Stop Cramping in Foot & Legs: Stretches for Takumakai Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

During my Takumakai Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu practice sometimes I get cramps, even when I stretch before hand. Once or twice I got it while sitting (traditional japanese way) in my foot, and when we do certain stretches too. I think it's just because I'm not flexible or something (since for the last 10 years I've basically sat infront of the computer).

I'm jut curious what stretches I can do, just every now and then to stop cramping in my foot and my legs. Or rather what the best ones to do would be.

 

[moose]

Umm, try to increase your intake of potassium and calcium. Also, drinking a lot of water and making sure you have enough salt in your system can help. Oh, and are you breathing properly while doing whatever it is that you're doing when getting cramps?

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

If by "breathing properly" you mean that I'm not having trouble breathing, then no I'm not. But if you mean there is some breathing technique I should be doing then I don't know xD.

 

[MeJennifer]

During my Takumakai Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu practice sometimes I get cramps, even when I stretch before hand. Once or twice I got it while sitting (traditional japanese way) in my foot, and when we do certain stretches too. I think it's just because I'm not flexible or something (since for the last 10 years I've basically sat infront of the computer).

I'm jut curious what stretches I can do, just every now and then to stop cramping in my foot and my legs. Or rather what the best ones to do would be.

Well how long have you been doing this and do you have any prior experience in martial arts or things like yoga?

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

I've been doin' it for just over 2 times a week for like... month and a half about. And no this is like the first martial art I've done. Edit: 2-3 hour sessions.Edit2: [MEDIA=youtube]iDmFu5dFXGY[/MEDIA][/URL]

It's really damn cool, and fun. It's all based on using their momentum etc. So you can throw people with extremely soft and small movements.

 

[MeJennifer]

I've been doin' it for just over 2 times a week for like... month and a half about. And no this is like the first martial art I've done.


Edit: 2-3 hour sessions.

Well then first your body has to get used to stretching.
Before stretching make sure you warm up, stretching is not warming up as many erroneously think!.
And in the beginning do not attempt to overstretch, give you body time!

Martial arts is not something that one can master overnight, and if you have no prior experience I suggest you take it easy so that your body can adapt to stretching, joint pressure, absorbing shocks etc in a responsible way.

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

Well then first your body has to get used to stretching.
Before stretching make sure you warm up, stretching is not warming up as many erroneously think!.
And in the beginning do not attempt to overstretch, give you body time!

Martial arts is not something that one can master overnight, and if you have no prior experience I suggest you take it easy so that your body can adapt to stretching, joint pressure, absorbing shocks etc in a responsible way.

I see so it's just something that's gunna happen for a while. Well at least I'll go away xD.


[MEDIA=youtube]ExXaNXEhX1o[/MEDIA][/URL] This is another good video showing some cool moves, not the exact same style but still Aikijujutsu.


At the moment I'm in love with Aikijujutsu xD.

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

I used to get cramps in my feet from sitting seiza. When I first started I would sit with one foot on top of the other because I wasn't very flexible to prevent cramps but both feet would fall asleep in no time at all. After I did it for a while I was able to sit seiza normally and they've all but disappeared. Yes, definitely warm up before stretching. If you start to cramp and can't straighten your feet out try grabbing your whole upper lip and pinching rather hard or even tickling the roof of your mouth with your tongue. Either way, you'll eventually get over the cramping thing.

What's your favorite technique(s) so far? Mine are kaitenage & shihonage, especially from hanmi-handachi...hell, I love 'em all! Don't forget that the closer your upper body is to the mat BEFORE you commit to a forward roll or breakfall the better off you'll be. Keep a journal or blog of your experiences and WHATEVER you do make sure you practice a technique the way the instructor tells you to and not the way Uke is telling you to...unless they're at least 2d or 1st kyu.

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

I used to get cramps in my feet from sitting seiza. When I first started I would sit with one foot on top of the other because I wasn't very flexible to prevent cramps but both feet would fall asleep in no time at all. After I did it for a while I was able to sit seiza normally and they've all but disappeared. Yes, definitely warm up before stretching. If you start to cramp and can't straighten your feet out try grabbing your whole upper lip and pinching rather hard or even tickling the roof of your mouth with your tongue. Either way, you'll eventually get over the cramping thing.

What's your favorite technique(s) so far? Mine are kaitenage & shihonage, especially from hanmi-handachi...hell, I love 'em all! Don't forget that the closer your upper body is to the mat BEFORE you commit to a forward roll or breakfall the better off you'll be. Keep a journal or blog of your experiences and WHATEVER you do make sure you practice a technique the way the instructor tells you to and not the way Uke is telling you to...unless they're at least 2d or 1st kyu.

I've only just started so me and my friend have just gotten down ippon dori. I quite like aikinagi, I don't know the name for a lot of the waza but my favourite one at the moment would have to be the one where you block/dodge an overhead strike/punch then placing your arm over their shoulder then swing your forward leg back until their on the ground, then pinning their arm inbetwen your kneeling leg and your chest.

If Shihonage is what I think it is then I LOVE that one too.

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

I've only just started so me and my friend have just gotten down ippon dori. I quite like aikinagi, I don't know the name for a lot of the waza but my favourite one at the moment would have to be the one where you block/dodge an overhead strike/punch then placing your arm over their shoulder then swing your forward leg back until their on the ground, then pinning their arm inbetwen your kneeling leg and your chest.

If Shihonage is what I think it is then I LOVE that one too.

There is a slight difference in our terminology. I study Aikido which is a child of Aikijujutsu. Your favorite sounds like our Irimi-nage. Shihonage is the one where you curl Uke's arm up towards their shoulder, like they're making a muscle, and they fall on their back. Check this link (even though it's kind of a "dancy" version.
"http://www.uiowa.edu/~aikido/testreq.html"]

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

There is a slight difference in our terminology. I study Aikido which is a child of Aikijujutsu. Your favorite sounds like our Irimi-nage. Shihonage is the one where you curl Uke's arm up towards their shoulder, like they're making a muscle, and they fall on their back. Check this link (even though it's kind of a "dancy" version.
"http://www.uiowa.edu/~aikido/testreq.html"]

Okay Shihonage wasn't the one that I was thinking of, the site I read was pretty ambiguous with it's description so I thought it was the one where the Uke grabs your hand with 2 (or 1) hand then you place your other hand on where he is grabbing, step into their center and place their arm elbow down over your shoulder and pull downwards. I know Aikdo is a lot softer and they probably wouldn't have moves that involve the possibility of breaking someones arm over their shoulder.

~Gelsamel

Edit: From pictures I see of Irimi-nage it isn't my favourite. Mine is much less complicated looking. It's a simple step sidewards and towards to opponent (of course to the outside) from a overhead strike or punch, this should include directing their arm in a way so that they are off balance. Then just placing your arm over their shoulder (not with any force, just loose and relax), then you direct their hand down to your hip and then basically spiral until they're on the ground and you're kneeling with their arm pinned between your chest/stomach and your leg.

Edit2: I can't wait till I get my Hakama though (10 years or so xD >.<)! Those are so cool.

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

Seen on a T-Shirt: Aikido, because we're compassionate...but that turn the other cheek stuff just wasn't working.

Our Sensei sometimes shows us the root technique and where the breaking/punching would be, like you guys do, but will continue with the philosophy of why we don't do that. To each, their own.

Our dojo is hosting a seminar weekend after next with Shihan Peter Bernath who was a long time student of Yoshimitsu Yamada Sensei who was an uchi-deshi of O'sensei. The weather is starting to cool off so that means lots more seminars will be coming around. If you get the chance to attend one go, they are well worth the money...always crowded, but worth it.

http://www.austinaikikai.org/"

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

If I could fly over there, I live in Australia D:.

Whats supprising is despite the fact Australia only has 2 small Takumakai Daito-Ryu dojos Kawabe-sensei Takumakai's technical intructor comes down every year to check things out.

 

[rcgldr]

I've come to some conclusions about martial arts:

A person is more likely to get injured practicing martial arts than not.

Older people take much longer just to heal up from the typical bruises received in a higher contact martial arts studio.

The UFC fights demonstrates what works best in a one on one fight. I'm not sure which methods work best when a trained fighter versus multiple untrained fighters other than the opponents have to be dispatched quickly.

Size, strenth, endurance, and being able to take punishment matters (working out with weights and doing cardiovascular excersice is beneficial).

Guns beat swords. Swords beat knives. Knives beat fists. (Assuming that the attacker isn't totally inept).

Chi only exists in the minds of the believers. As time goes on, fewer martial artists, and full contact fighters believe in Chi.

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

I've come to some conclusions about martial arts:

A person is more likely to get injured practicing martial arts than not.

Just as people are more likely to be injured playing sports then sitting at home doing nothing.

Older people take much longer just to heal up from the typical bruises received in a higher contact martial arts studio.

All older people take longer to heal up from bruises.

The UFC fights demonstrates what works best in a one on one fight. I'm not sure which methods work best when a trained fighter versus multiple untrained fighters other than the opponents have to be dispatched quickly.

This is quite true, A good striking + BJJ is usually what wins UFC, but in a fight against multiple opponents BJJ like my friend says "dies in the arse".

Size, strenth, endurance, and being able to take punishment matters (working out with weights and doing cardiovascular excersice is beneficial).

Depends what martial art you're doing. Of course endurance and ability to take punishment matters in a fight, but in Aikido and Aikijujutsu the focus is to use the attackers strength and momentum against him, I personally find it hard to do even a single push up, but I can fully throw my sensei throwing punches at me no matter how hard he tries to resist with minimal effort. It's all about moving perpendicular to (or WITH) the direction of force, then using that movement to gain kuzushi (offbalancing) once they're offbalanced you can do anything, as long as you're relaxed and not rigid. After that just small movements like twisting their wrist the right way will FORCE them to throw -themselfs- or have their wrist broken from their weight (Probably more Aikijutsu then Aikido)

Swords beat knives. Knives beat fists. (Assuming that the attacker isn't totally inept).

Not nessisarily, we do many many many traditional moves that are counters to katana, jo and tanto (Sword, Staff and Knife[Shortsword]). Using bare hands for instance an overhead hit with the staff can be countered by simple dodging, then placing your weigh on the staff so it touches the ground, then grabbing the top of the staff and pulling it in your direction, using the staffs bottom which is touching the ground as a pivot point, then simply pulling the staff to a balance break will allow you to gain the staff with any numerable disarming techniques.

Chi only exists in the minds of the believers. As time goes on, fewer martial artists, and full contact fighters believe in Chi.

I don't believe in Chi(Ki), I'm not sure about my sensei but when ever you do what he says that has to do with Chi everything works so much better, during martial art classes I always think about the chi moves despite knowing that it's just clever physics it makes the moves ALOT easier to do.

For instance if you get someone to grab both your wrists (with straight arms, and one foot foward because if you're grabbing someone it's going to be from that distance and you're going to be walking towards them, not just casually grabbing) and try to hold on really hard, be relaxed and very very loose then just lift up your hands so that they're touching their wrists (don't use much force) if you do it right you'll notice their shoulders get higher. My sensei refers to this as "connecting the [ki] circuit" and EVERY, and I mean EVERY move you do does not work in a full on situation (or resistant sparring) unless you do this, if you don't do this it is either much harder to do, or impossible.

Again I don't believe in Ki and Chi, I think it's just a thing that people came up with to explain how amazingly easy it was to throw someone 5 times your size using Aiki techniques. When ever doing an Aiki martial art, it helps tremendously to forget about scientific reservations and just do what your sensei says, be it imagining the ki flowing upto your head or not, it helps.

Aiki means the Unison of spirit, and in all Aiki moves you always move very close to the person, never are you far away.

Also I heard in Aikido you breath in for strikes and out for everything else, whereas in Aikijutsu it's the opposite. Is that right Echo?Edit: For instance in this video [MEDIA=youtube]gdcGB-qSVp4[/MEDIA][/URL] there is a disarming of katana, also a demo of Takumakai Daito-Ryu (The one where the arm is folded up into a sqaure like shape and is very very painfull) Also Kondo-kai which is the mainstream Daito-Ryu (and more jujutsu then aiki).Edit2: Also any move with uses the overhead strike as the initiation move can be used on swords/jo/tanto, as the overhead strike is used to reprisent that motion. Any moved used on stabbing motion initiation moves can be done on jo/katana/tanto/punching. My favourite move that I talked about can be used against punch/knife/sword stabbing as well as any overhead motion.

 

[rcgldr]

Some clarification (I went a bit overboard and off-topic).

One issue with martial arts training has to do with the level of contact at a particular studio. I wouldn't recommend a high contact studio to most people. A co-worker quit soon after he got his black-belt because he got tired of all the bruising he got during heavy sparring, and he was old enough that it was taking significant time to heal. Had he been training under different situation, he'd probably be still training.

The injury rate invovled with proper weight training and cardioactivity is fairly low, and would help a person if that person was attacked.

Sword versus fist. Anyone with about a 1 year of saber / fencing training would win a contest against an expert but unarmed martial artist. A knife might be close, but against someone skilled with a sword, there's virtually no chance. If you've ever watched saber fighting, even at the college level, the skill / speed factor is very high. Because of the safety of the equipment used, progress in training and development of conditioned responses is fairly quick.

To do well with martial arts, you need to develop conditioned responses. I did this with table tennis, but it took a couple of years. With the limited time spent sparring with protective gear in most martial art studios, it would take even longer (several years by my estimate).

If I were to get invovled in martial arts, I would prefer one a generic self-defense oriented type schoold that isn't dedicated to just one style of martial arts. I remember that my Taekwando instructors emphasised that it was not the best method of self-defense, but more like a sport. I guy I met who shares my enjoyment of radio control gliders is a 6th degree blackbelt that runs a generic martial arts type school, which is the studio I would go to if I were inclined to start martial arts training again:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/sensei_john_roe

getting back on topic

If you're feeling pain after a 6 weeks of training, you're overdoing it. (Some soreness is expected for the first couple of weeks, but after six, you should be into a routine). Ease up on how hard you push yourself. In the long run you'll make gains quicker if you're not pushing beyond your limits.

 

[big man]

I honestly don't think you'd stand a chance against someone with a sword. The reach of a sword is at least half a meter so as long as the guy takes swings far away from you I don't see what you can do. I mean it's not like they're going to come at you slowly with a blundering overhead swing?

Unless the person is completely stupid when they attack you then you're going to be screwed.

Martial arts is fun and can be extremely useful especially due to how much it helps with your reflexes and your ability to get out of certain grips. However, I still firmly believe that anyone who thinks that they can stop someone with a sword (when they are unarmed) with their martial arts skills is kidding themselves.

Apart from that disagreement, what you're doing looks like a pretty cool kind of martial art so keep with it and have fun!

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

Don't worry about the fact that Aikijujutsu is a medieval art taught to only the most famous and wealthy samurais until recently when it become more commercial. All the traditional moves in Aikijujutsu are based on Kenjutsu and are made to counter any sword movements etc. etc. I argue an expert like Kawabe-sensei could easily go against someone who's done kenjutsu for a while and win.

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

EVERYTHING depends on the skill of the person. When defending against a sword, the object is to have been aware enough and quick enough to get "inside" before the sword starts its downward arc. It's highly doubtful that anyone will encounter a sword attack on the street, however, the idea is that the things you learn in class will allow your body to move in certain ways and enable you to adapt to certain situations to defend yourself.

The chance of seeing a "karate fight" on the street is nil but you will have a better understanding of how both your body and your attackers body move and be able to use your experience in doing the same thing over and over to prevent your self from getting hurt.

If you are stupid enough to get yourself in a situation where you have to square off against another person you've already lost. Running away is the best bet. If you run away, you eat at home with a fork and not in intensive care with a tube up your nose.