There is much confusion out in the world surrounding the issue of flexibility. Contrary to popular understanding, stretching alone does not create flexibility, nor is hyper-flexibility a desirable state, no matter how good it may look to those of us made of less rubbery stuff. Leg stretching exercises should be performed with proper support and understanding of the different roles of muscle, ligament, fascia, and bone tissues, and an awareness of one’s own body type, to avoid weakening knee and hip joints through imbalanced or over-stretching. Flexibility in kicks is a combination of articulating both halves of the pelvis (yes, it comes apart), strength and activation in the supporting leg, and proper sequencing i.e. the supporting foot and leg initiate the sequence and the knee, shin, or foot of the kicking leg finish the action.  For those of us not-so-flexible types, we can rejoice in our stability, fight close and low, learn to cheat the angles, and when confronted with the flexible opponent -  keep our hands up!

Sensei Michelle 

Soshu Shigeru Oyama said to me after my first full contact competition, “beginner fights like baby; all grabbing. He can’t help it.” How right he was. 

A baby's first movements are primitive reflexes that can also be recognized as foundational movements that support good fighting postures and skills. Some of these reflexes and their karate counterparts are:

I began my martial arts training when I was 18 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at a Tae  Kwon Do Dojang in a steamy basement of an old warehouse soon to be demolished. I was a slothful youth in a community where those who had  “athletic talent’ were encouraged and given resources.  Resources came from the blood sports-hockey mostly but football too. With small size and zero movement capacity I was soon weeded out.

At the senior student meeting on Sunday we discussed ways to get more adult students into the dojo. Since the children’s program ends at the end of the school year, our dojo space is under utilized in the summer months. What a great opportunity to spread the benefit of Martial arts training among adults.

Master Yu's philosophy contradicts tai chi's passive reputation. Instead, he emphasizes transitions and internal force. Anything but softness.

In fact, Master Yu laughs when students - many of them advanced karate students -- groan throughout class. The slow transitions recruit concentration and unused leg muscles.