hip joint flexibility

[13ang]

When I go to stretch, ie splits, butterfly stretch, side kick stretch, I never feel the stretch in my groin, my hip joints always max out long before I feel it in the desired location. I can still kick head high, but it takes me 15-20 mins to loosen my hips up to the point I can do this, and my splits are pathetic for an 18 year old who stretches as much as I do.

Anyone else ever have this problem, or know some ways to loosen up my hips?

[kuk sool won]

Theres no problem there, the feeling of maxing out in your hip joints is most probably a common misconception, although it feels like your hips have locked its still your muscles and your nervous system that is preventing you from going any further . What ever you do dont force it, it always leads to injury which prevents your progress dramatically.

some key questions to ask-
How long have you been stretching for?
Do you stretch off cold?
Do you only perform static stretching?
How often do you stretch and to what extent?

If you are only performing static stretch then i would suggest beginning your sessions with some dynamic stretches. Dynamic stretches eliminate the need for 'warm up' time and allows you to kick cold far sooner than with static stretching and also builds power in your kicks.

In some cases people aren't able to fully do the splits or stretch as far as others because of a hip joint deformity called coxa vara, its not a serious thing, its basically to do with how your hips develop when you enter adulthood, though its just a proposed and commonly accepted theory.

If you can kick head height then you have no worries, there aren't any cases when you are going to need to kick higher than head height, you said that you can do it after stretching for 20 minutes or so which concludes that with time your going to be able to do it cold.

A good article to learn more about stretching is http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=12

If you still are concerned then i suggest that you do consult your Doctor, hope I could help

[13ang]

That helped alot man, thx. With dynamic stretching, I sometimes will injure my muscles by pushing it too hard too quickly without enough warmup time and end up with a pulled muscle.

I have heard about coxa vera, but since I have improved in the splits in the last year or so, I dont think thats whats stoping me. I have also heard you should never stretch directly against any joint, so it would seem like doing the splits would be a bad idea, but I dont know how else to build it up.

Also, when I kick I often sacrafice proper body posture to open up my hips more to allow my kick to go higher, wich I dont want to be doing. Like I will lean forwards and back when I do high kicks.. I dont like it, but I dont know any other option at this point.

I guess what im asking is, should I continue to do the splits as far as I can go to attempt to loosen up the joint more, or is there a better way?

[13ang]

How long have you been stretching for?
about 2 years seriously, 4 years in class
Do you stretch off cold?
only when I have no choice, like im late to class or something
Do you only perform static stretching?
prety much
How often do you stretch and to what extent?
before/after class 5 days a week, outside of class usualy 20-30 mins sometimes 1-2 hours usualy about 4-5 days a week.

edit - I have tried that exercise in the past on how to judge if you are able to achieve the splits, and I canot do it cold, I can do it after I warm up and loosen up my hips a little bit.

[kuk sool won]

I suggest that you do dynamic stretching before class if you have the time, but dynamic stretching itself shouldn't be performed cold. A 3 to 5 minute light jog before dynamic stretching is good enough to warm your body and you shouldn't injure yourself whilst performing dynamic stretches. A common mistake is being over zealeous and trying to kick too high too soon, its important to gradually build up the intensity of the kicks as you go along and as a result will prevent injury. Dont throw your kicks up or swing immediately, it gives the same negative impact as bouncing vigorously when static stretching. start off with just a gentle lifting motion and eventually progress into more forceful motions, just not too suddenly.

I doubt you do have coxa vera, its relatively rare and you've said that you're able to do the exercise to the required angle. Some people just progress slower than others in stretching because of how their body is made up.

A good routine is -

5 minute jog before session
dynamic stretches
train
static stretching

The static stretching at the end helps prevent injury or soreness and should leave you in good sted for tomorrows stretches. Its designed to cool your body down so its better to do static stretches here than dynamic.

If its possible stretch relatively soon after waking up and just before you go to bed.

I wouldn't worry about not being able to kick as high as you would like to, its a slow process but you will eventually get there if you just keep at it. Start working more towards proper posture and technique than trying to kick high. If you keep doing it incorrectly it will become natural to you and you may find it very difficult to get your technique correct afterwards. Its better to get your technique correct first and then work on kicking higher.

[lei_kung]

Would you please describe the difference between dynamic and static stretching?

Also any links that pertain to types of stretchs, routines, and the pros/cons of dynamic vs. static would be great.

All I do are the stretching I was taught ever since I started when I was in 2nd grade.

Lei Kung

[kuk sool won]

Static Stretching - Static stretching involves holding a position. That is, you stretch to the farthest point and hold the stretch for a certain period of time, its the most common form of stretching.

Dynamic Stetching - Dynamic Stretching involves moving your limbs in a gradual process, each time increasing the intensity of the movement, persistantly increasing the reach and the speed of the movement. A simple example of this are leg raises or front straight rising kicks. Each time you raise your leg raise it a little higher and a litter faster until eventually you can reach your full range of motion at your greatest speed without injuring yourself. Try doing this with an unbent leg as it maximises the stretching potential of the movement. This can be mistaken for Ballistic stretching which is dangerous for your body, this involves immediately forcing your body to reach its top range of motion through bouncing and forcing the movement. The key to dynamic stretching is doing it GRADUALLY.

the fightingforums link i posted earlier is more than good enough to learn about pros and cons of dynamic and static stetching, after reading the first chapter go to 'Read more articles by Thomas Kurz' there are more chapters that take stetching into more depth.

[Hardball]

Add this to your stretching routine: Roll your hips like you are screwing a sexy babe. Seriously, we call them hoola hoops. Rolling and reverse rolling your hips every day will do wonders for you hips and your roundhouse kicks.

[kuk sool won]

definately, we call them rowing motions but screwing a sexy babe seems a... more motivational name

[13ang]

ill try that hardball.

I did dynamic stretching for a while, and it works great for front and back, but I ended up injuring my hips when I tried to do it sideways.

I'm still not feeling anything in my groin area, just a sharp twinge in my hip, and I have been off and on in class for the past week, and even when I show up I have considerable pain in my hip.

This leads me to believe it is a problem with my hips, perhaps coxa vara. I cant realy afford to get myself checked out atm im saving for a trip to china, but I will check out what I can find on the internet, and if anyone knows anything let me know.

[13ang]

Oh also, I'm almost out of those joint builder tablets, my brother was using them for a while cuz he had problems, so if I want to start taking them I would have to buy a new bottle.. is it worth it? Would it help with my hips possibly?