# Shoulders and Tension



## Pedantix (Feb 4, 2012)

So I just went to a masseuse for the first time yesterday (amazing, by the way. recommend it to anyone who can make it happen), and she asked a lot of questions about what I do, how active I am, and all that jazz and what I personally wanted worked on. I told her that I do MA and Kickboxing and that between my shoulder blades gets very tight from continually working my punches, to the point that sometimes I feel like the muscles are pulling my vertebra out of place and giving back/neck problems. I was surprised to hear that this was actually a possibility and I wasn't just being paranoid. She did a lot of great things to help me loosen out my muscles and gave me a lot of great advice. 

One thing that she did was relax my pectoral and shoulder muscles and sort of "lengthen out" my arms. She said that most of my upper body muscles were way to tight. Then she told me something that kind of sparked a conversation in my own mind. She said that she could see my shoulders lower after she relaxed them and that she always tells people "not to be a turtle" with your shoulders up to your ears (obviously not literally that high, but most people carry there shoulders higher than they need to be.). 

After the appointment was over it kind of stuck with me what she had said about my shoulders and I was very conscious of my positioning of them for the rest of the night. I have always thought of myself as a very relaxed person and never thought that I was the type to "strut around" with my chest out and shoulders high. But for the rest of the night I would periodically make a conscious effort to check myself and make sure to relax them completely whenever I did, which made me realize that I usually do carry them a little high. When I did this it immediately gave me the sensation of being very relaxed (even now I am doing it. In fact, you should try it, relax your shoulders real quick and notice how much it makes your whole body feel relaxed and how even when sitting at a computer you kinda hold them high (or at least I've found I do)).

Then, like most things I think about, I thought about how this relates to my training. Now, I have been told from a few teachers that when fighting (boxing in particular) you should have an almost "Dempsey Crouch", resembling the way Jack Dempsey used to fight with his head tucked into his shoulders. The reason for this being, your chin is a little more protected and your body is kind of tucked into itself and chambered for a strike or protected from your opponents strike. When you do this though, you have your shoulders up much higher than your natural relaxed posture and, from what I've gathered from checking my posture the last 24 hours, your level of relaxation is related to your shoulder posture. As I always want to be as relaxed as possible when in a match, this makes me rethink what I've been told. 

If shoulder position is directly related to tension level, then it would make sense that to be completely relaxed, even in a competition setting, the best bet to be relaxed and level headed would be to have your shoulders completely lowered and relaxed, right?

I'm wondering how your guys' shoulder positioning is during sparring. Do you hold them up a bit to keep tight and ready, or is it better for you to be as relaxed and natural as possible? Do you see an advantage to keeping your shoulders up so you can tuck your head in and keep your chin more protected? Now, really think about it, too, because I thought I was a pretty relaxed fighter. But after realizing that I'm not even a totally relaxed Walker, or Sitter or Stander, I'm pretty interested to go back to class next week and check myself during sparring. When I fight, I don't have a full Dempsey Crouch with my shoulders all the way up to my ears, but I definitely raise them up a bit, and I'm wondering if by Not doing this, I can be even more relaxed in the ring....

Your thoughts? Comments?
THANKS!

(Hope everyone has a safe SuperBowl weekend, btw)


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## Cyriacus (Feb 4, 2012)

My thoughts?
Im relaxed until Im in any kind of Sparring. Then I can sometimes get tense to the point My Hands will shake.

It isnt as bad as it used to be. Im working on it 

As for the Shoulders, theyre about where they should be.


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## MilkManX (Feb 27, 2012)

My upper back is very sore and I think I have a similar situation. I am gonna get a massage and try to relax better.


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## Buka (Feb 27, 2012)

I think it can depend on a lot of factors. Boxing, kickboxing and karate sparring all have different distances. Not just in the exchange of strikes, but in that space where you're stalking each other, looking for an opening. In boxing, it's closer, and you can only use hands. And since most strikes are to the head, - you're shoulders can be a viable protection for your chin because that's where most of the strikes are going.

It also depends on your build and fighting style. Those wiry guys with fast footwork move like a mongoose. They tend to keep their shoulders and hands looser, more relaxed, then zip, they're in on you. Guys that plod straight ahead always looking to engage tend to keep their hands and shoulders up higher. 

The downside to having your shoulders too high is it usually means they're somewhat always in a state of flex. That tires you out faster, especially if it's a rounds fight. It sometimes takes an edge off the speed of punches, too. At least in some folks.


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