Is yoga in any way beneficial to martial arts??

Question

just wondering,because i took a class briefly and liked it..... i however love martial arts,and workouts,and yoga is so calm,i dont really see a similarity

can some one please tell me if yoga can benefit my karate practice somehow?

Answer 1

NO! Flexibility and stretching is very bad for all movement related activities, especially martial arts. Breathing and relaxation should also  be avoided.

Answer 2

Yes, absolutely! Yoga will develop your concentration, focus and mind/body harmony.. It will let you relax! And, ultimately, it will motivate you to go on with your Martial Arts training.

By the way, here is a free yoga relaxation e-course for you:

http://www.yoga-health-beauty-energy.com...

All the best,

Chaker

Answer 3

Yes very much so.  Besides building great flexibilty for you Yoga is something that helps bridge that mind-body connection that you sometimes read or hear about and other aspects like energy flow, Ki or Chi and Qi Gong.  One of the basic aspects of Yoga is to control your breathing and if you can't learn how to control something as simple as that how can a martial artist control something else like the use of his limbs and muscles to execute a more powerful and faster technique to the fullest extent possible.  

Yoga  helps teach you how to relax and isolate different muscles and muscle groups as well as facilitate the enhanced operation of various oragans through certain poses and movement much like Tai Chi does through slow movement, and enhanced balance and coordination as well as promoting good health.  If you look back at one of the old training type techniques like Ten Sho it has some very interesting parallels to Yoga and Tai Chi with respect to slow, coordinated movement performed in conjunction with your coordinated breathing. For years learning first how to do a movement or technique slowly first and mastering it and then developing the speed and power with which you can execute it AFTER that was always stressed and taught until the martial arts boom of the 70s and all the changes that it brought about.  Today there are some Japanese and Okanawan instructors and schools that don't practice such principles or even know what Ten Sho is for instance much less think about the mind-body connection.  Many of the older instructors though, that have been around for a long time I think view Yoga as one of those things that helps bridge all this together with some of the other martial arts aspects like those that I mention above.

Answer 4

Well I've never taken Yoga and have been out of Martial arts for a while, but what I will tell you is that it will bring centricty to your self. It will also help you with the motion of your inner energy and how to direct it in battle. How to be the clamer warrior in battle. The fighter with the hottest head is not the winner, or at least in terms of equal strength.

Answer 5

Yes, of course it is. Now I'm not saying that doing yoga is going to put your karate game over the top, but that really isn't the point. Yoga will increase your flexibility all the way around, improve your circulation (at least for most people) could very well help with your balance and coordination. Some of the more advanced and athletic forms of yoga are quite challenging and could prove very useful. Yoga is very much like Tai Chi, just because it looks nice and relaxing and slow don't underestimate the potential rewards.

Answer 6

Yes, it can help you to build flexibility and focus on particular muscle groups.

Answer 7

Since it was yoga in the first place that inspired the practice of kung fu in Shaolin Temple and yoga has become intrinsic within all the eastern martial arts, I would fair guess that YES yoga is of great benefit (and influence) to martial artists.

The San Chin breathing of Okinawan karate is directly derived from Yoga.

The Ch'an meditation of Chinese Buddhism is directly derived from Yoga (Ch'an is called 'Son' in Korea and 'Zen' in Japan).

Answer 8

Let's see what revolutionary fighter/trainer Eddie Bravo has to say about it .....

SPOILER: The answer is yes.

E