September 24th, 2003
A Tang Soo Do practice begins with stretching. The purpose is to gain the flexibility needed to perform the art, as well as to prevent injury. As stretching out properly is such an important part of each of our workouts, it is important to understand the differences in the types of stretching that we do. There are basically three kinds of flexibility: Dynamic Flexibility, Static Passive Flexibility and Static Active Flexibility.
Dynamic Flexibility involves performing dynamic movements within a full range of motion in the joints. An example is alternately swinging your arms up and down as far as they’ll go. Static Passive Flexibility is assuming and maintaining extended positions using your weight (such as splits) or using strength not coming from the stretched limbs. Examples of this include side splits and lifting and holding a leg with your arm. Static Active Flexibility is assuming and maintaining extended positions using the tension of many muscle groups, while actually only stretching one particular set. An example of this is lifting your leg and keeping it high without any support.
How do we get the necessary flexibility to perform the martial art of Tang Soo Do? By stretching. Generally, younger people have more natural flexibility than older people, but it is equally important that everyone take the same amount of time to stretch out their muscles completely. It is also important to remember that stretching, in one form or another, is important for each of us to do every day. If you take time to practice stretching every day, you will find your flexibility increasing twice as fast.
It is best to start out with static passive stretching, then move into static active stretching, and finish up with dynamic stretching. How quickly you stretch is not important. It is not a contest to see who finishes stretching first. The important thing is to give your body what it needs to be ready for an invigorating Tang Soo Do workout.