Incorporating Yoga to Karate....

[Himokiri Karate]

I have become a yoga addict this past 2 weeks. By that I mean taking 2 to 3 classes a day. I find that my body moves better, more quicker, less stiffer and taking time off from Karate/boxing has renewed my passion but without the cost of diminishing my cardio and technique like any other times of taking time off in which you feel mentally fresh but your body slows down.

Anyways, I want to get in to specific, so the warrior 2 and 3 have significantly improvement my side stance. As you know, in Korean Karate/TSD/TKD, the stance is very side ways, you make yourself a small target. These stances have allowed me to be able to have a more sturdy foundation on my supporting legs.

My hip movement has improved significantly because of all the spine work which makes the body move much better. You are always twisting mindfully with breath and cautiously which allows you to develop self awareness of your own range of motion. Slowly you end up gaining a new range of mobility.

Overall, all these leg bending, balancing exercises serve to build strength and stability in legs. One thing worth mentioning is, in the beginning, there is a diminishing effect in performance because the body is getting used to the new training regimen. Once you get pass this hump, you are going to enjoy getting the benefits. Its like how in the beginning of karate, you are worse than being untrained because you are just becoming aware of your own flaws which comes with insecurities and abandoning the notion that you are not the big bad wolf sort of speak. In yoga, not being good at it in the beginning can really make you feel bad but you realize its like becoming a white belt again and you will come out of it with new set of physical attributes that aids you in your karate skills or you might find that you recover better.

I like to hear from you what you think about Yoga.

Namaste

[bushido_man96]

I say to each their own. I don't see it as a necessity in learning the Martial Arts, nor would I seek to incorporate it into my class schedule. The main reason is because I've got more than enough TKD stuff on my plate to take care of. Would I encourage other students to seek it out and give it a try? Sure I would. Make it mandatory? No.

[Patrick]

It makes a lot of sense. This is not the same, but I follow fitness routines from Fitness Blender, and the "blender" implies mixing different things together. They often incorporate pilates and yoga into their warm ups, cool downs, and the main part of the workout. They are just body movements at the end of the day. Martial artists need to warm up and cool down, too, whether it's a yoga technique or if you prefer to think of it as a stretch.

[Himokiri Karate]

I say to each their own. I don't see it as a necessity in learning the Martial Arts, nor would I seek to incorporate it into my class schedule. The main reason is because I've got more than enough TKD stuff on my plate to take care of. Would I encourage other students to seek it out and give it a try? Sure I would. Make it mandatory? No.

If I have to break down the mechanism of Yoga, I would do so as static exercise meets breathwork in a unique synergetic ways that are somewhat magical. I have heard of a Korean Martial Arts called Hwa Rang Do and they incorporate a methodology that is similar to static holds + breath work.

I mean at the end of the day, the human body cant tell the difference between yin Kung Fu and Yoga. Rather the body simply understands that both have similar properties in terms of physical, mental and spirit benefit ( not spiritual)

Spirit benefit meaning that it subtly makes you feel more...renewed. Its difficult to explain and I am still in this wild ride that I have yet to be able to formulate the correct thoughts to explain it.

It makes a lot of sense. This is not the same, but I follow fitness routines from Fitness Blender, and the "blender" implies mixing different things together. They often incorporate pilates and yoga into their warm ups, cool downs, and the main part of the workout. They are just body movements at the end of the day. Martial artists need to warm up and cool down, too, whether it's a yoga technique or if you prefer to think of it as a stretch.

Before I respond I have to give a disclaimer of being in a state of overly enthusiastic. Similar to how new vegans tell the world that they are vegan. Right now I have returned to that yogi state which I experienced just before the covid lockdowns.

Now disclaimer aside, I wouldn't compare it to Pilates or mixing different stuff. I would say its more of different dimensions coming together. Best example I can give is:

HTML= physical practice, this can be your Asana ( postures/pure physical) martial arts stretching, crossfit, bodybuilding, boxing, wrestling and martial arts as well etc... Basically at the end of the day, you are working with the physical dimension of the human potential. HTML and human exercises are great in variation. Tons of excercise= tons of html codes and tags.

CSS=Breathwork, just like how there is different exercise, There is different codes for different coloring and design. There is many styles of breath that requires different inhalation, holds and exhalation. Much like different css bring different shades of reds.

Javascript= spirit and meditation Of course breathwork can be meditation but meditation like JavaScript is very dynamic and multi-dimensional. From my understanding, Yoga gave birth to Kung Fu. The warrior 1, 2, 3 and tree pose are eerie similar to the blossom pole training + horse stance. Though Kung Fu presents it in a different flavor.

Anyways, not to get off-topic. But to me, yoga is beyond physical. That and as I type this, I could be way off. Who knows, when I re-read this post years later, I might want to revise a lot of what I said. But I feel that human potential and our ability to unlock its full capacity comes from either yoga and martial arts in respect to the teachers that we have in modern times. Who knows maybe there was some truth to esoteric druids and sages but I can say that I have seen some serious miracles with yoga and the results and sensations go beyond training hard.

Forgive the rambling but I just feel like there is something extremely important about yoga. Like there is a sub-set that can take your abilities to a whole new life. Its as if there is lost treasure in the attic and we just have to find the light switch to see where our inner treasure lies. By treasure I don't mean super powers but the ability to overcome trauma and not be haunted by bad memories. Sharper mind, healthier outlook or just the novel sensation when you had as a kid when everything felt brighter and more optimistic.

[Patrick]

That's great. I'm glad you found that.

[sensei8]

If incorporating yoga into one's core MA benefits the practitioner, then that's what matters...to improve one's MA betterment. Hard to say if any student has much of a choice to train in yoga if it's already been incorporated to the curriculum. Only if yoga's a separate entity, away from the main core MA, perhaps then it'd be a choice.

[Shojiko]

My Karate dojo actually does thorough stretch/warmup before practice, which consists of many similar stretches to Yoga. Stretching in general, is a must before and after any physical acvitity, Yoga "type" stretches in particular, are a good addition to any MA training IMO

[tatsujin]

I have not (and would not) incorporate yoga into martial arts classes. However, the thing to remember is that yoga is much more than just "stretching".

One of the things that I learned from my Chinese related studies (primarily Yangshi Taijiquan) is the concept of and use of jibengong (基本功) or "basic foundation work". These are not techniques per say, but specific exercises that teach the proper way to open and close the kua (not the best translation, but think "hip" and/or "pelvic crease"), expand and contract the ribs/torso, lengthen and straighten the spine and, for those that have an idea that qi/chi/ki exists, sinking it (among other things).

What is interesting that the ideograms in Chinese for jibengong are almost identical to those used for kihon waza (basic or foundational/fundamental techniques...基本技). And the same ideograms for jibengong in Chinese read as "kihon ko" in Japanese. With "ko" being the same character in kiko...with ko meaning work.

I have found that most Japanese styles start out very hard and rely mostly on "li" or physical strength and over much time work towards the soft or, if you prefer, internal. The Chinese neijia arts (內家) spend a great amount of time in the beginning working on these more internal foundational arts and only then move to the more practical side of things....one of the main reasons why arts like Taijiquan and Baguazhang are, incorrectly, thought of as being generally ineffective.

The Chinese have another concept of "wujifa" and this is where I would put things like yoga that fall outside of a specific "box" (like meditation, etc.) and yoga would definitely fall into that category.

[tatsujin]

My hip movement has improved significantly because of all the spine work which makes the body move much better. You are always twisting mindfully with breath and cautiously which allows you to develop self awareness of your own range of motion. Slowly you end up gaining a new range of mobility.

If your hips and spine are an issue or area of concern (or just something that you want to work on), I would highly recommend checking out the book:

"Secrets of the Pelvis for Martial Arts"

You can get the ebook on Amazon for just a couple of bucks. I don't agree with the author 100% on everything, but it is well done and beneficial.

Also, I would look at:

"Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual Therapists and Movement Professionals"

Actually, anything by Tom is pretty good, but it can be pretty dense as it is geared more towards those working in the field. But a real wealth of information.

Also worth a look is:

"Fascial Stretch Therapy"

Hope that might be of some help to you.

[username19853]

Thanks for posting this!!

I’m actually a yoga teacher so I’m very excited to see a post about my two passions: karate and yoga.

I bounce back and forth between the two constantly. Some weeks or months I’m training karate hard and just doing some yoga here and there, other times I’m doing karate and there but putting in 2-4 hours of yoga in every day. There’s SO much to work on.

With kata being such a fun part of martial arts for me, I love using “set sequences” in yoga as well. These could range from a few poses strung together, to Sun Salutations and even a whole program like Ashtanga.

Now, Ashtanga yoga… that’s extremely challenging, fun, and pretty darn effective all at the same time. The Ashtanga primary series is a set sequence, so you’re doing the same thing every day (though there are harder progressions that you can work up to). A full class can take up to an hour and a half, but there’s short versions you can do for an hour, 45 minutes, 30, 15, etc etc… Regardless, if you want to improve all aspects of your potential yoga skills, Ashtanga is a tried and true method.

I myself teach vinyasa yoga, but I’m very inspired by Ashtanga with my classes. Not so much the format of the class, but I love using bits of the sequence in my classes.

My own practice has been focused on flexibility and mobility (more of a vinyasa style practice) because I’m trying to work on my kicking techniques so I can kick like Bruce Lee some day. I’ll try to sum it up:

- Gentle Stretches to prep for movement.

- Sun Salutations (all set sequences). I usually do 12 rounds, varying the kind of Sun Sals between what I’ve picked up from styles, teachers, and what I’ve put together myself.

- standing poses. Triangle, side angle, wide legged fold variations.

- various mobility exercises focused on internal hip rotation. Kicking focused.

- kick-specific exercises

- splits, if I can remember.

- wheel poses, then I chill out in some relaxing poses.

Some days I’m working on handstands and arm balances, but that’s not my current goal.

The thing with yoga, is that there are endless ways to practice it. If you have a strenuous job or activity, you can use yoga to just stretch, loosen and relax your body. If you don’t have an active lifestyle, yoga can be ***extremely*** challenging if you explore the realms of Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga. And everything in between! Check out Patrick Beach on YouTube for great, high quality, and very challenging vinyasa classes.

So glad you found yoga. I took a yoga teacher training back in 2017/2018 and it’s one of the greatest things I ever did for myself.

Good luck!