Through quite a bit of research, I have found that the following order for warming up and cooling down is said to be quite effective. We have been implementing it for about 6 months now and it seems to do the job. Anyone with ideas, please feel welcome to email your suggestions. I would like to have more than one way, just to keep things interesting.
1.Joint Manipulation - helps to replenish the fluid in your joints to keep movement smooth and "grind" free. Rotate and/or flex all joints starting from your fingers and on through to your toes. It doesn't take a lot, just enough that the joint feels warm and loose.
2.Light Cardiovascular - Start out with running some laps, doing punches as you go.
This is just to warm up the muscles before stretching, making the stretches that much more effective.
3. Dynamic Stretching - Now stand up and speed things up a bit with some side to side stretches and the like. Again, we are just trying to warm things up, not fatigue them.
4. Sport Specific Cardiovascular - Now we'll try some sport specific cardio. Start throwing some light kicks from kamai, tsuki from shikodachi; going for speed over power to ramp up the heart rate before the real fun begins. Breathe....all right, Hajime!
(approx. 15 min.)
Cool Down - Class is over and our hearts are pumping like crazy, right? Now lets do a bit of slow jogging to slow our heart rate down but keep our limbs warm. Now is the best time for some Static Stretching. Stretch it all, starting with the legs, which were probably worked the hardest. All stretches should be held at least 20 secs and as far/low as you can go. With the muscles warmed up, they will stretch to their potential far easier than if they are cold. Mokuso......
