Midlife Karate Part 3: Stretching

14 Feb

Following on from our ‘warm-up’ post, this time we’ll focus on stretching…

After you’ve warmed up, your muscles are nice and warm, and your heart is pumping oxygen and nutrients to them. However, they have not been prepared for the rigours of karate techniques. Stretching is the way we prepare them.

Again, adults, do not underestimate the value of good stretching to turn your techniques from looking OK to great, and to prevent injury.

We are all different, and so whilst the following examples are fairly wide-reaching, there may be one or more muscles and tendons in your body that these do not unstiffen and stretch. If this is you, talk to your Sensei if you are part of the club. Otherwise, like with many things, Google is your friend. Often you will find that if you do one of the following stretches your way, you can fix this issue. One example for me is neck stretches, when I often flex my shoulders as well as my neck so that my upper back and shoulders are prepared. If you are part of a class and a stretching session has not reached that bit of your body that needs a good stretch, try to do your own stretching in the drink break that often follows warm-up and stretching. You could also try stretching your specific muscles before class, but do it gently as you won’t be warm.

I’ll work from the bottom of the body to the top in the examples below, but you’ll find that most Instructors have their own order. I will give examples of static stretching (small, slow movements) and dynamic stretching (larger, faster movements). As a guide, you should not do dynamic stretching until you have completed static stretching. I will be brief in my descriptions; ask your Sensei for more info. You should hold your static stretches for at least 10 seconds; if you’re training alone, up to 30 seconds.

Legs Static: From standing…

Ankle flexes: With one foot raised, alternately point and flex the raised foot. Repeat for the other foot.
Ankle rotation: With one foot raised, rotate your foot in small circles, first in one direction then the other. Repeat for the other foot.
Half leg stretches: Raise one leg from the floor and, using your hands, bring your knee as close to your chest as possible whilst balancing on the other leg. Use the hand on the same side as your leg to move your leg to the side. Whilst keeping your knee bent, hold your knee and foot at the same height. Next, move your leg to the back. Whilst holding your ankle, bend your knee so that your heel gets as close to your bottom as possible. Switch legs and do the same.

Ankle Rotation

Box splits: Spread your legs about two shoulder-widths apart whilst keeping your feet pointing forward. For the rest of the exercise, it is important that you keep your knees from bending, as this will give them a twisting motion that they are designed for! Keeping your back straight, reach down and touch the floor with your hands, flat if you can. Using one hand, grab one of your ankles. You can keep the other on the floor if you want to for stability. Hold for 10 seconds, pulsing your body slightly. Change your hands to grab your other ankle and pulse again. Bring your hands back to the centre and, if you can, widen the stretch of your legs. Repeat reaching for your ankles and pulsing on both legs. If you haven’t already, open your legs to your best stretch - don’t force it - and repeat the ankle grabs.

Long stance: This is the same stance we use in a lot of karate techniques.
- Normal: To one side or the other, step into a good long stance. Next, step your front foot out a little longer if you can and hold. Your back foot should still be flat on the floor, pointing as far forward as possible to avoid twisting your knee. Repeat in the other direction.
- Heel up: This is a repeat of the last exercise, but the heel of your back foot should be off the floor with your toes on the floor. Your back and front feet should both be facing forwards, and your back knee should be bent. Whilst in this position, perform small pulses to a count of 10. Do the same in the other direction.

Lay flat: From a heel-up long stance, take the front leg and moving it sideways. Place it on the floor so that your knee is to one side of your body and your ankle on the other, whilst keeping your other leg backwards. The back foot should be upside down at this point. Now lower your torso over the front leg and lay as flat as possible. Place one hand beneath your opposite armpit, and then do the same on the other side. For a harder stretch, bring the back leg up with bent knee to your side whilst flat.

Hooking the foot: From lying flat, use your arms to lift your torso off the floor into a press-up position. Take the front foot and hook it around the ankle of the back foot. Try to put the heel of the back foot on the floor. If you can’t manage this, moving your hands backwards towards your feet will help.
Low back stance: From a normal back stance, move your back foot further back to make a longer stance. Next, whilst bending the knee of your back leg and keeping your front leg straight, lower your torso over that back leg. Think of it as a one-legged squat! Try not to raise either heel, and go as low as you can. Do the same in the other direction.

Touch toes whilst sitting: From a box split, lower yourself backwards until your bottom is on the floor without changing the distance between your legs. This is hard and can feel painful. If you can’t do that, sit on the floor and separate your legs as far as possible. Turn your torso towards one of your feet and, using the hand that is on the same side, try to grab your toes. If you can’t do that, grab your ankle or gi trouser leg. Point your toes to pull you into a better stretch, or pull on your ankle or gi trouser leg. Change to the other leg, remembering to point your torso towards it. Returning to the first leg, point your torso once again towards it and grab your toes, ankle or gi. With the other arm, make an arc over your head and try to touch your toes with that hand too. Repeat on the other side. If you’re super flexible, place your elbows on the floor for each stretch.

Butterfly: After touching your toes, or sitting straight down, place the soles of your feet together in front of you and hold them together with both hands. Bounce your knees up and down gently like the wings of a butterfly. Then, whilst still gripping your feet, press down on your knees using your elbows and push your knees as close to the floor as you can. If you’re quite flexible, try to get your head onto or as close to your toes as possible. Repeat the bouncing and knee pushes a few times. You should find you get better each time.

Legs Dynamic:

Leg swings front: From a shortened long stance, take the arm that is on the same side as your back leg and hold it out in front of you palm down. This will be your height guide. Take your back leg and, whilst keeping it straight (not Mae Geri kicking), swing it forward to a height that is comfortable and then back again. Try to remember how far you swung it, using your guide hand. Repeat nine more times, trying to swing higher each time. Try not to lean into the swing with your body. Repeat on the other side after swapping your stance.
Leg swings side: With your feet shoulder-width apart and one arm held out to the side palm down as a guide, swing the leg that’s on the same side out to the side without bending it. Your toes will naturally want to point up when you do this, but try to keep them in the same direction as when they were on the ground. Swing it to a comfortable height and back again. Try to remember how far you swung it, using your guide hand. Repeat nine more times, trying to swing higher each time. Try not to lean into the swing with your body. Repeat on the other side.
Leg swings back: From a shortened long stance - there is no guide hand this time - take the front leg and swing it straight back behind you, whilst keeping your head and torso facing forward, and then allow it to swing back. You’ll have to feel how high you’ve gone each time. A slight leaning of the torso is inevitable, but try not to bend forward too much. Repeat nine more times, trying to swing higher each time. Repeat on the other side after swapping your stance.
Hurdles: With your feet shoulder-width apart, raise one leg to the side whilst remaining facing forward. This should be like the ‘half leg stretch’ to the side from earlier without you holding on to it. Bring the leg around to the front with the knee remaining bent and allow your foot to hang towards the floor. Finally, place your leg back at the starting position. You should do all of the steps in one go without pause. The effect is that you should look like you are ‘hurdling’ an obstacle. Do this for 10-15 seconds on each leg. Now, do the same thing again, but in reverse order, i.e. front, side and then back down.
Wall work: Often a class will groan when a Sensei calls out, ‘Find a piece of wall for yourself.’ What is needed here is a patch of wall free from decoration. Facing sideways to the wall, place the hand nearest the wall on it so that you are close enough to use it for balance.
Wall work side kick: From the previous step, raise the leg that is on the outside so that it mimics the position of a side kick (straight out to the side with toes pointing to the side, not up). You can lean towards the wall, but you should hold this position for at least 30 seconds. Without putting your foot down, bend your knee and straighten it as if you were doing a round kick, i.e. your toes are still pointing to the side. Repeat this for at least 30 seconds. Finally, with your leg straight out in the position of the side kick, draw a sideways figure of eight in the air with your leg, keeping your knee straight. (A sideways figure of eight in maths is also the symbol for infinity, which is what this feels like if you are asked to do it for a minute!) Turn and face the other direction with your other hand on the wall, and repeat with your other leg. If you can’t manage all three exercises in one go, alternate legs between each one.
Wall work sits: Whilst not a dynamic stretch, this is often used at the same time as the above wall work. With your back to the wall, making sure there is nothing sticking out on the wall, slide your back down whilst shuffling your feet forward. You should end up in a position that makes you look like you are sitting on a chair. Caution: If the floor is slippery, take care your feet do not slide forward. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds. If you can’t hold this for 30 seconds, slide your back a little further up the wall, but keep your feet where they are. Challenge yourself. Can you do two minutes? I find crossing my hands over my chest helps, then eventually grabbing onto my gi top and pulling, waiting for the madness to end…
Post leg stretch massage: Either from standing or sitting with legs in front of you on the floor, gently rub/massage your legs from top to bottom, including your knees. I find this helps to prevent stiffness and keeps you loose for the rest of the class.

Core (Torso) Stretches: Although we’ve only done legs up this point, many of those stretches stretch out other parts of your body, particularly your hips and core. As the song goes, ‘the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone’ … What follows is more for the core, but again these can help the rest of your body too.

Rotate your hips big: With your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips, rotate your hips in big circles. Keep your head and shoulders in the same position. Keep going for 5-10 seconds, increasing the circle size as you go. Repeat in the other direction.
Rotate your hips small: With your feet together and your hands on your hips, rotate your hips in small circles like a belly dancer. Keep your head and shoulders in the same position. Keep going for 5-10 seconds. Repeat in the other direction.
Side bend: With your feet slightly wider than your shoulders and the palms of your hands on the sides of your legs, lean to one side. Keep your body facing the front and slide your hand down the side of your body as far as you can. Give a little pulse at the end to gently stretch and then repeat on the other side. Come back to the first side and try to beat your first stretch, and do the same on the other side. Repeat as many times as you need.

Front bend: Have your feet shoulder-width apart and slowly bend forward, and try to touch your toes and hold for five seconds. This is similar to entering box splits - and indeed you can do this and the rest of the exercise in box splits. Keep your arms straight and slowly straighten your body, keeping your hands in front of you. Whilst watching your hands, when your body is upright, continue to raise your hands over your head and bend gently backwards and hold for five seconds. Now, keeping your arms straight, bend back towards your toes. Repeat as needed. If you can easily touch your toes, put the palms of your hands on the floor; if that’s still too easy, put the backs of your hands on the floor.

Seal stretch: Have your feet shoulder-width apart, and slowly bend forwards and place the palms of your hands on the floor somewhere in front of you. Then slowly slide/walk your hands forward until your hips are on the floor. Your body will now be bent backwards, and you’ll look like a seal! Don’t clap your flippers, though, and beg for food - that would be silly.
Downward dog: This is the classic yoga position. Have your feet shoulder-width apart, and slowly bend forwards and place the palms of your hands on the floor somewhere in front of you. Whilst keeping your bottom in the air, slowly slide/walk your hands forward, but don’t lower your hips like the seal stretch. If your Sensei is feeling particularly mean, they may ask you to do dive bombs. This is simply transition from downward dog to the seal position by lowering and swinging your hips underneath you until you reach the seal and back again. Sounds easy? Do 30 then!

Warnings: Through all these core exercises we are bending our backs in some way. As I’ve said before, listen to your body. Do not try to copy the teens/children/bendy adults in the class. Stretching is not a competition, it’s for you. Over time you will get better, but there is a limit as we get older.

Arms:

Windmills: This is the same as in the warm-up. To build up your coordination, try to have one arm going forwards whilst the other goes backwards. Switch them around.
Arms across chest: Take one arm and place it across your chest so that it is near your other shoulder. Take the other arm and place the crook of the elbow into the back of the elbow of the first arm. Gently use this hold to pull your first arm closer to your body. The aim here is to stretch the shoulder of your first arm. Without bending your first arm, slide the second arm towards the first arm’s wrist to increase the stretch. For me, I find that if I also twist my first arm’s shoulder at the same time, the stretch feels like it’s doing more. Repeat the stretch the other way round.
Arms down back: Remember when you were young, and you tried to touch your hands together with one arm going down your back from the top and the other going up your back from the bottom? Well, this is like that. Take one arm and place the palm of the hand on the back of your head. Now slide the palm of your hand down your neck and down your back. Using the other hand, grab the elbow of the first arm and gently try to pull your first arm further down your back. Repeat the other way around.

Circle palms: Hold both arms out to the side with hands open and fingers pointing up. Hold for 20 seconds. Now begin to draw circles in the air with your palms, starting with golf ball size circles, and keep going for 10 seconds. Increase to tennis ball size circles for 10 seconds, then football size, then beachball size. Change the direction you are drawing the circles for 10 seconds, then reduce to football, then to tennis ball, then to golf ball, each for 10 seconds.

Neck: Now for me, this set of stretches is key. I find that if I don’t do them, I often pull a neck muscle, and so I always do some even if they are not included in class. This is one of the easiest parts of the body to hurt, so do the following carefully and slowly, especially if you have ever suffered a neck injury. They are simple and effective.

Head up: From standing, gently look up at the ceiling/sky, bending your neck as far as is comfortable. Now, gently lower your chin to your chest. For me, I find when I have my head down and I’m curling my shoulders forward, this improves the stretch. Repeat for 10-15 seconds.
Side to side: Look gently to the left and right as far as is comfortable. Repeat for 10-15 seconds.
Ear to shoulder: Bend your neck sideways so that your ear touches or gets nearer to your shoulder. Gently change to the other side. I find that curling the opposite shoulder to where you’re bending your neck improves the stretch. Repeat for 10-15 seconds.
Round and around: Place your chin on your chest and gently roll your head around your neck in a circle. You should get to the positions of the ‘Head up’ and ‘Ear to shoulder’ exercises as part of this circle. Do this around five times, taking two seconds per rotation. Repeat the circles in the other direction.

Finally, as part of your stretching routine, if you find other stretches I haven’t covered here that are useful/essential, do them. Again, if a free stretching time isn’t given in a class, do it when you have a drink break or as you prepare for the next section. It’s up to you to make sure you are ready for the rest of the class.

The order of the exercises doesn’t matter too much. Senseis often have sets they do knowing what’s coming up next in a class. If you want to improve your stretching, after a warm-up of course, design a set that works for you.

Cool-down

Just as important as a warm-up is a cool-down, but often there isn’t time at the end of a class. You should try to do at least something or yourself though in the class like walk on the spot whilst packing way and then use your walk to your car, starting with a quicker pace then slower the closer you get to your car. This is especially important for people over 45 or have any hart related issues. You wouldn’t keep making your car engine go from 0-60 and then from 60-1, neither should you do it to your heart.

When you get home, before you shower, do some lighter versions of the stretching you’ve seen above. You’ll find that the muscle aches in the days to come will be reduced.

Midlife Karate Part 3: Stretching

Cool-down

Other Posts in this series

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Midlife Karate Part 3: Stretching

Cool-down

Other Posts in this series

Okinawa: The Birthplace of Karate

How to Wash a Karate Gi

Red Tiger Karate Club

Registered Office

Follow