Flexibility and Mobility Training Reference

Mat Manual companion guide to "Stiff: Flexibility, Mobility, and Stretching for Martial Artists." Print it. The article draws the map: passive range, active range, and the hip flexor at the center. This book runs the tests, prints the programs, and tracks twelve weeks of honest change.

Name: ______________________________ Gym/Dojo: ______________________________ Art: ______________________________

SAFETY, BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE ☐ Never stretch a cold muscle hard. Deep work in this book happens after training or after a genuine warm-up, never as the first thing on a cold morning body. ☐ Stretch sensation is a strong pull. A pinch inside a joint, a sharp line of pain, or anything electric is a stop signal, not an effort to push through. ☐ A pinch or hard block at the front of the hip is not a flexibility target. It is an assessment referral. This book does not stretch into pinches, ever. ☐ Partner stretching and PNF: the person in the stretch owns the stop, and the stop is instant. Contractions are moderate, never maximal. ☐ Hypermobile students train strength and control at range, not more range. If you were flexible before you trained, tell your instructor before using the range programs. ☐ Ballistic (bouncing) stretching appears nowhere in this book. It belongs to specific traditions under coaching, not to a printed program.

Part 1: The Self-Tests

Run all five tests before starting the programs. Record everything in the scorecards. Retest every four weeks on the same day of your training week, at the same time relative to training (after the warm-up, before hard work).

Test 1: The Thomas Test (Hip Flexor Length)

Setup. Lie on your back at the end of a sturdy table or firm bed, legs hanging off the edge. Pull one knee to your chest and hold it with both hands, flattening your lower back against the surface. This flattening is the test's honesty: without it, your pelvis tilts and fakes the result. Let the other leg hang completely free for ten seconds, then read it against the table below. Repeat on the other side.

Test 2: The Standing Knee-Lift Hold (Active Chamber Ceiling)

Setup. Stand tall beside a wall, fingertips on it for balance only. Lift one knee as high as it goes without leaning back, tucking under, or hiking the hip. A partner marks the height against your standing leg (a belt line, a tape mark). Hold five seconds. The height your leg reaches and keeps, unaided, is your active ceiling.

Test 3: The 90/90 Audit (Hip Rotation)

Setup. Sit on the floor, both knees bent at 90 degrees, both feet flat, knees pointing the same way, like a fallen domino pair. Your lead leg is externally rotated, the trailing leg internally rotated. Sit tall for ten seconds on each side, then rotate both knees to the floor on the other side in one motion.

Test 4: The Ankle Screen (Stance Depth)

Setup. Face a wall, foot a hand's width from it. Drive the knee toward the wall over the second toe without the heel lifting. Move the foot back in small steps until the knee just fails to touch or the heel just lifts. Measure the final distance from toes to wall.

Your result: Left ______ cm Right ______ cm

Test 5: The Shoulder Screen (Gripping and Guarding)

Setup. Stand tall. Reach one hand down your back from above and the other up your back from below, and measure the gap (or overlap) between the fingertips. Repeat with sides swapped. Grapplers live in this screen; strikers meet it in the clinch and the high guard.

Your result: Right-over ______ Left-over ______