"Healthy" Warm Up Exercises

[Bill Glasheen]

It's worth mentioning that the thread has morphed into two topics.

• The junbi undo
• How people do their shomen geris

This happens a lot. While they're related in the sense that we don't want to be doing things that hurt our bodies, each really is a topic worthy of its own thread. We'll keep it all here so long as folks can keep the topics straight.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Soo............ I was curious.

As Instructors how many of you stick with the traditional exercises? How many do a blend of traditional and other stretches and warm-ups? And how many have abandoned the traditional junbi-undo for more "modern" stretches and exercises?

I'm going to start by cutting to the chase.

• I do some - but not all - of the junbi undo. It is readily apparent to anyone who spends any length of time in university physical education departments that this set of exercises is dated. Opportunities abound. However... the intent is sound. What we're trying to accomplish with the junbi undo is to get the circulation going through the body, which physically warms up the soft tissue. These kinds of gentle "warm up" exercises are vital. And FWIW, it is NOT a time to be doing heavy stretching. Do NOT (and I mean NEVER) attempt to engage in stretching exercises when your body is cold and/or the circulation is not enhanced. Cold tissue is like rubber in freezing temperatures - it tears and breaks. Warm tissue is like warm rubber - it flexes and stretches. That's simple physics/chemistry.
• I have thrown the knee circles exercise away. I do not allow it to be done in my dojo. The very intent is unsound; the result can be dangerous. I have both literature and personal anecdotal data to back that up.
• I have taken the ballistic movement out of several of the junbi undo. Ballistic stretching is counterproductive. All you're doing is resetting the static stretch reflexes (so you can't move beyond a certain point) because you're body fortunately is smarter than you are when you do these. Martial arts is full of ballistic movements - to be done WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY WARMED UP. Ballistic warm-up exercises is an oxymoron the way karate aerobics is the same.
• I have enhanced many of the hojoundo. You wouldn't recognize some of them the way I do them. The knee circles become irrelevant when you see how I do some of the others.
• I've also added dynamic tension (with dragon breathing) to some of my "enhanced" exercises.

More in a bit.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Before you attempt to design an exercise that's supposed to warm up the movement of a body about a joint, it's best to start with first principles. Because I'm lazy and don't want to go to some of my medical textbooks, I'll instead go to Wikipedia. This piece on the knee is good enough, and it makes my point.

Read very, very carefully. I'll discuss more later.

- Bill

The knee permits flexion and extension about a virtual transverse axis, as well as a slight medial and lateral rotation about the axis of the lower leg in the flexed position. The knee joint is called "mobile" because the femur and menisci move over the tibia during rotation, while the femur rolls and glides over the menisci during extension-flexion.[20]

The center of the transverse axis of the extension/flexion movements is located where both collateral ligaments and both cruciate ligaments intersect. This center moves upward and backward during flexion, while the distance between the center and the articular surfaces of the femur changes dynamically with the decreasing curvature of the femoral condyles. The total range of motion is dependent on several parameters such as soft-tissue restraints, active insufficiency, and hamstring tightness.[18]

[gmattson]

Years ago I asked Dr. Bill to research the Uechi warm-up exercises and recommend a more "updated" set for those of us who would like a better way to begin our classes.

I've modified a few of the more potentially dangerous warmups. . . like the "knee circles" to eliminate any stress during the exercise, but keep doing the existing warm-ups (with the modifications) until Dr. Bill completes his project.

I'm very patient, but now that the subject has come up again, perhaps we can get an update on this project.

Oh yes, I believe our Uechi New Hampshire brother, Andy Moore, has a number of great plymetric drills that he has incorporated into his dojo's curriculum. I believe it might be beneficial if we include some of them in our program as well.

[KentuckyUechi]

Years ago I asked Dr. Bill to research the Uechi warm-up exercises and recommend a more "updated" set for those of us who would like a better way to begin our classes.

I must admit before I started the thread, I checked a certain individual's Asian Arts website, but was dissapointed to see the Junbi-Undo section was "under construction".

Here are some sources I've looked at:

http://www.martialartsstretching.com/

and

"The Stark Reality of Stretching" by Steven Stark

This book breaks down and explains the stretching process to a cellular level. It has excellent info, and makes a lot of sense. The problem I had, was after doing years of "extreme" martial arts stretches. You really don't feel like you've stretched at all after doing the "correct" stretches. Maybe I should be more patient. I definitely learned from it.

Moving on to the Shomen Geri execution portion of this conversation. I found some other data that was rather interesting.



http://www.health.uottawa.ca/biomech/la ... cb4_gr.pdf


http://www.health.uottawa.ca/biomech/la ... poster.ppt

SUMMARY
Peak powers were greater for the open stance than the closed
stance. The hip extensors and flexors were the prime movers
of both the hip and knee actions. The knee moments were
primarily used to reduce knee flexion and extension.

My personal interpretation of all this, if I was interpreting it correctly, is: When performing a front kick the knee automatically flexes past 90 degrees, (loading up for the kick). Therefore if you kick straight out without allowing the knee flexion, you are losing most of the power. (Although you may be able to reach the target quicker and without telegraphing). And secondly the "locking out" of the kick (aka contracting the quads), works to prevent hyperextension as I believe Bill stated earlier.

There's also some a little info here

http://www.arielnet.com/start/apas/stud ... elbaum.pdf

What do you think guys?

[Bill Glasheen]

This is getting a bit expansive, George.

Someone asked a question; I gave an answer. It's evolving for me, as it is for many. And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

I'm all for plyometrics, and the kind of stuff Andy Moore does. However this is an entirely different subject. Warm-up exercises are the prequel to karate, resistance training, and power training (with plyometrics being a subset of the latter).

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Bert

Again... this is getting a bit expansive.

The junbi undo are warm-up exercises. One should not be doing stretching until one is properly warmed up. And that implies something metaphorical and something quite literal. Muscles shouldn't be stretched until blood flow has warmed them up.

There are myriad stretching methods. The reference you gave is pretty good. There are others online that are equally good or better. I'll see if I can find a reference that's out there which I consider a bit of a gold standard. But the one you provided has a few interesting and unique morsels in it. Good stuff.

I personally teach PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching. It's a fundamental approach to the issue that kills many birds with one stone. That method was mentioned in your reference. A variation on that is CRAC (Contration, Relaxation, Antagonistic Contraction) which I use to get a little extra something on some stretches. But again... this is what you do after you're fully warmed up.

I was not in complete agreement about the do's and do nots of the reference. Mostly he was right. Some (like having your knee bent when stretching the hamstring) are head-scratchers.

There are numerous refinements I've picked up over time which help. One is to have a slight lumbar lordosis before bending towards the leg to do a hamstring stretch (of any kind). It prevents lumbar muscle and disc issues. I've learned that one both from experience and from an exercise guru.

More on the kick in a bit.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

SUMMARY
Peak powers were greater for the open stance than the closed
stance. The hip extensors and flexors were the prime movers
of both the hip and knee actions. The knee moments were
primarily used to reduce knee flexion and extension.

My personal interpretation of all this, if I was interpreting it correctly, is: When performing a front kick the knee automatically flexes past 90 degrees, (loading up for the kick). Therefore if you kick straight out without allowing the knee flexion, you are losing most of the power. (Although you may be able to reach the target quicker and without telegraphing). And secondly the "locking out" of the kick (aka contracting the quads), works to prevent hyperextension as I believe Bill stated earlier.

We do need to be careful here.

A Uechi Ryu shomen geri (a la sokusen) is a different animal from a vanilla shomen geri with ball-of-foot. The latter often means a front THRUST kick (time on target, like a Sanchin thrust) vs. Uechi's kick which is more whip-like (like a Uechi backfist technique or finger strikes). Uechi kicks aren't so much about breaking bones as they are about penetrating tissue. A vanilla karate front thrust kick is like being hit by a pole. A Uechi shomen geri should be like getting hit with a whip.

There are variations. More and more over time I find myself being able to do more with less. When you know where to probe, you can just stick your toe here and there with little effort and destroy someone's basic structure long enough to follow through with a joint lock, blood choke, or finishing blow. Instead of thrust or whip, this is "poke" (nuki). This is the "magic" I sometimes play with in the dojo that can piss my students off because I don't really do lasting harm, but I sure can annoy and disrupt them. And because I don't leave a mark, I'm more likely to do it again, and again, and again...

As for the amount of leg (knee) flexion and extension... I'm somewhere in-between extreme knee movement and what George does.

On the one hand I have a series of exercises I learned decades ago (from Hiroshi Hamada and from Ray Berry who learned from his Master Oshima) which train the hamstring to protect the knee. I also spend time in the weight room making sure my hamstring strength and condition matches the quad.

On the other hand... The better you develop your core and learn whole-body synergy, the less you have to use your leg to deliver a good kick or your arm to deliver a good strike. Using the principle of Sequential Summation of Motion (SSM), the VAST MAJORITY of your power should be coming from the core.

This is my "gold standard" for a Uechi Shomen Geri. See this "unknown" karateka perform it. Watch all the "nuances." They aren't. That's use of core and SSM.

See 0:30 - 0:32.
Kanei Uechi Seisan

See 0:14 - 0:16.
Kanei Uechi Sanseiryu

Also look at some beautiful frame-by-frame side-shots of Kanei doing a front kick in George's Uechiryu Karatedo.

One thing Kanei does (that most don't) is that he gets his knee VERY high before the foot finally comes out. That jumps right out at you when you look at the frame-by-frame shots in George's book. That requires a lot of abdominal strength (combined with hamstring/glute flexibility) that most don't have. I do... God gave me one or two gifts, and I'll take 'em. The advantages of this are many - not the least of which are you're less likely to jam your toes or get your shin smashed against a blocking arm. The better your technique in this aspect, the more likely you're going to throw the technique in sparring and/or fighting. It's my NSHO that most who think front kicks "suk" and would rather throw roundhouse kicks (or something else) just can't do that aspect of a front kick. Pain (smashed toes and/or shins) makes you not want to do it any more. Success is its own reward and reinforcement.

I spend a lot of time teaching the core muscle foundation of kicks. When you get that down, all this fuss over snapping the quads becomes moot. Then the leg isn't the source of power; it becomes the conduit and facilitator of it.

- Bill

[KentuckyUechi]

Many very interesting points. There's a lot of info to digest and consider. Thanks for the in-depth response.

The junbi undo are warm-up exercises. One should not be doing stretching until one is properly warmed up.

Although these may be warm-up exercises, it seems to me they also include stretches of sorts. If you are starting "cold" and jump right into the junbi-undo, they definitely cause you to move beyond the "normal" daily activity range of motion, and often in a ballistic manner.
Thus one of the reasons for starting the thread.

By the way Bill, if you get the chance to get down our way, my students and I would love to have you drop in.

[maxwell ainley]

We know you can warm up on most things ,personally I think to achieve getting into good condition is a goal and retaining things,so if needed you can perform at the drop of a hat .

So to perform a kick you would not really have to go through a warm up session ,if you can't then serious steps need to be enforced to get into shape .

Mini training sessions .

For many years now I have made use of this type of a work out ,this means I might single out any uechi concept within my understanding and give it ten of my very best .
Obviously these are not 6 till 8 in the evening workouts ,but they test out my condition through the day and keep me in closer connection with my subjects of practice .

[KentuckyUechi]

Excellent point Max.

Years ago, I was kinda OCD about being stretched and ready to go at tournaments. When I went to one recently, I thought "What would you do if attacked on the street without time for a warm-up. So I pretty much stopped worrying about it. Which is a good thing considering how tournaments can drag on.

[maxwell ainley]

Thanks Bert .

Also if we are a bit stiff ,or out of shape relaxed and slow ,until a more flexible level is within sight .Again you are in close contact with your subject of study .

[Bill Glasheen]

First

It's taking me a while to get things set up to teach here in Kentuckiana, Bert. I do have an "Urban Active" gym (formerly a Gold's Gym chain) I'm now going to regularly to keep up with the stretching and weight training. Actually with the family back in Virginia, it's easier for me to control my schedule, and I'm settling into a good routine.

However I do need to do some karate. And you saved me the need to ask. So do send me an e-mail (you haven't posted yours). Let's do this soon. The gi isn't happy if it isn't being used. A weekend (Saturday or Sunday) would be perfect, but other times OK if you're a straight shot from the I-64/I-65 intersection. My parking garage is literally a half block from getting on I-64 near that spot. I'm living in the St. Matthews area for now, just a short drive from I-264.

Second

A very big advantage with the "non-flashy" nature of Uechi Ryu is that it doesn't require a lot of stretching to get the range of motion going. But if given the opportunity, you should ALWAYS warm up. IF you actually do get into a "real" self-defense situation, neurohormonal stimulation will get you where you need to be quickly. Not so if you have to drag your booty to workout. And why take the risk of tearing a muscle or straining a tendon? The ounce of prevention thing really does apply here. The ego and fantasies of "reality" training don't apply when you have maybe a thousand workouts (minimum) for every "real" self-defense situation.

Look at it this way. I use my brain for a living. So every morning before I go to work, I do the following:

• Make sure I get to bed early the night before, and get a good night's sleep
• Get up pretty much at the same time every morning so that my biological clock is happy.
• Eat breakfast, take vitamins, drink a cup of coffee, shower, and get dressed in clean clothes.
• Drive to work with a vehicle that is in good working order and always plenty full with gas.
• Get to work before others, and get my "scut" work done before the main crowd gets there.

By the time I'm deep in my work, my brain is fully warmed up. And do you know why? Because my work affects the health and well-being of my customers. I cannot afford to make a mistake, and I want to have the maximum possible impact.

If I had the kind of job Rory had for years as a prison guard, I might consider a light workout before suiting up and heading into the prison. At that rate of exposure to violence, I don't want to tempt Murphy's law. Why should I if I can control that?

Food for thought.

- Bill

[maxwell ainley]

Bert .As mentioned I never ever do the uechi warm ups ,they are not a part of my syllabus ,so my approach to uechi-ryu is different that's all in a straight away manner . A gradual knock on effect from this approach is; to retain as close possible connections with my subject of study [sanchin] this is were the various mini workouts derived from in my practice .

At first it was just centred solely upon sanchin ,and the need to loosen up never was really a factor that entered this training equation , although with time the underlying basis for kicks emerged into my conscious thought ,in a method that appeared miles distant from systematic kick training as we know it ,remember this approach is not based around the dan /kyu system ,were you have nearly instant access to the dynamics of kicks ,in the older system you are exposed to the nucleus of kicks and not the kicks ,this is a totally different approach to dynamics of movement and the philosophical mental training that comes with this totally different approach to what is known as uechi-ryu.

[KentuckyUechi]

At first it was just centred solely upon sanchin ,and the need to loosen up never was really a factor that entered this training equation , although with time the underlying basis for kicks emerged into my conscious thought ,in a method that appeared miles distant from systematic kick training as we know it ,remember this approach is not based around the dan /kyu system ,were you have nearly instant access to the dynamics of kicks ,in the older system you are exposed to the nucleus of kicks and not the kicks ,this is a totally different approach to dynamics of movement and the philosophical mental training that comes with this totally different approach to what is known as uechi-ryu.

Interesting. I'm not sure I've ever approached Uechi from the exact same angle, at least to that extent. I tend to approach Uechi from this angle when I'm working out solo, especially during the times in the past when I was not teaching a class. It's during those times I did primarily kata (Sanchin, as well as the other 7). So during such "workouts" I also try to concentrate on the kicks only as they relate to and compliment the kata. So I think we're on the same page.