MA's That Are Easy on the Knees?

[howard]

...So from there went to Kempo, and it wasn't too bad on the knees, tho I still wore heavy braces. then a funny thing happened. As I started doing these things called forms--which I hated, btw, cos they seemed to have nothing to do with fighting--my knees started to get stronger (actually, the muscle around the knees).

Hi,

Good point... some people have knee problems because the muscles that support the knee, particularly the quadriceps, are weak. Stengthening them will help alleviate certain knee problems, and requires no medical intervention.

I'm not familiar with Kempo forms, but the low stances in certain styles of all of the Karate-based arts are very good for strengthening the legs.

 

[kidswarrior]

Hi,

Good point... some people have knee problems because the muscles that support the knee, particularly the quadriceps, are weak. Stengthening them will help alleviate certain knee problems, and requires no medical intervention.

I'm not familiar with Kempo forms, but the low stances in certain styles of all of the Karate-based arts are very good for strengthening the legs.

All good points. I'd just add that depending on the degree of problems one is already having, the MAist may want to move into any really low stances gradually. Also, I believe that if holding a very low horse stance, for example, one should be very careful to have the toes pointing slightly outward, and not rigidly parallel with each other (which they might be in a higher stance). The parallel position can put a lot of pressure on the knees. Anyway, this is what's worked for me.

 

[Ybot]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can either be easy on the knees if practiced properly and if you stay away from certain types of techniques until you have good hip flexibility and learn proper positioning.