Stretching Machine

Once every few months someone has to write something about the art of splitting/stretching, thought this time its gonna be me ^^.

I want to build some type of machine which you can put your legs inside, twist a wheel or something, and it slowly stretches your legs apart (so that you do a split eventually).

Have any of you ever build something like this? Or seen something similar?

Itll be a nice project and ill be able to do the notorious split eventually

Thanks

Have you rented a copy of "Bloodsport" recently?

Kathryn

I would suggest NOT doing this; it is not natural and you will cause more damage. (Dereck shakes his head) Instead I would suggest looking at "Stretching Scientifically" by Thomas Kurz.



While I have not done everything this book has suggested, what little I did help considerably for my flexibility when doing Taekwondo.

In all seriousness, DON'T even consider a stretching machine and especially not one you may try to design yourself. Leave that stuff for the movies where it belongs.

By the way, that "invention" is called the Hurley Delux 2000 Stretcher
But, these things are potentially very dangerous. And, the way most poeple misuse them, it only stretches the connective tissues at the joints. These never can be brought back to their original length and cause hyper flexibility of those joints, eventually leading to more injury.

The book/video by Thomas Kurtz that Derek mentioned is a real alternative to gain that stretch without injuring yourself in the process. There are also books and vidoes out there by Pavel Tsatsouline that use a similar method and are also very good. (search the name online, there's lots of stuff out there) These are real methods of training the muscles in your body to be strong in their most extended/stretched positons. This is how you gain those splits and do it w/o ending up in a wheel chair by the time your 40. The machines can be used as an additional tool to help you hold your max stretch position while you relax. But, forcing your limbs to a painful, overstretched position, beyond what your limits are, with high torque machinery is probably not a great idea. The crank will keep going long after you've torn muscle, tendon, and ligament beyond repair. Be very carefull with this stuff.

As a general rule, anything claiming to do something for you in a hurry that normally takes a long, hard bit of work to attain, is probably going to be very bad for you. Think Star Wars and the Dark Side of The Force.

Meh, youre probably right, the big problem i have when i do it manually, is that it hurts me knees so much. Maybe im doing it wrong...

Btw bloodsport was the one where van damme had his legs tied to two oxen and the sensei pulled them apart?

Close, he had them tied to some contraction involving ropes, trees and a pulley.

Kathryn

To be honest, I never understood the fascination with being able to do the splits. Sure they look cool but what functionality to they really have? None.

How many times do you think JCVD hooked up on that one kitchen taser scene alone!

It's the difference between Karate, and Karate when the girls are watching!

How about Eddie Reyes Jr. Knocking out 2 bad guys at once in The Last Dragon. And don't tell me that's just a movie either.

Seriously I agree, I am about as stiff as they come and this week I kicked a guy in the head. Actually kinda funny, he was wailing on the leg kicks a bit too hard. He was dropping his hand when checking my kick, so I went low, low, head. Candy from baby...

Sorry, had to share:)

dereck the reason i want to split, is so that i can in normal fighting position and do a roundhouse kick head hight, normally i only get to around rib height. The way i do it currently, to get to someones head is to pivot my whole body at an angle, at about 45 degrees, resulting in me kicking against the head.

Advantage: You dont need to be able to split
Disadvantage: You are extremely off balance, and its rather slow...

Ninpopo, I am a very stiff person. When starting I couldn't kick above the knee; seriously. Then in time I was waist high and somewhat to the chest. Then easily to the chest but very rarely to the head if at all. After only doing 20 minutes, 3 days a week, first thing in the morning upon waking, I was able to kick many times to the head, but not all of the time, and it took some work. It mostly worked when I least expected it or tried to be honest.

But here is the thing and you've heard it before; you don't need to kick to the head. I relate kicking to the head with shooting a gun. When qualifying we have to hit the head but the body is more important. Why? Because it is the biggest thing and you have more chances of hitting it. Whether shotgun or sidearm the body is the biggest target and you have more chance of hitting that then the head; the same with kicking. And in a real altercation I would NEVER consider kicking somebody in the head and probably wouldn't even hit to the body as probably a little fearful of it being caught if they are aware. Instead I'm going to kick to their legs; their knee specifically. [I hope I didn't jinx myself as I have to work tonight and Saturday night]

Sure I would have loved when training martial arts to have easily kicked to the head, but that wasn't happening. But the head is over-rated and such a small target. Plus your base is compromised during/after the kick which could work against you. And in a real life encounter, you may wind up on your a$$. I'm not saying don't try to work for this but do it smartly; and a machine is not a smart way.

In a real altercation, I would say I agree, the head is not something I would probably ever consider (never say never IMO) but I am with you there. Body though, I probably would be a little more open, a good front thrust kick or front leg side kick is not something people know how to deal with very well and could, in certain circumstances be very useful. Agree on keeping the kicks low, if you use them at all.

As for head kicks, if like most of us the only fighting we will hopefully every do is in a sporting environment, then they are great weapon to have. If you use them sparingly, they can become a much higher percentage strike. Especially if you set them up correctly. Of course if take downs are an option you need to be that much more careful.

Not disagreeing with you, head kicks are for sport only.

Allright, no machines, got it . I read (and heard) another way of eventually getting flexibility is to stand close to a chair/object and do roundhouse kicks above it, and eventually get closer and closer to the target, forcing you to kick higher :D, so ill do that instead ^^

A head kick is exciting to see in MMA fights or a demo but it is not advisable in a real fight/street fight. Your opponent is more likely to catch your leg and take you down if you do head kicks.