The Martial Artist's Book of Yoga: Improve Flexibility, Balance and Strength for Higher Kicks, Faster Strikes, Smoother Throws, Safer Falls, and Stronger Stances

210 Pages·2005·10.07 MB·English

by  Lily Chou

Table of Contents

Title Page
Foreword
Preface

Part 1 - Overview
What Is Yoga
Benefits of Yoga for Martial Artists
Flexibility
Strength
Alignment
Balance
Body Awareness/Control
Breath Control
Focus

Part 2 - Getting Started
Martial Artist’s Yoga
Yoga Basics
Time & Place
Clothing & Equipment
The Practice
Special Notes
Don’t forgo the fundamentals
Slow down
Listen to your body
Check your alignment
Switch sides

Part 3 - The Poses
Fundamentals
Mountain (Tadasana)
Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
Side Angle (Parsvakonasana)
Intense Stretch (Uttanasana)
Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)
Child’s (Balasana)
Staff (Dandasana)
Falls/Rolls
Gate (Parighasana)
Boat (Navasana)
Bharadvaja’s Pose I (Bharadvajasana I)
Locust (Salabhasana)
Camel (Ustrasana)
Plow (Halasana)
Grappling
Bound Angle (Baddha Konasana)
Cowface (Gomukhasana)
Half Lord of the Fishes (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
Hero (Virasana)
Bow (Dhanurasana)
Bridge (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
All-Limb (Sarvangasana)
Joint Locks
Prayer (Namaste)
Intense Leg Extension III (Padottanasana III)
Front Extension (Purvottanasana)
Happy Mountain (Sukha Parvatasana)
Lotus (Padmasana)
Kicks
Tree (Vrksasana)
Sideways Extension (Parsvottanasana)
Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana)
Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)
Reverse Triangle (Parivrtta Trikonasana)
One Legged King Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
Seated Angle (Upavishta Konasana)
Strikes/ Blocks
Four Limbed Staff (Chaturanga Dandasana)
Vasishta’s Pose (Vasishtasana)
Triangle (Trikonasana)
Crane (Bakasana)
One-Legged Downward Facing Dog (Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Trows
Powerful (Utkatasana)
Eagle (Garudasana)
Reverse Half Moon (Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana)
Cobra (Bhujangasana)
Intense Stretch of the West (Paschimottanasana)
Marichi’s Pose III (Marichyasana III)

Index
About the Authors and Photographer
Acknowledgements
Copyright Page

Foreword
If you are reading these words then you are one of the rare few that have chosen
to do so. For that reason alone you deserve an explanation as to why the authors
of this marvelous book have asked me to contribute a few words. My name will
mean nothing to you; suffice it to say that I am a well-meaning person who has
spent four decades practicing various martial arts, the last 28 years of them at the
University of California at Berkeley. While I have abused, misused, and suffused
my body with the rigors that the martial arts require (thus incurring the requisite
number of injuries), I would not trade that time and experience for anything.
HOWEVER, had this book been available to me when I started all those decades
ago (and had I had the wisdom to pick it up and read it), I am convinced that
today I would be all the better for it.
The Martial Artist’s Book of Yoga is a long overdue project that helps return
the martial arts to the world of a normal adult. Since the late 1960s, the martial
arts have been associated with young, hyper, mostly male athletes who, for
various reasons, wreak violence upon the world. The “art” in the term “martial
art” has been lost, and with it the centuries-old attraction of martial exercise for
all people, from the very young to the very old. Most traditional martial arts
emphasized the essential interrelationship between mind and body.
Unfortunately, the healthy philosophical as well as psychological aspects of the
martial arts have eroded with the rush of competitions, from local events to the
Olympics. This book not only can help all levels of martial arts practitioners but
in a new way guides one in the direction of reintroducing both the physical and
mental aspects of physical training.
I encourage everyone to find a nice quiet corner someplace and join me in
enjoying and benefitting from this great book on human origami.

Dr. Norman G. Link, 6th dan yongmudo
Associate Director, Martial Arts Program
University of California at Berkeley

Preface
Welcome to The Martial Artist’s Book of Yoga, a guide to improving your martial
arts skills with the ancient practice of yoga. While the martial arts and yoga
might seem like natural partners, even people who practice both don’t always
consider how deeply complementary they are. This book explores in detail the
specific, practical ways yoga can benefit all forms of martial arts training, from
honing particular techniques to enhancing your overall conditioning and
awareness.
Count me among the people who took a long time to recognize the positive
impact yoga could have on my martial arts training. Initially when I tried yoga, it
wasn’t specifically to improve my martial arts practice, but to undo injuries. The
thought that I could become a better martial artist by practicing something
presumably unrelated—yoga—had never occurred to me. But having trained in
the Korean martial art of hapkido for six years and in taekwondo, another
Korean discipline, for three, I had acquired an alarming number of neoprene
supports and braces to hold my body together. These braces basically kept my
various armored joints from reaching their pain zones, but they restricted
movement and inhibited strengthening. Surely there was some way to correct the
self-damage I had unwittingly done over the years and restore the flexibility and
range of motion I had once enjoyed. Yoga, known for its therapeutic properties,
seemed a logical thing to try.
Author Lily Chou blocks a front kick.
Despite this motivation, I was bored to tears with my first yoga class. I
remember standing in what the instructor called “Warrior I,” holding the pose
beyond the point where my quads were burning and my arms shaking. But my
mind, accustomed to obvious outward goals such as striking a target or rolling
forward in a straight line, didn’t know what to do with itself. I’m sure it probably
emitted a long silent shriek until we were allowed to move into a different pose.