Increasing lef flexibility for height and range - help plz

[Reala]

Hi there,

I have been kick boxing for about 6 weeks now I believe, I am interested in increasing my flexibility. Long term I would like to be as flexible as possible, to increase the range and angle of my kicks.

What kind of stretches do I need to do to increase my power and if possible increase my ability to do e.g. the splits and how long does it take to improve flexibility if working on it?

Thanks in advance

[aseepish]

Being able to do splits has little to do with being able to kick high and strong.

As part of your warm up you should be doing dynamic stretches (stiff leg swings in four directions). After your class is the best time to do passive stretching, as your muscles are warm (less chance of injury), as a cool-down exercise. Do PNF stretching (see weblink below for details).

http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/stretching_4.html#SEC30

Otherwise, when you're kicking the heavy bag, kick a little bit higher every time. Be patient.

[EmptyneSs]

an expert kickboxer told me just last night, that if you do 1 stretch let it be the splits. thats the one that will let you kick higher.

[aseepish]

I've been given a lot of bad advice by people who were so-called experts. "My sifu taught me this, who learned it from his sifu etc. etc. all the way back to Da Mo at the original Shaolin Temple, therefore it's the right thing to do."

Splits (done after the workout, not as the warm-up) are fine. The problem is that doing the splits is a static position, while a strong high kick definitely isn't.

I would trust someone with a background in sports sciences though. Most of my instructors throughout the years have used Thomas Kurz' methods.

http://www.stadion.com/column.html

[EmptyneSs]

I've been given a lot of bad advice by people who were so-called experts. "My sifu taught me this, who learned it from his sifu etc. etc. all the way back to Da Mo at the original Shaolin Temple, therefore it's the right thing to do."

Splits (done after the workout, not as the warm-up) are fine. The problem is that doing the splits is a static position, while a strong high kick definitely isn't.

I would trust someone with a background in sports sciences though. Most of my instructors throughout the years have used Thomas Kurz' methods.

http://www.stadion.com/column.html

ill listen to the guy who lives and breathes muay thai and does it for a living.

[aseepish]

ill listen to the guy who lives and breathes muay thai and does it for a living.

Me too! And one of the guys who told me to emphasize dynamic stretching over static was a coach at the camp where I trained in Chiang Mai. Here's the relevant section of his homepage: http://lannamuaythai.com/cgi-bin/s?c...81711584220510

Static stretching will make you more flexible, but dynamic stretcing will make you more flexible, faster. I think living and breathing Muay Thai works too.

[kuk sool won]

dynamic stretching isn't all what its cracked up to be. Doing static flexing will improve your flexibilty, then practicing your kicks with the added flexibilty will not only reduce the risk of injury in itself but also adds extra stength to your strikes, you do need to leave a minute or so after static flexing, but you can work on whatever you want in that period. I do both static and dynamic stretching, to be honest, i really don't see why dynamic stretching is so amazing. One of the big pro's of it is that you are mean't to be able to kick just as well cold but that applies to static stretching also doesn't it? Mix them up and you should be fine.