Stretching and warmups is essential in any athletic endeavor, but in Qigong Martial Arts it becomes vitally important because of the extreme range of motion required for many of the strong kicks. The explosive nature of martial arts also requires flexible muscles and joints. One of my Qigong students demonstrates nicely the soft to hard movements; the bear, owl, bow-and-arrow, some of the elements of Qigong; earth, water, fire etc. And of course a few martial art punches.