Taiso

Warming up and Stretching Exercises

Taiso means calisthenics or warm-ups. The taiso that we use here at the Vassar College Aikido Club is a variation of the taiso used by the Waseda University Aikido Club in Tokyo. This warm up is very efficient and doesn’t take much more that about 15 minutes.

Before starting any exercise regimen you should consult a physician. This posting and all others on this website are made for informational purposes only and are intended for the members of the Vassar College Aikido club. Anyone undertaking anything discussed on this website does so at his or her own risk. Neither Vassar College nor the JAA/USA nor any instructor of Aikido whosoever bears any risk or responsibility for any injuries (mental or physical), property damage, or death resulting from the practice of anything discussed on this web site. You practice at your own risk and you do so without any encouragement from this website.

  1. Jumping. Jump in place 20 times. Don’t bend the knees too far. Use mostly the calves to jump, keeping the arms relaxed at your sides.
  2. Arm Twirls. 2 sets of 4, alternating backwards and forwards. Loosen up the shoulders.
  3. Side Stretches. Stand legs akimbo, and with your right hand over your head, stretch to the left, and then with your left hand over your head, stretch to the right. Each time you go right or left, bounce four times in that same direction before switching direction. Go to each direction twice.
  4. Torso Twists. Stand legs akimbo, but even farther apart than in 3. Hold hands out in front of your torso, then, bend forward at the waist. Now rotate torso towards the left, behind your hips and all the way over to your right. That is, make a big circle with your upper body. Reverse it and go the other way. Do this twice in each direction. The hands should stay in front of your chest the whole time.
  5. Thigh Stretching. With the legs still held apart, stretch towards the left for a count of four, and then to the right for a count of four. Repeat, but this time stretch more deeply.
  6. Knee twists. Bring legs together, bend knees, place palms on knees, and swivel knees in circles, both clockwise and counter clockwise.
  7. Hip twists. Stand normally. Place palms of hands on hips. Using the hands to push, swivel the hips clockwise and counterclockwise. Make sure to keep the shoulders still, with the hips swiveling underneath.
  8. Jiggle. Jiggle the arms and legs, keeping the joints relaxed so that the jiggling loosens everything up. Pay close attention to the ankles and wrists.
  9. Neck Stretches. Stand erect. Three times, bring the left ear to the left shoulder. Repeat on the right side. Next, three times, look left–that is, keeping the torso still, twist the head to the left as far as it will go three times. Repeat on the right side. Then, put your head down, chin to chest, and start to rotate the head to the left, behind you, and over to the right, and finally back in front–that is, swivel your head counter clock wise. Do this three times, and then repeat going clockwise. Finally, start with the chin against the chest, and then take the head directly back as far as it will go, and then forward again until the chin is against the chest. Repeat this three times. Finally, take the head directly back as far as it will comfortably go, and gently jiggle the head and neck.
  10. Calf Stretches. (Please note that this step in the taiso is usually combined with the next one, Wrist Stretches. I am explaining it separately here for pedagogical clarity.) Start standing normally. Step forward with the right leg. Next, lock the right knee, and bend the left knee. Adjust your body weight until you are getting a nice stretch of the Achilles tendon of that left leg. Repeat with the left leg forward, stretching the right leg’s Achilles tendon. Do this twice on both sides, holding each stretch for a count of eight.
  11. Wrist Stretches. There are five wrist stretches: kote gaeshi, kote mawashi, kote hineri, ue kara, and outside kote mawashi.
    1. kote gaeshi. Stand normally. Extend your left hand in front of you. Turn the palm to face you. Next, place the thumb of your right hand directly in the middle of the back of your left hand. (The palm of your right hand is also facing you.) With the fingers of your right hand, reach around and grab the fleshy part of the left hand directly below the thumb of the left hand. You now have the kote gaeshi grip. To apply the stretch, pull both arms in against your sternum while twisting the little finger of your left hand against your chest. You should finish with the fingers of the left hand pointing upwards. Repeat this 5 times, holding on the fifth for a five count. Then repeat on the other side; that is, stretch out the wrist of the right hand.
    2. kote mawashi. Again, stand normally, and extend the left arm. This time, however, turn the hand clockwise so that the thumb is facing the floor. Extend your fingers straight out, making them stiff, and pull the thumb in against the hand, so that it is parallel to the fingers. Now, bend your elbow 90 degrees so that the back of your left hand is facing your chest. Next bend your wrist 90 degrees–with the palm moving towards the forearm and the fingers pointing away from you. Next, with your right hand, grab that twisted left arm of yours in the following way. Place the thumb of your right hand over that part of your left hand which lies between your little finger and your wrist. The palm of your right hand should be facing the back of your left hand. Now, loop the fingers of your right hand under your left hand until they are grabbing the fleshy part of the left hand that you grabbed above for kote gaeshi–that is the part between the thumb and the wrist. (It looks like a chicken’s drumstick.) Now, you’ve got the grip, so pull it snug. Pull both wrists against the chest, but low, down near the belly button. To really make the stretch work, push the palm of the left hand towards the left forearm, and try to gently twist the left hand so that the little finger of the left hand is pulled towards your nose. Do this five times, holding for a five count on the last repetition. And then repeat so as to stretch out the right wrist.
    3. kote hineri. Stand normally. Bend the elbow and the wrist 90 degrees each, so that you make your left arm into a box. Your upper arm should run parallel with your shoulder, sticking out at a 90 degree angle from your torso. Your forearm should be pointed directly down towards the floor (as you’re elbow is at a 90 degree angle), and the palm of your left and should be facing the floor, with the wrist twisted so that the back of the left hand has been turned 90 degrees towards the forearm. The fingers of the left hand should be stiff and parallel with the palm. With the configuration complete, grab the left hand with the right hand in the following way. The thumb of the right hand is placed on top of the very middle of the back of the left hand. Loop the fingers of the right hand under the left and grab firmly. Your left hand should now be resting in the palm of your right hand. Next, apply the stretch. Keeping the elbow and wrist in their 90 degree, box formation, twist the left hand clockwise and up. That is, it should be corkscrewing upwards and back. Both twist and lift the left hand. Do this five times, and then repeat everything on the other side to stretch out the right wrist.
    4. ue-kara. Stand normally. Extend the left arm out in front of you, directly in front of the left shoulder. Turn the palm to face you. Then, take the palm of the right and place it facing the palm of the left hand, with the fingers at 90 degree angles to each other–the fingers of the left hand should be facing straight up, while those of the right hand should be facing towards the left. Extend both hands straight up as high as they will go. Lock the elbow of the left arm–and keep it locked for the remainder of this stretch. Now, let the left wrist go limp, and press downward with your right hand until you have locked up the left wrist. Now, lower both arms, while maintaining the wrist lock. Continue to lower until the tips of the fingers of your left hand are nearly touching your left hip. Do this whole routine five times, pausing on the fifth for a couple of moments to really let the forearm stretch sink in. Repeat, of course, five times on the other side to stretch out the right arm.
    5. outside kote-mawashi. Stand normally. Pull the left wrist to your chest so that the palm of your left hand is facing downward, and your thumb is against your chest. When you do this, your left elbow should end up bent, and then, as I want you to let the wrist go limp, so should your wrist. Good. Now, extend that wrist maybe about two inches away from your chest. Hold it there while you next grab it with your right hand. Grab with your right hand, so that the palm of your right hand is facing downward, and is against the back of your left hand. The fingers of the right hand should reach around the fleshy part of the left hand lying between the little finger and wrist of the left hand. The thumb of the right hand should loop under the fleshy part of the right hand between the thumb and wrist. Get a firm grip. Now, for the rest of the exercise, keep the elbow and wrist joints loose. Keeping the grip, extend both hands directly downwards until the elbows lock, then pull then both directly upwards. The elbows will bend, and so will the wrists–but, as you will see, only so far. As you push further upwards the left wrist will reach the end of it’s natural turning ability and you will get a nice stretch. Repeat this extending and contracting of the arms five times, and linger on the fifth to really let the stretch sink in. Repeat, of course, on the right side. Please note that as you are applying the stretch, the shoulders should be relaxed, and the elbows should be against the torso.
    6. When you are done with these five stretches, stand normally, with your arms at your sides. Relax the wrists, and giggle the hands to loosen up the wrists. This concludes, thankfully, the wrist stretching part of the taiso.
  12. Lower Back Stretch. Do a back fall, and roll back so that your weight is on your upper shoulders and you are staring past your knees at the roof. That is, your legs are dangling over your face. Gently swing your legs from side to side, loosening up your back. You can do this with your knees bent, or if you are more aggressive, with them locked out.
  13. Forward Leg Stretch. Roll forward out of 12, lock your knees, and reach forward and grab your toes. Count to ten slowly. Then, sit up, and bounce forward, reaching out with the hands to the toes five times quickly. Repeat, with another 10-count slow hold, and 5-count quick bounces.
  14. Twisting spine stretches. Sit up, with your legs on the floor directly in front of you. Spread the legs apart as far as they’ll go . Now, keeping the torso erect (with the spine more or less pointing to the ceiling), twist the upper body to the left ten times. For support, place the left hand on the floor a little behind you. Reverse things, and twist to the right ten times, using the right hand for support. If you’re tense, you should hear your spine crack in a few places. This is a good thing.
  15. Side Hamstring Stretch. Still sitting with your legs spread apart as far as they’ll go, take your right hand, reach over your torso and grab your left foot. Your left hand is also reaching out for that left foot, but know that you should be reaching over your own torso, as this will stretch out the lower back (on the right side) at the same time the left hamstring is being stretched out. Hold for a slow ten followed by a quick bouncing five count. Then, take the left hand, reach over the torso, and grab the right foot. Do this for a slow ten follow by a quick bouncing five. Repeat, both right and left.
  16. Forward Straddle Stretch. After finishing 15, keep your legs spread apart and stretch your arms forward. If you are extremely flexible, you will be able to put your chest on the mat. The rest of us must be content to slowly stretch forward as far was we can for a ten count, followed by five gentle bounces, another slow ten count and five more bounces. As you do this, you should feel the stretch through your inner thighs.
  17. Butterfly Stretch. Keep sitting with your buttocks on the ground, but now bend both legs at the knees and pull your legs intowards you until the soles of the feet are touching each other. Now, for a slow ten count followed by a five count of gentle bounces, try to keep the knees and thigs flat on the ground while you hold your pressed-together feet with your hands and pull your torso to the floor. If you are extremely flexible, you will be able to touch your belly to your heels while your legs are pressed to the ground. Repeat.
  18. Ankle Stretches. First, extened your legs straight out while remaining sitting on your buttocks. Swivel the ankles around in circles a few times, both clock-wise and counter clock-wise. Next, you will do a series of six stretches for the feet and ankles. I will only describe them on the left foot here, but they should of course be done to both feet. To do them, first grab your left ankle with your left hand, bend the left knee and pull the left leg over the right leg, which remains sticking straight out. Your left leg should come tor rest atop the right leg, with the left knee to the left of the right leg, and the left foot to the right of the right leg. Now, do the following six stretches.
    1. Keep holding the left leg with the left hand just above the left ankle. Now, with the right hand you grab the big toe of the left foot. Holding the left hand steady, use the right hand to swivle the foot around, stretching out the ankle joint . Do this for a ten count.
    2. Next slide the left hand up and use it to grab the arch of the left foot. As you do this, the thumb of the left hand should be on the sole of the left foot, and the fingers of the left hand on the back of the left foot. Hold the foot still with the left hand while you do the following. Cup your right hand and place it over the toes of the left foot. The palm of the right hand should be on the sole of the left foot, and the pads of the fingers just touching the back of the left foot. Now, use the right hand to swivle the toes around in little circles to stretch them, both clock-wise and counterclockwise. Do this for a ten count.
    3. Next, make both your hands into tegatana, stiff hand blades, with the fingers rigid and extended out. Place the left tegatana so that the middle of the palm is resting of the bump of bone just below the side of the big toe. Place the right tegatana so that the middle of the palm is resting on the bump of bone just below the side of the little toe. The palms of both hands should be facing each other as you do this, with the thumbs of both hands closer to you than the little fingers. Now torque the foot back and forth as follows. First push with the right hand as you pull with the left, and then vice versa. Do this vigorously to really give the bones and connective tissue of the foot a good stretching. Do this for a ten count.
    4. Next, take a tegatana with your left hand while balling your right hand up into a fist. You will use the two hands to give a light impact, hitting massage to the foot. To do this simultaneously strike the back of the left foot with the flat of the left hand (palm of the left hand striking the back of the foot) while the fist stikes the sole of the foot. The impacts on both sides should be simultaneous. Move the hands around so that the entire foot can get struck lightly a few times to loosen it up. Do this for a ten count.
    5. Next, we will strike with both hands to the sole of the foot. To do this correctly, keep the left hand as a tegatana and the right hand as a fist. Strike the sole of the foot with the blade of the tegatana (the side of the hand on the little-finger side) and the fist, with the blade striking closer to the toes, and the fist striking closer to the heel. Again, move the hands around so that your strike most of the foot. Do this for a ten count.
    6. Finally, grab the ankel with both hands, keep the ankle joint relaxed, and gently shake the foot. Don’t forget to do a-e on the other side, to loosen up the right foot.
  19. Kneeling Bend Backs. Now, get on your knees, so that your back is straight, your weight is coming straight down into the mats through your knees, and your forelegs are flat on the mats with your toes pointed out and the back of the toes also touching the mats. Now, arch your neck and back backwards, and using the muscles in your legs, lower yourself backwards. Do this five times, bending back and coming up each time in a couple of seconds. Try to go a little farther each time, and if you can touch the back of your head to the mats on the fifth repetition. Go slowly and gently with this exercise. It is very difficult for a beginer.
  20. Lotus Stretch. Now, sit down with your legs tucked under you, in the position the Japanese call seiza. You are sitting on your heels, with the back straight and your weight coming straight down your spine, through your buttocks and down through your heels. Next, lean all the way back, and try to lie with your whole back touching the floor. You may not be able to do this at first, but still try to go back as far as you can, even if you can only touch the top of your head to the ground while your back is very arched. As you become more flexible, you wil be able to put your whole back on the floor. Hold this for a twenty count.
  21. The Gold Fish Wiggle, Kingyo Undo. Lie on your back, with your legs straight and extended. Clasp your hands behind your head, lace the fingers together, and keep the elbows down on the mats. Next wiggle like a fish thrown on dry ground. First, arch your body left, so that both your head and your feet go left. Then, go the opposite direction, with your head and your feet simultaneously going right. Do this vigorously, right and left, over and over, making sure that the feet stay together and aren’t flying apart and that the elbows stay down on the mats. Do this for a twenty count.
  22. Back Arches. These exercises are designed to strengthen the muscles of the neck and back. Try to hold the propper positions for the full duration of each exercise, as the longer you can do them, the stronger you will become. Start lying flat on your back with your legs stretched out straight and together.
    1. Make an arch from your heels to your shoulders. Hold it for a twent count, keeping the everything between the heels and shoulders off the ground. As you do this, know that your body at the top of the arch should only be about eight to twelve inches (twenty to thirty centimeters) above the mats.
    2. Make an arch from the back of the head to the hips. Your back at the top of the arch should only be about four to six inches (ten to fifteen centimeters) above the mats. Hold it for a twenty count.
    3. Finally, make an arch from the back of the head to the heels. But, to do this, first put your arms next ot your torso while still lying of the ground. Turn the arms so that the palms of the hands are on the mats. Next, place all of your body weight on your forearms and hands, with the elbows and hands flat on the mats. With your weight now supported on your arms, gently arch your body and get into postion, with only the back of your head, your arms, and your heels touching the ground. Now, gradually release the weight from your arms onto the arch you have made. Release as much as you comfortably can. As you get stronger, you will be able to release all the weight from your arms and hold yourself up only using the arch. As you do the exercise, the hips should only be about eight to twelve inches (twenty to thirty centimeters) above the mats. Hold for a twenty count.
  23. The Gold Fish Wiggle, Kingyo Undo. After doing the back arches, repeat the Kingyo Undo exercise of 21. It will help loosen and strengthen your para-spinal muscles.
  24. General Leg Stretches. For the final activity of this warm up, stand up, and stretch out your legs as you wish, stretching anything that is still tight. You are now warmed up and stretched out.