Flexibility

Flexibility is always an important component of one's martial arts training. It's not only about the ability to kick higher, but rather the ability for us to move easily and with confidence, knowing we are less likely to be injured if we have maximum flexibility. Flexibility helps in several ways: we can achieve longer steps or stances, we can kick with greater speed, we have greater range of motion, and being flexible allows the energy travelling through our meridians to flow with greater ease; hence, promoting improved health and sustained vitality.

I strongly advocate 20-30 minutes of stretching to the entire body for 2-3 times a week minimum. Then, we can get away with a few minutes of stretching during warm ups the other days of the week, so we can still sustain our flexibility while still being able to work on other aspects of our conditioning and strengthening and training. I believe that initially it is good to review the stretching methods you are familiar with, but then after a period of time, it may be a good challenge to gently add in other types of stretches to cultivate additional flexibility. As we all know the keys to steady progress are gentle, controlled stretching, done regularly.

Feeling It...

I started my martial arts journey at age 11. I'm 52 now, and I just recently started training in Baguazhang. The last few years I have been mostly busy teaching and not working out as much as I would have liked. Now, I feel every joint and every motion I do, lol.

Frankly I have been in denial. I noticed beginning age 44, the changes and increasing difficulty I had in moving quickly or suddenly. I had noticed the drop in my endurance and in my strength. Despite those changes, I was still moving better and more quickly than most of my students. A couple of years ago, I went on a hike that really made me realize my physical limitations, which before this, I never thought I could decline so much or in so quick a time.

I had suffered quite a bit last year while learning Chen Tai Chi. I was in pain for several months before I began to adapt. Work obligations and a change in my teacher's location forced me to seek out training in another art. I've started Baguazhang and I am quickly impressed by it, and happy doing the art. I will outline some of what I am doing to improve my physical abilities and to also share my progress. I hope you all find my writing interesting and of some worth.