Martial Arts Warm Up Guidelines

The Warm up
One of the most important and essential components of a superbe martial arts program is a proper warm up. The purpose of the warm up is to prepare the athlete for the sport. It needs to be sport specific - in other words, it should involve movement and sequences that prepare an athlete for his or her sport. For instance, a professional martial artist shouldn't be doing the exact same warm up as a professional bowler; the martial artist is placing a different set of demands on body and therefore, requires exercises that put blood into more muscle groups as well as 'loosen' muscle in the correct places.

There are three parts to an effective warm up:
1 Rotations - during this initial phase of the warm up, the martial artist should gently rotate and/or move the limbs. He or she is gradually putting blood into the joints and muscles. It is imperative that one doesn't grind the joints with movements that are too large. For instance, if you are creating a circle with your arm, it shouldn't be as large as you can make it. This may look better in the eyes of some and be more difficult, but LARGE circular movements can and often grind joints - they place stress on ligaments and tendons.

2 Body Temperature - during the second phase of the warm up the martial artist should place more blood into the muscles and joints. He or she may do this by doing more vigorous movements, but not so vigorous that they cause injury. These movements should warm up the three major regions of the body as well as warm up opposing muscle groups:

-i- Upper Body
 
- light push ups - in other words, at this point one push ups or partner push ups where some places force at the shoulder, are both too intense.
- shrugs - to warm up the neck a few light shrugs without additional weight are appropriate
Remember this is the warm up phase

-ii- Midsection
 
- crunches - a modified sit up that doesn't place strain on the back muscles is appropriate and healthier at this time - too many crunches at this time though can add to strain and negatively affect performance during the martial arts session

-iii- Lower Body
 
- exercise bike or skipping - these exercises are great when it comes to putting blood into the lower portion of the body. Having proper running shoes for the skipping will lessen the amount of impact. As with other warm up exercises it is important to go with a shorter amount of time or low repetitions. However, it is very individual - some athletes can skip for five two minute rounds at this point and still have the energy, stamina, coordination, balance and agility that they need for the martial arts session. Others are better off with only two rounds.

3 Flexibility - during the third phase of the warm up the martial artist focuses on stretching muscle fibres. It is important to remember that the muscles need to be 'hot' before they are stretched; stretching a cold muscle is similar to stretching a cold elastic band, the elastic band is more likely to break. On the other hand if you stretch a hot elastic band it is less likely to break. It is similar with muscle fibre - there will be too much tear if the muscle fibres are cold. Over time it is essential to become more attune to listening to your body and this muscle tear concern. As with the initial two phase of the warm up, it is important to stretch muscles in the upper, lower and midsections of the body. Furthermore, you will want to stretch muscles groups that works together - for instance you will want to stretch the front, back, inside and outside of the leg regions (Quadriceps, hamstrings, tibialis anterior and gastronemus, etc.).

When stretching 'listen' to your muscles, tendons and ligaments. The movements should be controlled and it shouldn't be painful. Be patient and no bouncing or ballistic stretches. Furthermore, remember that injury often hides itself; you may feel that you are not injuring yourself, but in reality, an injury is occuring. Too often what happens in martial arts is that athlete FEELS that they are taking a safe route, only to be surprised and discover that they have been damaging joints and tissues. I have often met martial artists who have been instructed by physicians to discontinue training because they have torn tendons, and ligaments to the point that is beyond substantial repair. For instance, this one martial artist use to love hitting the heavy weight bag quite hard, and although he took some precautions it was too much for his body.