Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 22 | Issue 3

INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE
The Value of Stretching
by Grandmaster Tim McCarthy
Do you have your students stretch at the beginning of classes?
Perhaps you have a warm-up routine for the beginning of each
class. If you don’t, you might consider adding one.
There are many values to a good warm-up. First of all, you
literally warm-up your students’ bodies. They go from a state of
calm to a state ready for action. You increase their blood flow,
heart rate, and body temperature to prepare them for the strenuous
activities in class. Without a warm-up you risk unnecessary
injury. The warm-up is also a good time for some basic conditioning
like push-ups, sit-ups, etc. to develop body strength. Most
beginners need some conditioning, and more advanced students
can benefit from advanced conditioning. Finally, stretching
can be included to prevent injury and, if done properly, to
increase flexibility.
Stretching is also a great way to develop confidence
because it develops bravery. Now, I want
to distinguish right here the difference between
stretching and loosening-up. I have known
some very flexible people who never stretch.
They plop down into a front split or a side split,
then stand up and begin to do amazing kicks.
To me, that’s not stretching; that’s loosening-up.
Both are good, but there is a difference.
Stretching hurts. Loosening-up doesn’t hurt.
Stretching involves extending your muscle
to its limit, where it hurts. At that point,
your natural tendency is to back off.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to
know that if something hurts, you
stop. A martial artist knows that
sometimes pain is the price of
progress, and stretching is an
easy way to not only learn, but
practice that principle. Pain is
an important component.
As you lead your students
through a stretching
session, first make sure
they have warmed-up
sufficiently. Cold muscles do not stretch easily nor do they
stretch as far as warm muscles. When stretching to develop
bravery, I recommend showing your students proper form and
then encouraging them to stretch to the point where the muscle
hurts. Some simple guidelines to use are (1) light muscle pain is
OK, but intense muscle pain is not. Don’t be stupid and pull a
muscle to show how brave you are. (2) Light muscle pain means
you are stretching the muscle, but joint pain usually means you
are damaging the joint. Avoid joint pain. (3) Don’t bounce. Move
slowly and deliberately.
As you are at the point where the muscle hurts, simply stay
there for about 30 seconds or so. You will probably notice that
if you don’t back away from the pain, the pain backs away from
you. Your muscles will stretch a little and hurt less. When your
muscle no longer hurts, chase the pain by stretching a little
deeper until you find that point of light pain again, and then wait.
If the pain backs away again, chase it again. When you reach the
point that the pain no longer backs away, simply stay there and
endure the pain for about 30 seconds at your maximum stretch,
and then relax. Of course, follow the same routine for your other
leg or on your other side.
The process of not only enduring the pain but chasing the
pain is what creates bravery. People who react emotionally will
want to flee from the pain. By intentionally staying at the pain
point, you help your student move out of their emotional mind
and into their rational mind. You help them learn how not to
react instinctively (emotionally) but react rationally. You teach
them bravery and self-control that goes a long way in conflict
management. A student who can control her instinct to avoid
pain can more easily control her anger or jealousy, and take a
few seconds to respond rationally to insults, accidents, or even
physical threats.
Some people want to measure martial arts by their effectiveness
in the ring. I choose to measure my teaching by its
effectiveness in everyday life. Full splits may not help you win
the UFC, but stretching with a goal in mind can help you learn to
be brave, control your emotions, and delay gratification toward
longer-term goals. I will choose those lessons for my students
any day of the week.
GRANDMASTER TIM MCCARTHY is a 9th degree black belt and is a martial arts educator
with a master’s degree in education. He has been instrumental in developing two industry-changing
programs, plus has directed and been featured in hundreds of martial arts videos and webinars.
92 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 3
Photograph by NeilLockhart