Which is the best way to warm up?

There are lots and lots of views around this.  As many views as the people you ask.  So I am going to add my tuppence worth.  Hmmm, that last statement probably gives my age away.

Anyway, there are just two things you need to do before you start your training session.

1.  Jog around the dojo/hall
2.  Complete your own stretching routine

That's it!

Before you start any stretching you must warm up your body, muscles and tissues, particularly on a cold winter's day.

The best and simplest is to gently jog around the dojo for about 10 minutes.  Take it nice and easy and let your body warm up and your heart rate rise just a little.  This will get the blood flowing and the body wakes up to the fact that you are about to do some serious training.

After the jog, go through the full stretching regime that you have learned. Stretch gently and don't overdo it, you don't want a torn muscle or damaged tendon before you start.  How long?  I would say a good 15 minutes! More if you have time.

Therefore, you need to give yourself a good 25-30 minutes to get you prepared for the full training session. 

Hopefully, the class will go through a collective warm up and stretching.  I recommend that you always do your own before every session, particularly as the years go by