Warm-Ups

Instructors must be aware of what the particular exercise or stretch is attempting to accomplish. Exercises which have the potential to injure are avoided, such as deep knee bending squats. Overstretched or torn muscles or joints will cause a student's development to be slowed waiting for the injury to heal. For warming up exercises "no pain, no gain" is nonsense. Painful exercises must be avoided as pain is the body's warning to stop what you are doing as it can result in injury.

Stretches for large muscles are initiated slowly, held at least ten seconds, with no bouncing, and switched slowly from one side to the other. Joints are strengthened by exercising the muscles that hold the joint, not by hyper-extending the joint itself. Flexibility is improved by gradually stretching the joint to its limits, not by exceeding those limits.

When some of the original martial arts were founded, they did not have the advantage of modern medical technology and research methods which are now being used to study human physiology and body mechanics. Consequently, conditioning exercises and self defence techniques were practised which were not only ineffective, but potentially damaging, even though they were considered the best available at the time. Recent sports research has devised conditioning exercises that are effective and not damaging, so old fashioned exercises which modern medical research has proven ineffective can be avoided.

Students are always encouraged and assisted to try to reach their own limits, but are not pushed beyond their physical limitations. It is the Instructor' s responsibility to recognize and respect those limitations. New students may be hesitant about martial arts training, and may not be in sufficiently good physical condition to withstand some of the more demanding exercises right away. Beginners are taught separately from advanced students, with relatively simple exercises that do not test their physical limits right away, until they gradually adapt to the more rigorous regular class regimen. This may be true even for students who have had previous training in another martial art.

During warming up exercises, no student is permitted to touch another unless it is required of the specific stretch or exercise. Students must move together in formation and maintain safe spacing between them.

Conditioning for Striking Techniques

Warming up Exercises

Basic Stances and Movements