The Importance of Warming Up, Stretching and Cooling Down

http://ska.org/news/2015/the-importance-of-warming-up-stretching-and-cooling-down/

From David Altman:

On several occasions, Ohshima Sensei has asked me to lead warm-ups, most recently at the 2014 yodan and godan practices at Shotokan Ohshima Dojo. My face flushed a little when Mr. Ohshima praised those warm-ups to the group, but afterward many members asked me to explain my approach to flexibility training. 

My approach to warm-ups and stretching may seem a little different than you are accustomed to in practices, but this is not in any way a criticism of other methods. 

I didn't truly begin to understand stretching until my wife and I started practicing yoga about 20 years ago. Like karate, yoga is an ancient art, which at its core, is about freeing ourselves from mental and physical blocks. 

JUNBI UNDO:

Junbi Undo (準備運動) means "warm-up exercise." These are preliminary exercises to awaken the mind and body in preparation for practice. Warming up increases respiration, heart rate, circulation, and warms the musculature, tendons, ligaments and the synovial fluid in the joints. Breathing is the main tool to release tension from the body. Releasing tension allows us to safely begin stretching the musculature, and opening up the ligaments, tendons, and joints.

Junbi Undo is not just something we do before practice; it is an important part of our practice. It allows us to move freely, and to connect our breathing, mind, and body as one. We must study and understand how and why to perform the movements of warming up, stretching, and cooling down, and how they relate to martial arts. This can help us gain additional insight into our practice of budo.