Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 22 | Issue 3

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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
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Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 22 | Issue 3

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