always a better way to stretch

[Kamiyama]

Stretching, the ninja way....

Here I will demo my wonderful stretching strap I made 5 years ago.. it is the best method I have found to stretch without injury...

Get,
seat belt strap..
one buckle... fast-tex type
good heavy duty thread...

Make one piece of the strap the same length to go around your foot and make a 'loop' for your foot to go into...... and sew it to the strap going up your leg to the buckle.. sew the strap onto the buckle.. I would say one foot long to the loop...

follow photos..

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Kamiyama]

Here you see the loop around the foot.. coming up to the buckle..

follow photos...

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Kamiyama]

Here is the photo of the buckle, it controls the pressure of the stretch and it is where you pull to make the strap tight or lose...

Also it is there to un-lock in case you get a cramp.. bang..it's off..

follow photos..

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Kamiyama]

Here is a shot of the method of pulling it around your lower back.. to put the 'other' loop on the other foot.. yes, another loop.. but no buckle.. but..well you can put one on there too..

Always...sorry..always put on lower part of back.. do not let the strap come up past the lower shoulder blades.. not good for back..


kamiyama, ralp severe

[Kamiyama]

Here is the last shot of the full stretching placement of the strap..
I have found that the strap doesn't hurt the knees like other stretchers... and there is no effort to do the stretch.. so.. what can you lose..?

To use this posture, just pull strap to get it as tight as you feel is correct for you.. and you can rach to the foot strap and grab to hold or pull..
This works great..

I hope you like it.. the ninja strap-on thing..

This is stretch one.. there are many others.. if you would like to see them..I will post the pose for you.. just ask..

Any questions?

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Kamiyama]

By the way..

The reason I like this strap.. is that it..

Pulls directly on the hamstring with a steady pull..without any jerking..

The other thing I like is the way it pulls the foot back to aid in the stretch to the bottom of the foot..

It aso pulls inside the leg..area for a good stretch...

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Lee Mc'pherson]

I like your idea ralph i'll try it and let you know how it works out. I' ve been using a rope in a similar way

[Moko]

Is important. Very important.

For some more ideas on using a strap find a Hatha yoga shala. They use props to help stretch and pay very strict attention to correct bone alignment. In Ralph's photos his toes are not pointing at the ceiling. In Yoga they should be. You may also find you get a better and different feel to the stretch by pulling back on the toes WITH YOUR MUSCLES!!! There's this in/yo theory, you tighten up the top of the leg and the bottom of the leg stays relaxes. It does work.

Again, see a proper expert for strectching and for my money its Yoga. Ashtanga Yoga if you can, Bikrams if you have lots of cash.

[kabutoki]

hi,
there are so many theories around about active or passive streching that it is very hard to tell the difference between good and bad/stupid/inefective methods.
the best thing imho is not to get a seatbelt but somebody who knows his buisness. that would either be someone from the yoga/tai chi area or somebody working in professional physical therapy or rehabilitation. some friends of mine work in that area and they know more about that topic than anyone else...
most people have a therapist or similar in his/her region availiable. it´s worth the effort...


karsten

[monkeyboy_ssj]

The grade belt has always been used in the exact same way in many martial arts for over a hundred years.

I recommend reading books by Thomas Kurz, very good books about dynamic and static stretching, and it acheives very good results quickly.

cheers

[kabutoki]

hi there,
i don´t find much of an argument here.
i had a sports teacher in school who would say the same (we´ve always done that !) and he made us do streching every therapist would "kill" him for.

what do you consider good results ? beeing totally flexible and to have "loose" muscles is not the way the human body is supposed to work. the risk of overdoing streching is pretty high i think. some people can do it but it´s nothing i would recommend to just everybody.
when it comes to "quickly" when talking about changing physical attributes i always have my doubts.
a good (and flexible) martial artist doesn´t always make a good and medically acceptable streching trainer. actually i found out that it is often quite the opposite, accompanied by the an overwhelming amount of selfconfidence on the side of those teachers concerning their ability to give a good warmup/cooldown.
to know the human body in terms of pressure points and joint locks doesn´t garantee a good streching...

karsten

[Kamiyama]

Here is a stretch I really enjoy.

The toes should be used in all three primary positions, NOT ONE OR JUST POINTED UPWARDS like another poster pointed out.
You should never put the toes in one position. NEVER.

I agree yoga is a very good system.
But when was the last time you saw a yoga teacher rolling, doing weaponry evasions, striking targets with their hands or feet, knees or elbows, jumping, being thrown, throwing people, grappling on the ground or standing, etc..
I would get someone who does the same thing I wish to do or close to it.. ALWAYS stretch in the same manner as you would be using the body.

I have been doing martial arts for most all of my life so far.. I'm 320 pounds and very flexible.. so what else can be said?? So you can do what ever you like.. or don't like.. what ever.. I'll stick with what works..for ME.

May I share some more info now?

This stretch is using the strap coming around your lower back to only one foot. It is great because it puts all the stretch into one area.
And the toes should be placed in all three directions during ALL stretches. This is much like squats with weights. Always work the full range of motion and area of the lower and upper leg.

Come forward with the cheat, not the head.

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Kamiyama]

This stretch is a funny one but is a very good one.

With your back straight on the floor you can relax and work direct areas of the leg and hip.

Make sure the energy is going in the direct of the toes. And yes, your toes should be worked in all three directions. Of course..

You will find that in this posture you will have a great deal more stress put on the hamstring area of the leg. Relax and in time the body will allow you to become more use to this position.

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Kamiyama]

This is a very good posture for the hips and lower back.

Many call this the butter fly posture. OK..

With the strap going behind you have it on both feet.
Pull it in tight so the feet are pulled in tight too.

Keep the back straight.

You may like to push down with the hands on the knees.
Do this carefully and slowly.

You may also like to bring your chest down to the feet area with the head upward, looking forwards..

This is also a good posture for thinking in or relaxing.. with the suport to the lower back as you do..
And if I may.. good for meditation.

kamiyama, ralph severe

[Kamiyama]

This is a very advanced posture.

It puts the most stress on the lower leg area as well as the upper leg area.

With the strap like the one sitting up on one foot this one is like that one too.

Work the toes in all directions in this one too.

Becareful. this one will get you..

ok

I hope you enjoyed these..

Use the strap, it's better than any belt or rope.. also it come off fast if you get a cramp..

kamiyama, ralph severe