Flexibilty vs Mobility

Flexibility v.s. Joint Mobility
I have had considerable experience with various stretching protocols. Being involved in a martial art (BJJ) that requires a fairly high degree of flexibility has led me to search for ways to improve ROM for jiu-jitsu fighters. I train my students with a lot of mobility drills. I have a saying regarding range of motion training; "It is better to learn to put yourself there because someone is going to put you there whether you want them to or not". In a nut-shell mobility is more important than flexibility. Mobility is defined as an active form of flexibility where the body is voluntarily moved into the full range with strength. Special breathing techniques are used to release tension and allow the body to move more deeply into full ROM. Another words, if you can't get there under your own muscle power then any extra range of motion is useless. The difference between your passive flexibility and your mobility is the percent chance of you getting injured. It has been my experience that the most flexible students are the most frequently injured. This is because they do not have strength in the extreme ranges. Many people can do passive hamstring stretches for example and get way down past their toes. But when they must raise the leg with muscle power, their hamstring isn't able to let go and the range is greatly compromised. In grappling it is better to be a bit tight than to loose. Unless you are a dancer, gymnast, circus performer or in a martial art that requires high kicks, spending a lot of time on extreme flexibility is a waste of that time. If you really need to get extremely flexible, then PNF is the way to go. The most important thing is freeing the body of tension through breath control. Pavel has the best book on the market in that regard.

By Steve Maxwell, posted on the www.dragondoor.com forum on 5/15

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