Summary: Stretching is very important in all martial arts including Aikido. Learn how to do a forward bend stretch from an Aikido expert in this free martial arts video clip.
Sensei Derdeyn was born in 1975 and soon moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil where he received his first introductions to martial arts via Brazilian Jujitsu (BJJ) and Capoiera. It would not be...read more
"Another stretch that we like and that you're going to find that is of great use to you, we've all seen modified straight leg and relax. Now what I want you to do though, and what we try to do is when we relax, there's a slight bend to the legs. So you're thinking about it as though it's a Romanian Dead Lift or it's a back hyper extension. So you need to crease the hips. Let the hips go back first keeping the legs straight. Go ahead and let the body come down, and you're going to feel this immediately through the hamstrings and especially in the calves and behind the backs of the knees. Same thing. Squeeze your legs together, squeeze your knees together as if you're trying to squeeze a tight ball, squeeze tight for about five seconds, relax and try to bend further. As soon as you start feeling the tension in your lower back, as well as in the back of your legs again, squeeze, relax, breathe out. You're trying to get to the floor. So squeeze, relax, squeeze, relax. Now coming back up, don't come straight back up. Bend your knees first. Protect your lower back. Stand up. There are more people that get hurt by moving in this motion from a hyper extended position, than I care to think about. And you don't want to do that, so protect your lower back at all times. When you're coming up, bend your knees, pretty simple. IN VIDEO EXPERT SAYS ONE NAME AND EXPERT'S BIO SAYS ANOTHER NAME. "
eHow Article: Aikido Forward Stretches