Author: Sifu-W

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A Useful Relaxation technique

The following was initially published by Health Promotion England in their “The Health Guide”:

Learn to recognise when your muscles are tensed – this is a sign of stress. This simple breathing exercise may help you to combat stressful moments in your life:

  1. Sit with your feet flat on the floor, or lie in a comfortable and supported position. Rest your hands lightly on your thighs
  2. Breathe slowly and deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth. If you are breathing correctly your stomach, not your chest, should rise and at the start of each breath.
  3. As you breathe, gradually drop your shoulders and relax your hands. Make sure your teeth are not tightly clenched.

Calm, controlled breathing helps to release muscular tension and relieve stress.

Adopt this breathing technique when training and this will allow your body to stay calm and relaxed. Training your forms is ideal for practicing this but in time you should be able to quickly bring your focus back to breathing whenever you are feeling any pressure.

Breathing is a fundamental part of living, impaired breathing doesn’t allow us to function at our optimum and without it, we cease to function at all.

However, how often do you think about breathing?

In the majority of cases, the answer to this question is, not very often!

But, this should not be the case, and adopting different breathing techniques is a way of bringing focus to this important function.

There are many techniques that can be used to achieve different results, the above being just one. At the very least allow yourself time to bring focus to your breathing, if only for a few moments.

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CWCK Loyalty Program

Loyalty Card

Our loyalty scheme was introduced on March 1, 2017, and has been of benefit to our students and encouraged regular consistent training which enhances progression.

How it works

If you drink coffee then you probably know already, but for those who don’t…

…quite simply for every 9 normal training sessions that an individual attends he/ she gets a 10th FREE. This is monitored using a loyalty card that must be brought to each session to qualify for a stamp in reward for attendance at that session.

  • Stamps cannot be carried forward or logged retrospectively
  • Only one stamp can be given per person at any one class.
  • Stamps cannot be gifted to others, if you forget to get your card stamped you cannot get a stamp for that week, in any following week.
  • If you have forgotten or mislaid your card you can request another
  • It is acceptable to hold more than one card

Cards cannot be used against special sessions such as those arranged for Post Biu Tze students.

Don’t forget to pick up your loyalty card from your Sifu.

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Warming Up

Before training or exercising, it’s important to warm up the body.

Specifically, warming up entails exercising the large muscle groups. Doing this will increase the body’s temperature and heart rate. The warm-up should be intensive enough to perhaps cause perspiration but not to cause fatigue.

Warming up will increase the blood flow to the working muscles, which can raise the flow of oxygen to the muscle cells and help remove waste products such as lactic acid; it will also increase the speed and force of muscular contractions because nerve impulses travel faster at higher body temperatures and muscles will become less stiff (or ‘viscous’). It will also protect the major joints because it takes time to increase the supply of synovial fluid and thicken the articular cartilages – the body’s shock absorbers.

The aim of a warm-up is to prepare the body (and mind) for the more energetic demands to come and be appropriate for the activity planned. Mobilising the joints should always be included as part of a warm-up to help release any stiffness that may have been built up during the day- for example, tension in the neck and back muscles resulting from sitting for long periods at a desk. By freeing up the major joints a greater range of movement can be achieved during the main activity. Joints to be mobilised are the ones that will be used during the exercise and all movement should be small and then increased.

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Stretching

By stretching gently our body become’s more pliable and less prone to injury. Stretching develops flexibility but it also helps to reduce muscle tension, making the body feel more relaxed, it increases the range of motion of a joint, promotes circulation, reduces muscle soreness, prepares the body for strenuous exercise and prevents muscle strains. A strong pre-stretched muscle resists stress better than a strong un-stretched muscle.

Whenever a muscle is stretched, the immediate effect is for the stretch reflex to be activated. The stretch reflex is a function of the nervous system; it helps to keep muscle in good tone and prevent injury. Stretching a muscle changes its shape by lengthening the fibres and the muscle being stretched contracts. Because stretching causes muscle contraction, you should avoid ‘bouncing’ or ballistic stretches. Performing ballistic stretches increase the tension in the muscle resulting in an attempt to stretch a tense muscle thus resulting in injury.

Please Note: there are several forms of advanced stretching that require tension to be focussed in the targeted muscle but this is beyond the scope of this article and may be discussed in future articles.

For general stretching to be at its most effective, the muscles targeted for the stretch should be completely relaxed and stretched slowly and smoothly. It is advisable to warm up before stretching and focus on the muscle being stretched. Stretch muscles in their natural position, maintain a good body posture and breathe normally and freely. As you move deeper into the stretch emphasise your exhalation and focus your breath into any muscles that feel tight. As a rule inhale to prepare and exhale to stretch. Stretching may result in mild discomfort but if you feel pain, stop, slowly release and rest the stretch.

It is desirable to stretch on a daily basis and people without pre existing health conditions are perfectly safe to do so. Stretching can be done almost anywhere and at any time as no specific equipment is required. Evening is a good time to stretch and the relaxation induced may serve to help you sleep. Many of us sit and watch the TV in the evening so why not sit on the floor instead of in the armchair and stretch while you are watching. There really is no excuse for saying “I do not have the time!”.

In conclusion; stretching is a natural thing to do and has a great feel good factor to it with many associated health benefits. It will make you feel better and will be of great benefit to you, your Wing Chun or indeed any other physical activity that you undertake!