I agree with Drac - watch what goes on in your class and use it as a guideline. Remember, too, that warm-ups are just that - for warming up - and IMHO should center on warming up joints (thus all the rotations) rather than primarily on stretching for increased flexibility, which is best done after class, when your muscles are warm and more flexible. Just in case that doesn't work, however, here's a rough guideline of what I do when I lead warm-ups (I vary it depending on what I'll be teaching, but this is a guide):
Start at the top and work down, rotating all major joints, in about this sequence (and make sure all rotations are done in both directions):
- fingers (wiggle)
- wrists (rotate)
- elbows (by rotating fists in circles, lubricating the elbow joints)
- shoulders (full arm rotations, starting small and getting bigger, palms down, then turn palms up and reduce the size of circles until you're back to arms extended out to both sides)
- neck, as follows:
drop ear to same side shoulder and hold 10-15 seconds; repeat (don't raise shoulders to ear)
with ear toward shoulder, look up and then down; hold each 10-15 seconds
slowly rotate head on neck, both directions - too fast can cause injury
- upper body rotation (trunk) - either with arms extended or not
- hips (think hula hoop)
- knees - feet together, hands on knees, look up (looking down reduces air flow)
- ankles - individually, stand on one foot, put other foot back 8-12 inches, on ball of foot, rotate heel in circles to lubricate ankle, bend toes forward and back, stretch footsword (outside) and reverse footsword (inside)
40-60 jumping jacks to warm up and loosen muscles
Now that everything's been rotated, move on to stretching (do all stretches on both sides) - again, I start at the top and move down; it makes it less likely I'll leave something major out, and it gives me an easy to remember sequence
- arm across body, place other arm above elbow, and pull - stretches shoulder and upper arm
- arm behind back (over head), push down with other arm on upper arm or pull from behind, if you can reach your hand
- touch toes
- spread feet 1 shoulder width, touch toes/floor in center; repeat with wider spread 2-3 times until class is at full stretch; add stretching to the front of each leg
- sit down with legs spread as in previous stretch, stretch to center and over each foot
- bring one foot in, stretch over front foot, center (between knees), over bent knee; switch feet and repeat
Rising stretch kicks - 10 on each leg, from walking/front stance
Punches - 10, alternating hands, from sitting/horse stance - this last is just to let whoever is teaching know that warm-ups are over.
The whole thing usually takes about 20 minutes.
We usually count in Korean for most static stretches - it encourages people to breathe while stretching, and enforces the stretch; breathing aids relaxation and people who breathe will slowly relax and drop into a better stretch.
Have fun! And don't worry if you leave something out... happens all the time. That's why I start at the top and rotate everything down to the feet, and then start again at the top with the stretching - it's easier to remember.
