Anyone who has watched a martial arts program or tried martial arts knows that flexibility is very important because you are always moving. Before starting on the training and learning the different moves and holds it is important that you do some stretching exercises. This helps with martial arts flexibility. It is an often overlooked part of martial arts training. In order to maximize the benefits of the training along with improving your range of motion you need to be flexible. Exercises to improve your flexibility must be done on a consistent basis and the positions held long enough to allow your tendons and muscles to adjust and adapt eventually to the different positions martial arts training puts your body into.
Adhering to the program that includes stretching exercises not only helps with joint flexibility but it can also improve your martial arts performance. If you make it a habit to stretch your joints, muscles, and ligaments on a regular basis your body will eventually become more limber. You do not have to do these stretching exercises every day but it is recommended that you do it at least three times a week. This will help you to maintain all the positive benefits of martial arts flexibility. It will also help to improve your flexibility.
As mentioned it is very important that you hold the various poses that are associated with these martial arts flexibility stretching long enough that your body will recognize the change. If you rush through these flexibility and stretching exercises it will do your body no good. The suggested time to hold these poses is fifteen to sixty seconds but can be held longer if possible. Unlike many of the exercise routine you will not overwork your muscles if you hold the poses too long. In fact, the longer you can hold the pose the more relaxed your joints or muscles will become.
Another key factor to martial arts flexibility is how intense the stretch or pose is. The poses should be done in a careful, controlled manner and not rushed through. If you do them too fast or you stretch your ligaments too far you could cause your muscles could contract and cause dislocations, tightness, or even muscle or ligament tears. You do have to force your body to adapt so it can become more limber but finding the right balance between not enough and too much can be difficult to do so make sure that you find the proper balance. Feeling better and seeing a more limber body is not something that will be accomplished overnight but can take several weeks. For the first few days, or even weeks, you may find that your body feels stiff and ache but that is natural.
