the age of 21 you really need to be careful not to "overdo" it. ok bottom line....when you stretch...go down as low as you can....relax in that position for 20+ seconds...then go down further(usually about another 2-3 inches) for another 20+ seconds...then if you can(dont overdo it) go down further then try to relax in that position then get back up.....try this technique for 3-4 weeks...you should see major improvements.

good luck

anthony

I hesitate to suggest any specific exercises here, simply because it is easier to illustrate than to explain.

That said, here are some of my suggestions for improving flexibility.

1. Think of your muscles like an old piece of play-doh that's been sitting on the shelf out of it's container for a few hours. It'll be hard and stiff, right?

Try pulling on it, and stretching it out. It'll snap before it get's too far.

But if you take that play-doh and warm it in your hands or against your body for a few minutes, it'll stretch much farther.

The point is to warm up before you start your stretching routine. Do some jogging, jump rope, swimming or other cardio vascular exercises. You'll go much farther and with less pain or soreness when you finish.

2. Stretch the whole body. Too many martial artists are so worried about stretching the legs and lower body, that they neglect their torsos, shoulders, arms and necks. As a result, they leave themselves open to injury in those areas.

Also, you'd be surprised how much your hand speed and punching power will improve when you work on developing a flexible torso and arms. In a real fight, you're more likely to use hand techniques than kicks anyway.

FYI: you're hearing this from someone with dan ranks in Taekwondo and Tang Soo Do, both arts which emphasize kicking.

3. If you do any weight training, stretch out between sets of the various exercises. For example, when doing pull ups or lateral pulldowns, you should stretch your lats, traps, shoulders, biceps, forearms and/or obliques between sets. This keeps the muscles from getting too tight.

Here is where I would like to explode a major fitness myth: Contrary to popular belief, building big muscles will not slow you down. If anyone says that bodybuilding or strength training slows them down, it is because they got lazy and didn't work on maintaining flexibility in their muscles while building them up.

Muscle size will not slow you down - muscle tightness will.

4. Also, when you do your strength training, cool down with a round or two of shadow boxing, do a kata, or, (my personal preference), a couple of rounds on the top-and-bottom bag. That will also keep your muscles from getting too tight.

Hope this helps.

Sean

Natural flexibility is the best answer and everyone has a different range of motion.

In the General Choi Tae Kwon Do I was taught to never have to warm up to be able to do your highest kick or best split.

In the Chinese fighting Arts I was taught to never be to flexible because it takes away from your power. You need some resistance in your muscles.

In Silat I wasn't even taught stretching! They believe you practice your technique throughout the day while your tired, happy, sad, sick, cold, warm, energized and any other conditions your bodies in and you will have a natural flexibility that you can use at any moment to fight with. This method takes longer as you will have to go slower, but it stays with you even when your not warmed up!

I never stretch just to stay limber, only if I lift weights or wake up stiff and I can at any given time roundhouse kick a person as tall as 6'3" in the head with ease and I am 6'0"(not that I would, but could).

As far as health and great flexibility is concerned, nothing beats Yoga. It's easy to learn, done at a slow pace and produces the highest level of flexibility achievable by ones body.

SITTING IN THE SAUNA 30 MINUTES BEFORE JUMPING ON THE STRETCHING MACHINE IS GOOD. TRY THE NEW STRETCHING MACHINES FROM MED X ENDORSED BY JOE LEWIS. THESE ARE BEYOND ANY MACHINE IN THE MARTIAL AARTS MAGS. BE GOOD.