Questions for Mr. Kurz

[kenh]

I have several of your books and videos and I am a 38 year old martial artist who has been doing various martials arts for about 5 years. I want to confirm some things from your materials to make sure I understand it correctly:

You obviously state don't stretch if you feel pain. You also suggest that when you workout that you shouldn't feel pain the next day as you have damaged the muscles by working out too hard and generally you suggest to layoff until the muscle has recoved. However, is it beneficial to do any moderate relaxed stretches on the sore muscle the day or 2 after the hard workout to try to loosen it up or should you completely leave the muscle alone until you feel no muscle soreness at all? I know this shouldn't happen but by the very nature of hard martial arts workouts you do end up doing diffferent exercises that workout muscles in new ways and so it is common to have this happen.

Next, in the sections around dynamic stretching, people have had questions and you have generally said a single set of 12 is the right amount to get you to full range of motion on a dynamic stretch. For static stretching though, how many sets do you generally suggest at the tail end of a workout for a given static stretch? I just want to be more clear on this area and as example...would you suggest 2-3 sets holding the stretch for 30 seconds each time at the maximum range of motion with no pain?

Also, my TKD instructor has amazing flexibility and he advocates stretching all the time. You obviously advocate early morning stretching. But do you suggest people do static stretches several times a day - as much as people can really fit in during a busy day? I have obviously read your suggested workout routines in Stretching Scientifically and just trying to reconcile my instructors advice with what you recommend.

Lastly, as a suggestion, have you ever thought of doing a seminar tour through a bunch of cities? I would certainly pay to attend an event in Toronto where you took us through a workout on high kicks and flexibility and I think it would be popular.

Thanks for the books and videos as I am plugging away.

[Thomas Kurz]

[...] is it beneficial to do any moderate relaxed stretches on the sore muscle the day or 2 after the hard workout to try to loosen it up or should you completely leave the muscle alone until you feel no muscle soreness at all?

Only if it makes you feel better during and after (long after).

I know this shouldn't happen but by the very nature of hard martial arts workouts you do end up doing diffferent exercises that workout muscles in new ways and so it is common to have this happen.

This is common if the training is haphazard (you show up sporadically) or run by an uneducated instructor.

For static stretching though, how many sets do you generally suggest at the tail end of a workout for a given static stretch? I just want to be more clear on this area and as example...would you suggest 2-3 sets holding the stretch for 30 seconds each time at the maximum range of motion with no pain?

Yes. The rationale is given in Stretching Scientifically.

But do you suggest people do static stretches several times a day - as much as people can really fit in during a busy day?

That depends on what are you going to do after these stretches. See page 22 in Stretching Scientifically.

Lastly, as a suggestion, have you ever thought of doing a seminar tour through a bunch of cities? I would certainly pay to attend an event in Toronto where you took us through a workout on high kicks and flexibility and I think it would be popular.

I did a few seminars for general public and “martial artists” years ago and I did not like it. Most “martial artists” who showed up were embarrassingly out of shape, hadn't learned fundamental techniques (no clue about stances, how to punch, how to do basic kicks, etc.) but wore colored belts. I recall most of these seminars with disgust.

I have videos of these seminars and I consider editing them so to show mostly my instructions and demonstrations while deleting most of my futile attempts at correcting those fake martial artists, clueless black belts, etc. If these seminars will be released on a DVD it would be less expensive than attending a live seminar but no less (or even more) informative.

[strangedejavu]

I have videos of these seminars and I consider editing them so to show mostly my instructions and demonstrations while deleting most of my futile attempts at correcting those fake martial artists, clueless black belts, etc.

Mr. Kurz, I have an idea. Perhaps you should include your futile attempts at correcting fake martial artists. Your DVD could have a section called "You might be a martial arts idiot if..." or something like that. Most frauds probably don't know they're frauds and this can open their eyes so they say "Oh crap, I'm just like that idiot! I better do my homework and get some real instruction." You could have circus music in the background and make it comedic, too. That's just my two cents. I hope you do release it. I think it would be helpful to watch.

[tbull]

I just recently rec'd your DVD and book on stretching. In your video and the beginning of the beginners exercises the narrator says that you need to be able to run a couple of miles and be able to do a couple hundred sit ups before beginning to do the exercises. Is this true? Am I able to start doing anything to improve my flexibility, or do I have to wait until I can run a couple miles and have the abdominal strength to do a couple hundred sit ups. I would greatly appreciate your guidance. My goal is to do a front and side splits. I just recently joined kickboxing and would like to improve my flexibility for that as well. Thank you for your time.

[tyciol]

That kind of martial arts lameness is exactly why I think it'd be good to do things like get splits and kicks from you first before joining a dojo, and then seeing if they can even match that. If you can outmatch someone's kicks without even training kicks in real time, then there's got to be a problem with that dojo.