In today’s society, martial arts is considered a good way for developing a strong, healthy body. This is true, especially those that can be participated in by elders. Outside of the combat elements, however, there are several routines related to martial arts that are essential for taking care of the body. On their own, these routines can support and promote a long, healthy life. Coined as “body maintenance”, below is an explanation of several components of this, as well as tips from my own experience.
STRETCHING
A form of body maintenance is stretching, which is a basic routine essential for almost all types of martial arts. Called jūnan taisō¹ in Japanese, oftentimes this is reserved for the begnning of a traning session, where one stretches the arms, legs, waist, and so on in order to increase the flexibility in one’s muscles, and tendons. Stretching is vital as it not only allows a person to perform punches, kicks, and body movements required in given martial system, but can prevent serious injuries from certain joint and body strains or sudden falls one may get if their body isn’t supple enough.
Picture on the left, reaching both hands behind our backs, while in the picture on the right, front leg lifts.
In order to maximize one’s ability to stretch, there are other important segments to remember. One of these is loosening the joints up before doing deep, long stretches. This can be done by rotating one’s arms, swinging one’s legs, rotating the hips, and so on. Loosening one’s joints should be done with control and care, especially for beginners; excessive and/or overpowered limb and joint manipulation could lead to strains, tears, or severe joint injuries.
BODY MASSAGE
Another routine for body maintenace is body massages. In some martial systems great emphasis is placed on this, as massages can loosen and relax muscles, and promote good blood flow. Massages can warm up the muscles to prevent injuries during active times while training, such as muscle pulls. This is also true in sports. In my group, several basic massaging routines used include those that can be self-applied. This includes simply rubbing and pressing the muscles on the calves, forearms, sides, feet, and back.
Various ways to increase flexibility in the wrists
A unique way to actively massage the body is through light body strikes. Just like a regular massage, a practicioner can self-apply this all over the body using different parts of the hand, such as the palm or sides. While this gives you similar results to regular massages, light body strikes also works as conditioning for the body, for the impact toughens the skin and gets one’s body used to the striking sensation. One must also be careful to do this moderately and to one’s capacity, for striking too intensely can cause unforeseen damage.
DAILY ROUTINES
Body maintenance should not only be performed in class, but outside during one’s daily routines as well. Actually, it cannot be stressed enough about the necessity of doing this on a daily basis. For example, I personally did stretching up to 3 times a day while growing up, and this was outside of training. I would stretch once in the morning, once in the early afternoon, and once at night, preferably before going to bed. This routine has benefited me greatly over the years health-wise, as well as avoiding long term injuries. Of course, there are some guidelines to keep in mind:
Examples of ground stretches for the legs and body.
① Never stretch immediately upon waking up. Walk around abit and warm up the muscles & joints before beginning stretching.
② Do not stretch immediately after eating. For the afternoon, stretch before eating lunch, or save it for early evening after eating lunch.
③ If going to bed immediately after stretching, then stretch lightly and less vigorously. Stretching stimulates the blood and can wake up the body.
While stretching is a must before training, stretching after a training session is also important. After training sessions is good for loosening tight, fatique muscles, and improving blood flow. It should not be as vigorous as the before-training stretch, nor as long.
CONCLUSION
Body maintenance is an important, non-combative element in martial arts. It should be performed as much as the combative elements. Body maintenance can be achieved almost anywhere and anytime. For a martial artist, body maintenance not only can keep us healthy, but allow us to keep training in our techniques even when we get old, if done correctly.
1) 柔軟体操. Along with stretching, jūnan taisō also refers to movements and motor skills found in calisthenics.