Improve posture

[Orion Nebula]

Hi all!

My roundhouse kick is greatly improving (as are my kicks in general). However, I have another issue that is vexing me. I have bad posture in general... I tend to hunch over. I would blame it on computers, but my posture issues pre-date computer ownership.

My bad posture is carrying over into karate. I lean forward a lot and often stick my head forward. I also tend to lift my shoulders up when I punch as well as lean into my punches. When I focus on straightening up I have some success, but I could use some suggestions for drills or exercises that I can use to help improve my posture. Or just some helpful tips!

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Do you do a low horse stance in your style? Focusing on keeping your back straight and knees bent during that can help.

Actually, stance-work in general should help, as part of stance work is focusing on your posture/back. Personally, I would practice holding my horse stance while punching and twisting for my punch, and same thing with half-moon walking (if you don't know what that is I can share a video)

 

[jobo]

Hi all!

My roundhouse kick is greatly improving (as are my kicks in general). However, I have another issue that is vexing me. I have bad posture in general... I tend to hunch over. I would blame it on computers, but my posture issues pre-date computer ownership.

My bad posture is carrying over into karate. I lean forward a lot and often stick my head forward. I also tend to lift my shoulders up when I punch as well as lean into my punches. When I focus on straightening up I have some success, but I could use some suggestions for drills or exercises that I can use to help improve my posture. Or just some helpful tips!

its habit, at least it started off that way, now there is probably muscle weakness as well,. theres no way iut of it except to purposely adjust your poster until that becomes habit and and you strengthen the posture muscles. hold you breast bone, the bit immediately under your neck so it slopes slightly backwards that puts your back straight and your neck vertical , turn you hand, so your thumbs are forward, that pull your shoulders back. AND hold whilst you do your walk,

you may find it tiring, as you using muscle you haven't used before, your abs and your lower back particularly, but those are the ones that hold you up right

bad posture may be why you find walking difficult, once you've trained your posture muscles you should be able to walk with little to no effort

 

[_Simon_]

Ah yep, practicing good posture goes through the whole day, especially when sitting. Sitting in a chair and making sure you're scooched right to the back of the chair is something I've become more conscious of, sitting upright and not hunched in a C shape. I always prefer shoulders naturally back and down, rather than really forcefully contracting them into the position, but may help in getting used to that position.

Oh and this exercise is great if you're interested

 

[Gerry Seymour]

As Simon and Jobo pointed out, this (at this point) will be largely muscular, with a significant habit factor. You'll need to deal with both. Strength exercises for the back (especially upper and mid back) will help offset the muscular component. As for the habit, you'll need to start building a correcting habit (note that you cannot "not do" a habit - you have to replace it). So start consciously checking your posture (and correcting it) at specific points. When you first sit down at the computer is a good time to do this - adjust your chair and keyboard/mouse so you can sit with decent posture. If you do this every time you sit down, it will be a start. You could add in that same check and adjustment every time you put down the phone, or some other point that happens regularly. Once you do it enough, the check will become habit, and eventually your seated posture will improve by habit.

The hunching of shoulders is a pretty common beginner's habit, and probably will go away with your regular Karate practice, so long as the instructors keep reminding you. Leaning forward could have a number of sources - I'll suggest for starters that you should get closer to your target (it should probably feel a little too close). If it's a stepping punch, either step larger, or start a few inches closer. If you're punching air, imagine a target that's closer.

 

[JR 137]

I’ve worked as an athletic trainer (sports med) for 18 years, and I have the same problem you’re describing. I started writing a post that was so long and drawn out that it even bored me, which has to be really bad for everyone else

As everyone else said, the single most important thing is being conscientious of your posture. The more you’re in a poor postural position, the more normal that becomes for you. Picture Superman - his chest is out a little bit, and his shoulders are up a little bit. Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together. Look in the mirror standing sideways and visualize a plumb line going through your ear, shoulder, hips, knees, and in front on the bump on the outside of your ankles. This article says it all better than I did before I deleted my previous rambling
Postural Assessment

If you don’t have one, get a good foam roller. Prices and quality are all over the map, and price and quality aren’t related. Get this one, it’s the industry standard and it’s cheap
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai...ocphy=9004624&hvtargid=pla-309561007898&psc=1

Do this with it, focusing on mobility and the movement rather than stretching and doing actual crunches

Get a medium to large physio ball and do this

Do it more as a strengthening exercise rather than mobility by holding the extension for longer

And do this exercise

Do it as a mobility exercise rather than a stretch. I hate people calling it a stretch because that implies trying to get a good stretch at the end of the motion. The important thing is increasing range of motion by moving, not by trying to push through as far as you can go.

I’m recovering from a thoracic disc injury, and my posture is doo-doo. It’s worse than it was beforehand, and that’s saying something. Thanks for motivating me to start doing this stuff.

Beyond this stuff, add in rowing exercises. Weighted rows and rowing machine if you can. But the stuff I linked to is at least just as important, and probably more important in some cases.

 

[Christopher Adamchek]

In terms of non martial arts routine - the biggest thing that started helping my posture was the lumbar support in my car. If you car doesnt have one you can easily get small lumbar pillows for a carseat or office chair.

 

[Yokozuna514]

Hi all!

My roundhouse kick is greatly improving (as are my kicks in general). However, I have another issue that is vexing me. I have bad posture in general... I tend to hunch over. I would blame it on computers, but my posture issues pre-date computer ownership.

My bad posture is carrying over into karate. I lean forward a lot and often stick my head forward. I also tend to lift my shoulders up when I punch as well as lean into my punches. When I focus on straightening up I have some success, but I could use some suggestions for drills or exercises that I can use to help improve my posture. Or just some helpful tips!

There is a drill/exercise we started using recently with the side benefit of improving posture. I will warn you now that it is difficult to start let alone master when you are carrying some weight but if you start slow and stick with it, your posture should straighten itself out because you will not be able to do this without finding your balance.

Essentially the drill is a double tobe hiza geri then switch to the other leg for another double tobe hiza geri. Rinse and repeat for 30 seconds at first. Both hiza geris should be facing mae (in front). At 31 seconds (approximately) you switch to a double tobe hiza geri but one is at mae and the other at yonju go do (45°). Switch legs, rinse and repeat. You will be doing 60 seconds to start. The drill should be done after you have properly warmed up and to begin the cardio portion of your workout. The tempo should be quick but go at a pace that will get your heart rate going but not cause injury to your joints. You are doing TOBE hiza geri so the goal is to leave the ground with each knee up. Your calves will not like this exercise when you start to stretch it out through all the progressions but the benefits are that it is a dynamic, kihon based cardio workout that gets the heart rate going and secondly, it improves your posture because you will not be able to find any sort of coordination and balance if you posture is not correct (ie: weight stacked between your shoulders). It points out weaknesses when people lean back to kick as well as lean forward.

Carrying some extra weight will make this exercise difficult at first so listen to your body and pay attention to finding your balance and your rhythm before trying to stretch it out past 60 seconds. When I introduced this to my class, the kids started calling it 'Irish dancing' and started to chuckle. They weren't chuckling at the end of 4 minutes. Good luck.

 

[dvcochran]

Hi all!

My roundhouse kick is greatly improving (as are my kicks in general). However, I have another issue that is vexing me. I have bad posture in general... I tend to hunch over. I would blame it on computers, but my posture issues pre-date computer ownership.

My bad posture is carrying over into karate. I lean forward a lot and often stick my head forward. I also tend to lift my shoulders up when I punch as well as lean into my punches. When I focus on straightening up I have some success, but I could use some suggestions for drills or exercises that I can use to help improve my posture. Or just some helpful tips!

A little more info if possible. What rank/how long have you been working out? What is your weekly routine (days per week/hours)? I will give some answers under the assumption you are a new student. Lifting the shoulders is one of the most common traits of beginners. You are excited, trying hard and as such, tensing up and raising the shoulders in a false sense of making power. Very common. It is good that you recognize it so you can be aware during practice. Often it is a component of muscle development and coordination; these things just take time and repetition so let it happen. Computer slouching can be a function of a chair with poor ergonomics, or too much screen time, even your glasses. The more likely culprit may be that you were understrength in your core and back to start with (very, very common) then as you started spending extended time setting in front of the screen, the curvature started to develop. Research exercises specific to posture, a surprising amount can be found in dance related workouts. Talk with your instructor and try to flesh out if they are really concerned about these things or is it only you. If the instructor is concerned see if he can line out some extra pre and post class work for you.
Interested students who see their faults and work to improve without beating themselves about them too much is the best kind of student by far. They are usually the ones that stick around.
Keep in touch and let us know how it is going. If I am totally off base, please let me know and we will make another run at it.

 

[Orion Nebula]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! This will be a long post...

Do you do a low horse stance in your style? Focusing on keeping your back straight and knees bent during that can help.

Actually, stance-work in general should help, as part of stance work is focusing on your posture/back. Personally, I would practice holding my horse stance while punching and twisting for my punch, and same thing with half-moon walking (if you don't know what that is I can share a video)

There is a low horse stance, but in my month of training so far, we mostly use horse stance when doing side kicks. I'm training in Shotokan, btw. In my old style from 15+ years ago, we frequently did horse stance with punches and blocks, probably every class. It's funny that you should mention it, because I was thinking to myself last night that I should practice that at home in front of a mirror. I think I know what you mean by half-moon walking - I do this by itself periodically and try to do it on a regular basis during training. Good to know it can help with posture!

its habit, at least it started off that way, now there is probably muscle weakness as well,. theres no way iut of it except to purposely adjust your poster until that becomes habit and and you strengthen the posture muscles. hold you breast bone, the bit immediately under your neck so it slopes slightly backwards that puts your back straight and your neck vertical , turn you hand, so your thumbs are forward, that pull your shoulders back. AND hold whilst you do your walk,

you may find it tiring, as you using muscle you haven't used before, your abs and your lower back particularly, but those are the ones that hold you up right

bad posture may be why you find walking difficult, once you've trained your posture muscles you should be able to walk with little to no effort

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm sure it will feel weird sitting or walking with proper posture at first. Anytime I've purposefully tried putting my shoulders back and my chest out, I always felt like Mulan in the scene where she walks into camp looking like an idiot trying while trying to "walk like a man." If you're not into Disney, here's the clip:

Ah yep, practicing good posture goes through the whole day, especially when sitting. Sitting in a chair and making sure you're scooched right to the back of the chair is something I've become more conscious of, sitting upright and not hunched in a C shape. I always prefer shoulders naturally back and down, rather than really forcefully contracting them into the position, but may help in getting used to that position.

Oh and this exercise is great if you're interested

Oh, that looks like a fun exercise!

As Simon and Jobo pointed out, this (at this point) will be largely muscular, with a significant habit factor. You'll need to deal with both. Strength exercises for the back (especially upper and mid back) will help offset the muscular component. As for the habit, you'll need to start building a correcting habit (note that you cannot "not do" a habit - you have to replace it). So start consciously checking your posture (and correcting it) at specific points. When you first sit down at the computer is a good time to do this - adjust your chair and keyboard/mouse so you can sit with decent posture. If you do this every time you sit down, it will be a start. You could add in that same check and adjustment every time you put down the phone, or some other point that happens regularly. Once you do it enough, the check will become habit, and eventually your seated posture will improve by habit.

The hunching of shoulders is a pretty common beginner's habit, and probably will go away with your regular Karate practice, so long as the instructors keep reminding you. Leaning forward could have a number of sources - I'll suggest for starters that you should get closer to your target (it should probably feel a little too close). If it's a stepping punch, either step larger, or start a few inches closer. If you're punching air, imagine a target that's closer.

Good to know that the shoulder hunch is common and I'm not a weirdo. Well... maybe I am weird, but not because of that. My sensei suggested that many of my issues will likely resolve if I can get my posture right. Good suggestion for punching the air, too! No one has commented on my shoulders when I punch the bag or other target, but it keeps getting brought up during kata and drills. So I'm assuming that I either don't hunch when hitting a real target (or not as much), or no one has noticed somehow. So perhaps the issues is indeed in targeting.

I’ve worked as an athletic trainer (sports med) for 18 years, and I have the same problem you’re describing. I started writing a post that was so long and drawn out that it even bored me, which has to be really bad for everyone else

As everyone else said, the single most important thing is being conscientious of your posture. The more you’re in a poor postural position, the more normal that becomes for you. Picture Superman - his chest is out a little bit, and his shoulders are up a little bit. Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together. Look in the mirror standing sideways and visualize a plumb line going through your ear, shoulder, hips, knees, and in front on the bump on the outside of your ankles. This article says it all better than I did before I deleted my previous rambling
Postural Assessment

If you don’t have one, get a good foam roller. Prices and quality are all over the map, and price and quality aren’t related. Get this one, it’s the industry standard and it’s cheap
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiqteKoiMjgAhWEgJ8KHataAigYABADGgJxYg&ae=1&sig=AOD64_2KBUKHMaidTaALiJN9tXg_OiP30w&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwi_jNyoiMjgAhWNPN8KHTnbA_MQwg96BAgLEAs&adurl=https://www.amazon.com/Perform-Better-Elite-molded-Roller/dp/B000HLLREA/ref=asc_df_B000HLLREA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167134995577&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6570303078178698011&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004624&hvtargid=pla-309561007898&psc=1

Do this with it, focusing on mobility and the movement rather than stretching and doing actual crunches

Get a medium to large physio ball and do this

Do it more as a strengthening exercise rather than mobility by holding the extension for longer

And do this exercise

Do it as a mobility exercise rather than a stretch. I hate people calling it a stretch because that implies trying to get a good stretch at the end of the motion. The important thing is increasing range of motion by moving, not by trying to push through as far as you can go.

I’m recovering from a thoracic disc injury, and my posture is doo-doo. It’s worse than it was beforehand, and that’s saying something. Thanks for motivating me to start doing this stuff.

Beyond this stuff, add in rowing exercises. Weighted rows and rowing machine if you can. But the stuff I linked to is at least just as important, and probably more important in some cases.

Thanks for this! I definitely look like one of those poor posture dudes in that article. I've read about foam rollers for dealing with sore muscles - I didn't know you could use them like this for posture improvement! I'll order one and try it out. Maybe it will also help with some lower back pain I've been experiencing as well. I'm not sure about that physio ball, though. Not that it isn't necessarily a good exercise, but I'm wondering if I can do it. I suppose I could plop onto a pillow or something and see if I can at least move like that. Maybe I'm thinking it requires more core strength than it really involves.

Good luck with your recovery!

In terms of non martial arts routine - the biggest thing that started helping my posture was the lumbar support in my car. If you car doesnt have one you can easily get small lumbar pillows for a carseat or office chair.

Hmmm, interesting. My car doesn't have this, but I also don't spend much time in the car normally. I wonder if it's worth getting a pillow? Then again, it might also be useful for the office chair.

There is a drill/exercise we started using recently with the side benefit of improving posture. I will warn you now that it is difficult to start let alone master when you are carrying some weight but if you start slow and stick with it, your posture should straighten itself out because you will not be able to do this without finding your balance.

Essentially the drill is a double tobe hiza geri then switch to the other leg for another double tobe hiza geri. Rinse and repeat for 30 seconds at first. Both hiza geris should be facing mae (in front). At 31 seconds (approximately) you switch to a double tobe hiza geri but one is at mae and the other at yonju go do (45°). Switch legs, rinse and repeat. You will be doing 60 seconds to start. The drill should be done after you have properly warmed up and to begin the cardio portion of your workout. The tempo should be quick but go at a pace that will get your heart rate going but not cause injury to your joints. You are doing TOBE hiza geri so the goal is to leave the ground with each knee up. Your calves will not like this exercise when you start to stretch it out through all the progressions but the benefits are that it is a dynamic, kihon based cardio workout that gets the heart rate going and secondly, it improves your posture because you will not be able to find any sort of coordination and balance if you posture is not correct (ie: weight stacked between your shoulders). It points out weaknesses when people lean back to kick as well as lean forward.

Carrying some extra weight will make this exercise difficult at first so listen to your body and pay attention to finding your balance and your rhythm before trying to stretch it out past 60 seconds. When I introduced this to my class, the kids started calling it 'Irish dancing' and started to chuckle. They weren't chuckling at the end of 4 minutes. Good luck.

I have actually never done this kick! This sounds like an amazing cardio exercise. I'll have to give this a try once I learn how to properly execute it... which may be hard because I was never good at jumping even when I was a teenager.

A little more info if possible. What rank/how long have you been working out? What is your weekly routine (days per week/hours)? I will give some answers under the assumption you are a new student. Lifting the shoulders is one of the most common traits of beginners. You are excited, trying hard and as such, tensing up and raising the shoulders in a false sense of making power. Very common. It is good that you recognize it so you can be aware during practice. Often it is a component of muscle development and coordination; these things just take time and repetition so let it happen. Computer slouching can be a function of a chair with poor ergonomics, or too much screen time, even your glasses. The more likely culprit may be that you were understrength in your core and back to start with (very, very common) then as you started spending extended time setting in front of the screen, the curvature started to develop. Research exercises specific to posture, a surprising amount can be found in dance related workouts. Talk with your instructor and try to flesh out if they are really concerned about these things or is it only you. If the instructor is concerned see if he can line out some extra pre and post class work for you.
Interested students who see their faults and work to improve without beating themselves about them too much is the best kind of student by far. They are usually the ones that stick around.
Keep in touch and let us know how it is going. If I am totally off base, please let me know and we will make another run at it.

Sorry, @dvcochran, most of the folks who have replied so far have seen my other posts. I am about a month into training in Shotokan after about a 15 year hiatus from training in a different style of karate. Formerly, I was a purple belt (yonkyu/4th kyu), but now I am a somewhat coordinated white belt that is good at some techniques and miserable at others. I am in the dojo 3 days per week for about an hour and 15 minutes each. I also do a 50 minute class at my university twice per week (although I've had to miss a few of these lately). I'm also very overweight, although I don't think that impacts my posture too much.

I was a slouchy kid. I used to get yelled at in band all of the time for slouching in middle school. I imagine my posture got better in high school because it wasn't an issue when I studied karate. College was a never ending slouch fest, and I'm a slouchy grad student now. I rarely sit in a proper office chair! So the slouch is probably caused by all of the things you suggest, except for glasses (since I don't wear them).

My instructors have both pointed out my posture, although they are less concerned about posture and more concerned about things I do that are connected to posture, like poking my head forward when I punch or step. However, they said that I could best solve the problems by fixing the posture problem. The advice I got was to be mindful of my posture and work on keeping my shoulders back and my arms close to my body (I sometimes flare out my elbows and do other weird things with my arms). Easier said than done since as soon as I stop thinking about it, my posture goes to heck again! I'll be trying out some of the exercises posted above, but I'll also look into additional posture exercises on YouTube.

 

[_Simon_]

I’ve worked as an athletic trainer (sports med) for 18 years, and I have the same problem you’re describing. I started writing a post that was so long and drawn out that it even bored me, which has to be really bad for everyone else

As everyone else said, the single most important thing is being conscientious of your posture. The more you’re in a poor postural position, the more normal that becomes for you. Picture Superman - his chest is out a little bit, and his shoulders are up a little bit. Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together. Look in the mirror standing sideways and visualize a plumb line going through your ear, shoulder, hips, knees, and in front on the bump on the outside of your ankles. This article says it all better than I did before I deleted my previous rambling
Postural Assessment

If you don’t have one, get a good foam roller. Prices and quality are all over the map, and price and quality aren’t related. Get this one, it’s the industry standard and it’s cheap
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai...ocphy=9004624&hvtargid=pla-309561007898&psc=1

Do this with it, focusing on mobility and the movement rather than stretching and doing actual crunches

Get a medium to large physio ball and do this

Do it more as a strengthening exercise rather than mobility by holding the extension for longer

And do this exercise

Do it as a mobility exercise rather than a stretch. I hate people calling it a stretch because that implies trying to get a good stretch at the end of the motion. The important thing is increasing range of motion by moving, not by trying to push through as far as you can go.

I’m recovering from a thoracic disc injury, and my posture is doo-doo. It’s worse than it was beforehand, and that’s saying something. Thanks for motivating me to start doing this stuff.

Beyond this stuff, add in rowing exercises. Weighted rows and rowing machine if you can. But the stuff I linked to is at least just as important, and probably more important in some cases.

Very informative post!

And yep my foam roller is a similar one, cheap, flat and works well. I never did much like the spiky ones and ones with strange stuff sticking out, feels too tricky to actually get that spike in exactly the right position to work out a trigger point or tight spot, the flat one is even pressure wherever you lay on it, so you can easily maneuver yourself to where it's needed.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! This will be a long post...



There is a low horse stance, but in my month of training so far, we mostly use horse stance when doing side kicks. I'm training in Shotokan, btw. In my old style from 15+ years ago, we frequently did horse stance with punches and blocks, probably every class. It's funny that you should mention it, because I was thinking to myself last night that I should practice that at home in front of a mirror. I think I know what you mean by half-moon walking - I do this by itself periodically and try to do it on a regular basis during training. Good to know it can help with posture!



Thanks for the suggestions. I'm sure it will feel weird sitting or walking with proper posture at first. Anytime I've purposefully tried putting my shoulders back and my chest out, I always felt like Mulan in the scene where she walks into camp looking like an idiot trying while trying to "walk like a man." If you're not into Disney, here's the clip:

Oh, that looks like a fun exercise!



Good to know that the shoulder hunch is common and I'm not a weirdo. Well... maybe I am weird, but not because of that. My sensei suggested that many of my issues will likely resolve if I can get my posture right. Good suggestion for punching the air, too! No one has commented on my shoulders when I punch the bag or other target, but it keeps getting brought up during kata and drills. So I'm assuming that I either don't hunch when hitting a real target (or not as much), or no one has noticed somehow. So perhaps the issues is indeed in targeting.



Thanks for this! I definitely look like one of those poor posture dudes in that article. I've read about foam rollers for dealing with sore muscles - I didn't know you could use them like this for posture improvement! I'll order one and try it out. Maybe it will also help with some lower back pain I've been experiencing as well. I'm not sure about that physio ball, though. Not that it isn't necessarily a good exercise, but I'm wondering if I can do it. I suppose I could plop onto a pillow or something and see if I can at least move like that. Maybe I'm thinking it requires more core strength than it really involves.

Good luck with your recovery!



Hmmm, interesting. My car doesn't have this, but I also don't spend much time in the car normally. I wonder if it's worth getting a pillow? Then again, it might also be useful for the office chair.



I have actually never done this kick! This sounds like an amazing cardio exercise. I'll have to give this a try once I learn how to properly execute it... which may be hard because I was never good at jumping even when I was a teenager.



Sorry, @dvcochran, most of the folks who have replied so far have seen my other posts. I am about a month into training in Shotokan after about a 15 year hiatus from training in a different style of karate. Formerly, I was a purple belt (yonkyu/4th kyu), but now I am a somewhat coordinated white belt that is good at some techniques and miserable at others. I am in the dojo 3 days per week for about an hour and 15 minutes each. I also do a 50 minute class at my university twice per week (although I've had to miss a few of these lately). I'm also very overweight, although I don't think that impacts my posture too much.

I was a slouchy kid. I used to get yelled at in band all of the time for slouching in middle school. I imagine my posture got better in high school because it wasn't an issue when I studied karate. College was a never ending slouch fest, and I'm a slouchy grad student now. I rarely sit in a proper office chair! So the slouch is probably caused by all of the things you suggest, except for glasses (since I don't wear them).

My instructors have both pointed out my posture, although they are less concerned about posture and more concerned about things I do that are connected to posture, like poking my head forward when I punch or step. However, they said that I could best solve the problems by fixing the posture problem. The advice I got was to be mindful of my posture and work on keeping my shoulders back and my arms close to my body (I sometimes flare out my elbows and do other weird things with my arms). Easier said than done since as soon as I stop thinking about it, my posture goes to heck again! I'll be trying out some of the exercises posted above, but I'll also look into additional posture exercises on YouTube.

Just one quick point on getting the chest out and shoulders back. You want your shoulders back and down, and your chest raised. There are two ways to think about this - use whichever makes it easier, or even combine both if that helps.

The first is to pull your shoulder blades together and down your back. The idea is to get the shoulders back without starting to hunch them up, which some folks do when told to bring their shoulder blades together.

The second is to raise your ribcage from the sternum, as if you were opening the hood of your car. So, rather than puffing the chest straight out, you pivot the ribcage up.

These actually do more or less the same thing, but with a different focus. I find the second works better for me (it helps me eliminate a mid-back slouch I sometimes get), though the first has a better focus on the back muscles.

 

[jobo]

Just one quick point on getting the chest out and shoulders back. You want your shoulders back and down, and your chest raised. There are two ways to think about this - use whichever makes it easier, or even combine both if that helps.

The first is to pull your shoulder blades together and down your back. The idea is to get the shoulders back without starting to hunch them up, which some folks do when told to bring their shoulder blades together.

The second is to raise your ribcage from the sternum, as if you were opening the hood of your car. So, rather than puffing the chest straight out, you pivot the ribcage up.

These actually do more or less the same thing, but with a different focus. I find the second works better for me (it helps me eliminate a mid-back slouch I sometimes get), though the first has a better focus on the back muscles.

agree it's not about having an aggressive posture, it's a bout having a neutral posture, with the centre of gravity running down through the top of your head, it should be the least trying of all postures, as all your weight is directly over your feet, and it will knock an inch or to of your waist line, once you get those abs engaged

 

[Bruce7]

Hi all!

My roundhouse kick is greatly improving (as are my kicks in general). However, I have another issue that is vexing me. I have bad posture in general... I tend to hunch over. I would blame it on computers, but my posture issues pre-date computer ownership.

My bad posture is carrying over into karate. I lean forward a lot and often stick my head forward. I also tend to lift my shoulders up when I punch as well as lean into my punches. When I focus on straightening up I have some success, but I could use some suggestions for drills or exercises that I can use to help improve my posture. Or just some helpful tips!

For me walking an H form improves my MA posture and balance the best.
After doing 10 H forms, I do 10 with down block.then 10 with down block and punch, and so on.
If I start to become off balanced or have bad posture I go back to just doing the H form.
I was taught the old school way. I had to walk H forms for a month before being taught blocks or punches.

Excellent video on stance and movement.
how to move in ZENKUTSU DACHI and MOTO DACHI - Moving in Karate KATA STANCES Part 2 - TEAM KI

 

[Orion Nebula]

@JR 137 my foam roller arrived today, and that thing is AWESOME. It was a little weird maneuvering onto it at first and as soon as I lay on the floor my dogs lick my face. However, once I got my balance - wow! I did a few other things in addition to the upper back roll you posted. I had a ton of tension in my shoulders from last night's class and I rolled it all away.

I'm also glad to report that my posture and shoulder hunching has gotten slightly better at the dojo. I was only yelled at twice last night, and one of my classmates commented that I'm improving. I'm still struggling to remember to keep myself sitting up straight around the house, but I guess I need to just keep catching myself.

 

[JR 137]

@JR 137 my foam roller arrived today, and that thing is AWESOME. It was a little weird maneuvering onto it at first and as soon as I lay on the floor my dogs lick my face. However, once I got my balance - wow! I did a few other things in addition to the upper back roll you posted. I had a ton of tension in my shoulders from last night's class and I rolled it all away.

I'm also glad to report that my posture and shoulder hunching has gotten slightly better at the dojo. I was only yelled at twice last night, and one of my classmates commented that I'm improving. I'm still struggling to remember to keep myself sitting up straight around the house, but I guess I need to just keep catching myself.

Glad to see you like it. That roller is the one used in most college athletic training rooms, college weight rooms, and PT clinics for great reasons - it works great, lasts for quite a while without flattening out, and it’s cheap. Can’t beat that combo.

One other thing to do with it that I unintentionally edited out of my original post:

Lay down on it with it running up and down your spine. From the top of your butt crack to the back of your head. Once you’re on it (it’s tricky to initially balance and get on it right) have your arms extended out to the sides like you’re being crucified. I bend your knees a bit and keep the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Let gravity pull your arms down to the floor and straighten out your spine. Part of hunching over and rounding your shoulders could be due to tightness in your pecs and the front of your shoulders. Don’t actively pull your shoulder blades together to get them to hit the roller, but let them do it naturally. Stay in that position for a fee minutes. You’ll feel gravity pull your spine down onto the roller and your chest will loosen up to allow your arms to touch the floor.

The key to all this stuff is consistency. As good as it feels after a night or two, you’ll be back to square one if you don’t keep doing it for a while. Especially the conscientious posture posture stuff, but the other stuff as well.

And thanks again for inspiring me to do this stuff too. I don’t have a dog licking my face; instead I’ve got 6 and 8 year old daughters asking what I’m doing and asking if they can have a turn every 15 seconds

My main objective in the dojo last night was to stay upright and keep my shoulder blades together. Mission accomplished. I didn’t lead with my head and make it an easy target. Kihon/basics went well too, but I felt the muscles that pull my shoulder blades together getting tired; they’re not used to working for that long. I didn’t tell anyone I was working on that, so it was great to hear my teacher say I looked so much better. It was my 3rd class back after coming off the 4 month disabled list

 

[JR 137]

Very informative post!

And yep my foam roller is a similar one, cheap, flat and works well. I never did much like the spiky ones and ones with strange stuff sticking out, feels too tricky to actually get that spike in exactly the right position to work out a trigger point or tight spot, the flat one is even pressure wherever you lay on it, so you can easily maneuver yourself to where it's needed.

The knobby ones are a bit of a gimmick IMO. The biggest thing is they don’t last nearly as long as the one I linked to. They typically flatten out and become rectangular shaped relatively quickly. Rolling on a flattened roller sucks.

Some people love that knobby texture though.

 

[Orion Nebula]

Glad to see you like it. That roller is the one used in most college athletic training rooms, college weight rooms, and PT clinics for great reasons - it works great, lasts for quite a while without flattening out, and it’s cheap. Can’t beat that combo.

One other thing to do with it that I unintentionally edited out of my original post:

Lay down on it with it running up and down your spine. From the top of your butt crack to the back of your head. Once you’re on it (it’s tricky to initially balance and get on it right) have your arms extended out to the sides like you’re being crucified. I bend your knees a bit and keep the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Let gravity pull your arms down to the floor and straighten out your spine. Part of hunching over and rounding your shoulders could be due to tightness in your pecs and the front of your shoulders. Don’t actively pull your shoulder blades together to get them to hit the roller, but let them do it naturally. Stay in that position for a fee minutes. You’ll feel gravity pull your spine down onto the roller and your chest will loosen up to allow your arms to touch the floor.

The key to all this stuff is consistency. As good as it feels after a night or two, you’ll be back to square one if you don’t keep doing it for a while. Especially the conscientious posture posture stuff, but the other stuff as well.

And thanks again for inspiring me to do this stuff too. I don’t have a dog licking my face; instead I’ve got 6 and 8 year old daughters asking what I’m doing and asking if they can have a turn every 15 seconds

My main objective in the dojo last night was to stay upright and keep my shoulder blades together. Mission accomplished. I didn’t lead with my head and make it an easy target. Kihon/basics went well too, but I felt the muscles that pull my shoulder blades together getting tired; they’re not used to working for that long. I didn’t tell anyone I was working on that, so it was great to hear my teacher say I looked so much better. It was my 3rd class back after coming off the 4 month disabled list

Thanks for the additional info! And I'm glad to have inspired you to get working on your own posture Great to see that it's working out!

For me walking an H form improves my MA posture and balance the best.
After doing 10 H forms, I do 10 with down block.then 10 with down block and punch, and so on.
If I start to become off balanced or have bad posture I go back to just doing the H form.
I was taught the old school way. I had to walk H forms for a month before being taught blocks or punches.

Excellent video on stance and movement.
how to move in ZENKUTSU DACHI and MOTO DACHI - Moving in Karate KATA STANCES Part 2 - TEAM KI

Can you explain H forms a little more? I did a search and came up with a few videos of some kata. H form 1 looks a lot like Heian shodan (first kata of Shotokan) but without rising blocks or knife hand blocks. I'm guessing they are just the first kata/forms of your style? Looks like they are moving in a general H pattern on the ground - makes sense why it's called an H form.

What I think you're describing it doing the footwork part of the H form a few times, then start adding in the hand/arm movements? I've done this a few times with our first kata to help me better learn (or really relearn) how to move between stances and to stop stomping. I still stomp sometimes, but I'm pretty consistent with the C shape/half moon movement of my legs. I can definitely see how doing just the footwork would help orient me to the correct posture I should have.

 

[Bruce7]

Thanks for the additional info! And I'm glad to have inspired you to get working on your own posture Great to see that it's working out!



Can you explain H forms a little more? I did a search and came up with a few videos of some kata. H form 1 looks a lot like Heian shodan (first kata of Shotokan) but without rising blocks or knife hand blocks. I'm guessing they are just the first kata/forms of your style? Looks like they are moving in a general H pattern on the ground - makes sense why it's called an H form.

What I think you're describing it doing the footwork part of the H form a few times, then start adding in the hand/arm movements? I've done this a few times with our first kata to help me better learn (or really relearn) how to move between stances and to stop stomping. I still stomp sometimes, but I'm pretty consistent with the C shape/half moon movement of my legs. I can definitely see how doing just the footwork would help orient me to the correct posture I should have.

Most of the old forms of Karate or TSD (Taekwondo) move in an H form on the ground.
I was taught If done correctly, you should be able to stop without losing balance and move throw the form backwards at any given point during the form.

 

[_Simon_]

Glad to see you like it. That roller is the one used in most college athletic training rooms, college weight rooms, and PT clinics for great reasons - it works great, lasts for quite a while without flattening out, and it’s cheap. Can’t beat that combo.

One other thing to do with it that I unintentionally edited out of my original post:

Lay down on it with it running up and down your spine. From the top of your butt crack to the back of your head. Once you’re on it (it’s tricky to initially balance and get on it right) have your arms extended out to the sides like you’re being crucified. I bend your knees a bit and keep the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Let gravity pull your arms down to the floor and straighten out your spine. Part of hunching over and rounding your shoulders could be due to tightness in your pecs and the front of your shoulders. Don’t actively pull your shoulder blades together to get them to hit the roller, but let them do it naturally. Stay in that position for a fee minutes. You’ll feel gravity pull your spine down onto the roller and your chest will loosen up to allow your arms to touch the floor.

The key to all this stuff is consistency. As good as it feels after a night or two, you’ll be back to square one if you don’t keep doing it for a while. Especially the conscientious posture posture stuff, but the other stuff as well.

And thanks again for inspiring me to do this stuff too. I don’t have a dog licking my face; instead I’ve got 6 and 8 year old daughters asking what I’m doing and asking if they can have a turn every 15 seconds

My main objective in the dojo last night was to stay upright and keep my shoulder blades together. Mission accomplished. I didn’t lead with my head and make it an easy target. Kihon/basics went well too, but I felt the muscles that pull my shoulder blades together getting tired; they’re not used to working for that long. I didn’t tell anyone I was working on that, so it was great to hear my teacher say I looked so much better. It was my 3rd class back after coming off the 4 month disabled list

Awesome to hear you're back in the dojo, must feel good