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Ankle Stretches for Sitting in Seiza

by michelle
(wisconsin)

When my son sits in seiza his ankles do not stretch far enough to lie flat on the floor.  Do you know any exercises to stretch the ankles so that he can sit comfortably in seiza?

Answer: I personally don’t know the way we stretch ankles for seiza. I have to turn this to people who actually know about this.  Sorry.

If you know anything about this, please post. I am sure many people have the same problems.

All I can say is to lengthen the time of seiza. The more you do, the ankles get used to. I think.

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Ankle Stretches for Sitting in Seiza

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Sep 30, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		thanx!
by: Anonymous

Thanks for the suggestions.  I have never seen anyone with as thick of ankles in proportion to stature as my son - so it may take some time to stretch and loosen the muscles. 

Your suggestion will help him to realize that the dance warm-up exercises I showed him - really are compatible with Kendo.  If you keep a rhythm when performing the exercises you listed - it can be beneficial in timing of movement.

My kids have a hard time seeing the connection between movement in dance and movement in martial arts. Thanks for reinforcing techniques I wanna share with them.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Please encourage your sons. It takes a lot of efforts and especially time for us to realise how deep kendo can get. I would like to be a father like you when my daughter gets bigger. Thank you for sharing a good story!
Sep 28, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Ankle Stretching Ideas
by: Chris George

Here are some things that I like to do before practice:

Grab your foot (you can be sitting or standing) and rotate them a couple of times going clockwise and counterclockwise.  This should help loosen up the joints around the foot. 

Another thing to do that is similar is to just move your foot up and down too.  Then you can bend your toes up and down to stretch the muscles in the foot.

It can also help to properly stretch the leg muscles as those can sometimes hinder your lower body flexibility and can make seiza harder than it needs to be.

Other than that, if your son hasn't been doing kendo for very long, then it's going to take some time for his body to get used to the awkward body positions.

 As others have already suggested, doing it at home is a good thing to do.  He could sit in seiza while doing homework, watching TV or eating a snack.  Before you know it, he'll have it down. 

All you need is proper stretching and a little time.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for a good suggestion. Very helpful!
Sep 18, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Practice Seiza at home
by: Anonymous

The best way is training seiza at home, where you can sit in seiza on soft cushion or just on soft carpet. That was my way. I am not a stretchy person.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for you advice!

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