A leader of Japan’s Shotokan Karate visited our Dojo some years ago. It was such a rare honour to have Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa (70 plus) with us. Obviously, we all wanted to perform at our best which included for Brahm, a Second Dan Black Belt grading. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be for Brahm as he flung his leg out for a high Yoko Geri Keage (rapid sidekick) and painfully dislodged his leg bicep while warming up. But what stuck in my mind from Kanazawa’s visit was his amazing stretch – standing on one leg, the other almost directly straight up in line with the wall. Then later, having seen our own stretches he commented “You guys are already old men. You cannot stretch. Stretch is youth!”.
Sadly, the message didn’t quite sink in for me. In fact, it wasn’t until this year that I finally got the message, and now want to share it with YOU. We’ve noticed that a lot of members avoid taking time to stretch. What struck me was reading the life story of NAVY SEAL and ULTRA-ATHLETE, David Goggins. Having run (and won) numerous marathons and one-hundred-mile races, he suddenly found himself severely incapacitated. Later, when he thought he was on his deathbed and after numbers of the medical profession were unable to source the problem, David suddenly realised his body had developed at least two ‘knots’, one on the base of his neck and one on his hip. Then he membered one occasion when a visiting ‘stretch-trainer’ gave a workshop for the Navy Seals. At the time, David wasn’t interested and changed nothing.
Now desperate and lying motionless in bed, David decided that ‘stretching’ might be the solution to his ailment. David threw himself into a daily stretching routine, and finally, his health began to improve. Tough guy Goggins now believes that stretching is one of the most important ingredients in a health, fitness, and athletic routine. For me, the message has finally arrived. Stretching is not for sissies. It’s for athletes and for every people who simply want the best for their body. YOU could start by attending the YOGA classes, seeing a Trainer or putting together a few moves of your own. The important thing is that you start doing something, daily.
Here are some methods to stretch the psoas muscle that you can try at the gym or at home. Goggins believes that the psoas is ‘the most important muscle to stretch’.
Psoas Stretch – https://www.healthline.com/health/psoas-stretch-what-it-good
