“What do you think it takes to be a good martial artist? Do you need knock out power? Do you need a mean karate yell? How about striking fear into the hearts of thugs of the world!!!? Well maybe but have you considered some the of attributes of the softer and many will argue the important parts of the martial arts? What am I talking about? Well flexibility, agility and coordination!”
Sep
06
dancers are amazing. most of the martial arts fail in overall suppleness and flexibility. yes. the striking arts may promote flexible hips and hamstrings for kicking, but the body core, almost by necessity, becomes more solid to support that. have only met one fellow in 30+ years who came to flexibility through martial arts. he spent years in a Chinese monastery in Peru and i have no idea what he did there.
btw – most aikido pins involve taking the shoulder joint to the limit and using vertical energy from there. if the joint freely moves beyond vertical, it’s possible to end up with your center over uke’s body and the energy directed at an angle away from both of you. that’s a recipe for a countermeasure. so, if you ever run into somebody that flexible, stay on your own center and use the vertical. it will work.
taekwondo also may provide flexibility similar to dance movement(most likely hips, knees and feet). one problem though:repetitive motion of kicking creates stress injury in knee caps.for me, dance worked as a physical therapy replacement in a form of plie(knee bending excercises).
aikido is perfect for beginner dancers as it helps to create a better balance in a lower abdomen, expecially for ballet dancers between 10 and 13 years of age.