Essential FLEXIBILITY!

"Flexibility is the key to stability!"
​-John Wooden

Tai Chi, Shaolin Kung Fu, all martial arts, and even meditation requires a certain degree of flexibility. Some more than others, but for sure it is flexibility that ensures steady progress and safeguards against injury.

Potetamo, or Bodhidharma as he's called in India, knew this very well, and implemented a variety of stretching and strengthening exercises to assist his monks in meditation. Before this change of pace he noticed many of his fellow monks were falling asleep during meditation. In Tai Chi parlance we would say too much Yin not enough Yang.

In time this balanced way of training evolved into shaolin kung fu we see practiced so prevalent today. It all began from a simple monk striving to train vitality alongside of mental calmness.

In training Shaolin Kung Fu and Tai Chi there are certain joints we should always stretch to keep open. Even if you are not training in a certain martial art we'll cover here the essential stretches we all need to do on a daily basis. =)

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The bare necessities!

There are so many stretches out there it's important to look into the flexibility you need for what you do. Sitting in a chair daily and working on the computer requires flexibility as well, although probably not for the reasons you would normally think. Before diving into the answer let's cover some basic mechanics of our skeletal muscular system.

Our muscles function as a pulley system with the bones as stationary anchors and joints acting as fulcrum points. This pulley system works by muscles shortening to pull two points together, when one side shortens the other side must open and release if we are to have healthy movement. These muscles will shorten regardless of our active movement or passive movement/positioning where the two 'anchor' points of the muscle are put or moved closer together.

What this means is that if we are in a position all the time, those muscles are shortened and lengthened in this way, ALL THE TIME! So in fact we are adding tension and rigidity simply by keeping the same position over an extended period of time. This is the reason why sitting at the computer requires flexibility, mainly because eventually you want to get out of the computer chair. =)

That being said what are the essential stretches for desk work, driving,  Tai Chi, and Kung Fu:

• Desk work + driving:
  • Touch toes, bend backward
  • Turtle stretch
  • Neck and chest stretches
• Tai Chi:
  • Touch toes, bend backward
    
  • Ankle stretches
  • Specific hip rotational flexibility
  • Quadriceps (quads) flexibility
• Kung Fu:
  • Touch toes, bend backward
  • Ankle stretches
  • Quadriceps (quads) flexibility
  • Hamstring flexibility
  • Spinal rotation

Touch toes, bend backward

This stretch is essential to everything we do since our spine and spinal posture is integral to everything we do. I had a client of mine 'throw his back out' sneezing while taking a step. This is a pure testament to the fact that if muscles aren't kept open, they will stay closed, and when put under unfamiliar abrupt stress will lock up into spasm. Flexibility, or the ability to adapt, is achieved in keeping your body open by putting stress on the muscle to move in every way it can. Doing this on a regular basis is the path to healthy functioning muscle tissue.

Turtle stretch

Take your time and really feel the stretch ripple through your neck, upper, middle, and lower back. =)

Neck and chest stretches

Neck and chest are very intertwined as we sit and drive, opening these will alleviate lots of shoulder problems, neck pain and even headaches.

Ankle stretches

We use our ankles for everything, from walking, to driving etc. The importance to Tai Chi and Kung fu is in keeping a proper stance, balance, and footwork. Without ankle flexibility we can't sink in a stance or balance properly because the ankle will easily be pulled out of the place we need it to be. This is seen easily when doing spins but is also felt in all kicks and stance work.

Hip rotation

In our system of tai chi we are heavily focused on opening and closing of the hips, using 'kwa' as the motivator and root of all movements.

Quadricep stretch

Quadricep flexibility is important for both tai chi and kung fu primarily for stance work but also power in kicks. Without the ability to open our quads we can't sink lower or develop more power in the thighs.

Hamstring

Hamstrings are slightly more important in the Kung Fu practice than the Tai Chi primarily because more kicking is done in Kung Fu but openning these muscles is important to various other aspects of life.

Core rotational flexibility

The above video has great exercises for complete core flexibility, stability, and strength. This is extremely important in Kung Fu as we require a lot of core movement and strength for all techniques. Greater mobility gives better adaptability and power.