5 – 12 October 2014

The Purpose of compiling this compilation of stretching exercises for the members Aikido Shinryukan New Zealand to further assist and improve your Aikido training. The intention of the presented booklet is to provide a few exercises that you can add to or mix with both your traditional Aikido warm-ups as well as any other stretching routines you normally do. The main aim is to provide a means to make your Aikido practice more enjoyable, healthy and safe. The exercises here can be done either successively or individually, as part of your warm-up or cool-down routine, or as a completely separate program. They are not meant to be a comprehensive collection, or a replacement to other exercises, nor are they equally suitable to everyone in the same way. If you have any concerns about any of the exercises suggested here, please check back with your doctor or aikido instructor!

Without stealing too much of your time and going into scientific detail and debate, here are
some general recommendations we would like to make for stretching (specific
recommendations for each of the exercises can be found under the pictures below):
- stretch for 10-30sec. per exercise before training; 30sec. and/or more after training or on
separate ‘stretching days’
- exercises can look, work and have different relevance from one person to another
- pain is not a must, nor a sign for good stretching
- rather than taking big leaps, aim at making small but constant progress as it is usually more
permanent
- precision of form is key, whether you are stretching muscles, connective tissue or
meridians.
- breathing and stretching go hand-in-hand and need to be brought into unison. Although
there might be differences for specific exercises, very generally speaking, every exhale
should allow you to relax into the stretch, while every inhale allows you to have a little pause
from the stretch or even a little contraction of the stretched parts and prepare for the next
exhale-stretch phase.
Some of these exercises might be very similar to the ones you know and do already. Should
this be the case we hope that you will find some interesting points to consider and (re-)
examine in the pictures, explanations and when you go back to doing the exercises yourself.
As the exercises here are stretching exercises only, we suggest that you keep in mind
that strengthening, flexibility, endurance and coordination training go hand-in-hand and need
to complement each other. This is important to ensure good health and stabilization of your
bones, joints, ligaments and muscles and allow an enjoyable and safe experience on the mat
for many years to come. While coordination and sport-specific endurance is a great part of
our Aikido practice, and stretching sometimes forms part of our warm-up routines,
strengthening exercises often come a little bit short. For this reason, come time, we hope to
compile a strengthening/stability program that makes sense for Aikidoka to complete the
present stretching exercises. Some people are too flexible as it is and shouldn’t stretch
further. Much rather and that is true for all of us, it is important to find the right balance
between flexibility and stability, so find out which exercises you should use for stretching,
use others simply as ‘moving’ exercises without pushing into a further stretch and possibly
leave some exercises away.

Contacts:
email: acupunctureok@gmail.com