stretching

[He Man]

Im 23 years old and I was wondering if its still possible to stretch your legs up to you face and develop the umuscles to hold it there like the TKD guys do.

I am flexiable enough to do a head kick easily on anyone up to 5'6, but i can only  willingly lift my leg just a tad over wasit level. not sure how those TKD guys do it but i thought it would be sure cool if i could. Everyone ive asked doesnt know because theyve been doing it as a kid...

any ideas? i dont even know where to beging developing those muscles.

[GAAN]

I read somewhere about Tia Chi instructors refusing to teach Americans because they couldn't put to to forehead with a straight leg

That article stated that it has to be conditioned from birth

[The Bearded Duc]

any ideas? i dont even know where to beging developing those muscles.

Try yoga. Or ballet.

[IZ]

The movie "Kickboxer" had some good strategies.

[IZ]

Plus, there's got to be a Crossfit exercise for that!

[Monster Dave]

The movie "Kickboxer" had some good strategies.

While that may seem like a joke, it's true. We used to use something similar to this to help us stretch:



You have to take it slow, but it worked. I'm 5'8 and can easily thow either a roundhouse kick (both front and back leg) or a hook kick a good 6 -12 inches higher than my head height.

It just takes time and religious stretching. You've got to keep your muscled in the stretching mode as regularly as possible. Be sure that you're stretching at least 30 minutes at a time if you want to get there as fast as possible. 

[The Bearded Duc]

I wasn't kidding about the yoga thing. My girlfriend does Ashtanga Yoga (some pics of Ashtanga below, not my GF) and other than contortionists she is the most flexible person I've ever seen. She has no problem what so ever with putting her legs so close to her face she's touching her nose.






The key to flexibility is constant stretching and conditioning the muscles and ligaments/tendons to bend that way. So what ever route you take, like Monster Dave said, you have to be diligent enough to do it every day for a period of time. GL

[stopintime]

Imagine a person standing straight up.
Have that person lift a straight leg backwards 90 degrees (to its horizontal position), without otherwise moving anything.

That's the request a respected Norwegian ballet choreographer got a few years back.

It was a lot of very hard work, but he and his chosen dancer did it.

So, you can make your project happen, but I think it would be easier if you traveled back in time and started 15 - 20 years ago.

[The Bearded Duc]

So, you can make your project happen, but I think it would be easier if you traveled back in time and started 15 - 20 years ago.

True, it might be easier but it's not impossible. My GF just started practicing yoga about 3 years ago, she'll be 29 in May, and she is one of the most respected and advanced students in SoCal.