Breathing
- Never hold your breath
- Breath in and out through your nose
- Keep your mouth and your body relaxed
- Keep the tip of the tongue against the roof of your mouth, just behind your teeth
Postures
- The knee should never extend past the toes
- Move or rotate the foot in order to avoid twisting the knee
- Sink into the stance to a level you can maintain throughout the form
- Keep your head at the same level
- Avoid up and down bodily motion while changing between stances or postures
- Keep the legs relaxed
- Touch the heel to the floor before the toe
- Make sure the stance is open enough to be stable and don’t stand too wide
Stretching Tips
- Do stretching exercises at least twice daily to gradually increase your flexibility.
- Commit yourself by religiously sticking to your exercises routine.
- Target the major muscle groups that need to be stretched for at least 20 minutes each day.
- Reward yourself at the end of each training session so you can develop a new interest with your regimen.
- Start setting short term, and then do long term goals.
Warm Up
- Be careful throughout and be sure to start slowly.
- Listen to your body and learn.
- As your body becomes more accustomed to what it is you’re asking it to do, it will respond by changing its capabilities.
- Remember, all it takes is a consistent effort over time.
- Warming up is meant to bring your muscle through a normal range of motion.
- Most people’s range of motion is limited simply due to a general lack of demand on their body. The goal of the stretches here is to teach your muscles to become more “elastic”, resulting in a more naturally flexible body even when it is not warmed up.
- By moving through your comfortable range and then pushing only slightly further, that range will increase over time and the new larger range of motion will become the norm.
Diet
- Everyone should take less salt and white sugar, you can have crystal sugar and honey, instead.
- You should avoid food containing harmful material, smoked food, salted food, and food containing much fat.
- Avoid food containing preservatives and chemicals, stale food, and canned food.
- Do not go to bed within three hours after dinner, in order to prevent obesity.
- Be sure to have more of these detox foods: sweet potatoes, green beans, oats, millet, coarse rice, red beans, yam, asparagus, onion, yogurt, lotus root and carrot.
Injury Prevention
- Have a pre-participation physical exam and clearance evaluation before participating.
- Learn the inherent risks with each style of martial art before selecting the one to pursue.
- Always train and practice under direct supervision from an experienced trainer.
- Follow proper warm-up and cool-down routines.
- Wear appropriate protective equipment in your style of martial arts
- Discuss any concerns about injuries or strategies for preventing injuries with your trainer.