Yoga for Martial Arts - GrappleArts.com

With the tremendous increase in interest regarding the Rubber Guard and Twister game a lot of BJJ enthusiasts are becoming more interested in improving their flexibility. Yoga immediately comes to mind, however as John Foster mentioned in his prior post, Yoga is more than just stretching. There's a lot more to it, but where do we start? There are hundreds if not thousands of Yoga DVDs on the market, many of them provide "flows" or sequences of Yoga postures designed around a particular goal. The problem is these goals often just don't match up with the needs of a BJJ practitioner or Mixed Martial Artist. Thankfully Stephen Kesting, Josephine Krizovensky, and the rest of the team at GrappleArts.com have put together a professional, well conceived, and useful Yoga for Martial Arts DVD. So, let's get on to the review.



Production Quality

Top notch, the DVD has been designed with the beginner in mind. Each section (with the exception of the Introduction) shows both Stephen and Josephine. Essentially Stephen shows the easier or beginner variation while Josephine shows the more complex or advanced variation. Here's where I think Stephen really thought things through, I believe he purposely downplays his flexibility throughout the DVD. I'm convinced after watching the introduction Stephen could easily perform the advanced variations Josephine does, however he doesn't, he dutifully performs the beginner variation. This sort of humility is refreshing in the fitness/martial arts industry.

It honestly appears that he wants any martial artist to feel like Yoga will work for them.

All of the voice-overs are done by Josephine, let's be honest, it's always nice on the ears to hear a woman's voice. Her commentary is excellent, however like all movement based DVDs (Yoga, Martial Arts, etc) you are going to want to watch it a minimum of 2-3 times. The first time you'll be watching the movements closely and most likely missing most of the instruction. With each subsequent viewing you'll be less focused on the visuals and pick up more of the instructions. In fact one of my only concerns with the DVD is here, the background music can overwhelm her voice on occasion. However with good speakers or a head set it's not a real issue.

Lastly, the title of each pose taught in the video is displayed on the screen. For those interested it's very easy to write these down and look them up on Google. This is a nice option for someone looking to get more information on a particular movement.

So, let's talk about the content.

Introduction

A very nice overview of Yoga movements and why they matter for a martial artist. Stephen talks about more than just flexibility (some will note his rather impressive wide angle forward bend). He talks about controlling the body through extreme range of motion and the power of breath control. Here's where I think he's on to something. As a grappler understanding and controlling your breath, maintaining a calm, relaxed posture throughout sparing and competition is very important. Roll with enough advanced guys/girls and you'll see they can maintain a placid, relaxed demeanor throughout.

Stephen has posted the Introduction on his website in QuickTime format, I've linked to it here.

Breath Work

Much more difficult than it looks. Your lungs are powerful organs, they can work like a pneumatic pump bringing large amounts of oxygen into your system. Here Stephen and Josephine go over a few different forms of Yoga breathing exercises. I'm quite pleased with this section as they go through a very well conceived progression. They start with a very basic form of abdominal breathing, asking you to focus on your lower abdomen using your hands. By putting you in the mind set of breathing using your belly or lower abdomen they are getting you in the right frame of mind for Bellows Breathing, which they cover next.

The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga has this to say about Bellows Breath (Bhastrika)

...highly energizing abdominal breathing exercises. In their mild form they are excellent for beginners, because they require only that students be acquainted with even abdominal breathing. The bellows breath imitates the movement of the blacksmith's bellows...the additional oxygen pulled into the lungs by the bellows exercise increase the potential for combustion throughout the body.
Overall, a well conceived portion of the DVD, for those interested, I believe Rickson Gracie in the CHOKE documentary performs a variation of Bellows Breathing.

Cat Series

It all starts in the core. If you are a grappler or Jiu-Jitsu fighter you know this. Closed guard, open guard, half, butterfly, and anything else in the guard game (yes even De La Riva) depends on a strong and flexible core. Stephen and Josephine's Cat Series is a great warm-up for that core, done properly it's a great way to get the submission grappling core ready for more intense training.

Sun Salutations

What's a Sun Salutation? No it doesn't mean praising the Sun God and getting your summer tan. It's a very simple series of stretches aimed squarely at what John was speaking about the other day. Expand and Contract. Here Stephen and Josephine provide three different Sun Salutation series. Each one is slightly more difficult than the one before it. Here again Stephen provides the beginner variation while Josephine impresses us with more complex variations.

Seated Flow & Supine Flow
Ok all you Rubber Guard Eddie Bravo fans these are the sections you want to focus on. Stephen and Josephine go through a very straight forward series of seated and supine hip openers, core stretches, back bridges, etc. Want to get additional flexibility for the Rubber Guard? This is where you need to pay close attention. In addition the multiple core twisting and rotating stretches in this section are perfect for those of you reading up on the "twister". Just like in all the series before, Stephen sandbags to show you what a less than perfect Yogi should shoot for first. Once you've mastered his movements pay close attention to Josephine for the next level of difficulty.

Bottom Line

Yoga can help your game if you practice it diligently. Could Rickson Gracie, Murilo Bustamante, Wallid Ismael, Dan Inosanto, and Ricardo Liborio be wrong? There is a strong bond between the movements of Yoga and those of the martial arts. So give Yoga for Martial Arts a try and enjoy the journey, I'm convinced your BJJ game will appreciate it.

Stretch Smart!

-hz

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Guest Post - John on Yoga

Today's Post is one of the first in a series of posts on Yoga. I've asked John Foster a rather accomplished Yogi friend of mine to give us his unique insight. Yes, that's your's truly (hazmat) in some of these photos, John and I thought it would be best to show you Yoga postures by a "non-expert" as well as an accomplished practitioner. Without further delay...John on Yoga. -hz

There are lots of videos on the web of famous fighters training for competition. I usually find these videos inspirational up until the point the fighter slumps into something a bit like a yoga pose and begins to “stretch”. At that point I wonder why on earth his trainer hasn’t put a fraction of the effort into flexibility training he put into strength, technique, and endurance work.

Many yoga poses have been adopted as stretches and most martial artists practice them regularly without knowing it. Unfortunately they practice them without following the principles which make yoga so effective

There are eight aspects, or “limbs” to yoga and the physical practice of yoga postures, or “asana” is only one of them. According to Patanjali, a yoga sage writing around 200BC the overall purpose of all eight limbs is to achieve “the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”.

The physical practice of yoga postures is not static or passive stretching; it is a holistic approach providing holistic results, including a less tense and more balanced body and mind. Such a body and mind are, along with other benefits, more flexible. Yoga is not as effective as a way to increase flexibility as a good dedicated stretching routine but it offers many more benefits than such a routine and such a routine will include many things that seem to come direct from yoga.

In yoga as in everything else there is the agonist, the antagonist, and the synergist. It is essential to work the antagonist and the synergist when in a pose which lengthens the agonist. It is also essential to completely relax every part of the body not involved in the pose.

In yoga as in everything else there is a kinaesthetic chain. It is essential to begin a stretch from the right place and keep it moving all the way to the limit. When that limit is reached the stretch is still not static. Either the posture is held dynamically at that limit with the balance between the muscles involved shifting as the body opens and the breath moves the body or the posture fluidly moves into the next in a sequence.

The result, with practice, is a system that both stretches the body and works it, increasing its elasticity and reinforcing the optimal kinaesthetic chain for both dynamic and very subtle movement. Movement is driven by the breath and the goal is a practice where the attention is focused entirely on the breathing.

This is best explained by an example. Every one is familiar with the simple standing forward bend, the yoga posture uttanasana. Done as yoga the posture starts standing. As the yogi breathes out they bend forward from the very base of the spine, the pelvic floor lifts gently, the lower abdomen core lifts and tightens very slightly, the spine extends forward and downward under traction from the pull of gravity, spilling out of the pelvis as it tips forward, the muscles of the feet and lower legs work as if to rotate the lower leg in while the muscles of the upper legs work as if to rotate the thighs out. The toes spread and relax against the floor. The hands come down to the floor either side of the feet with the palms resting flat on the floor. The fingers spread wide and root into the floor relaxed but firm. The muscles of the forearm work to lift the wrist so the skin is soft and there is no pressure on the wrist joint. The upper arms role out and the shoulders draw down the back. Once completely in the posture the yogi continues to breath fluidly in and out. On the in breath the spine lengthens and the lower back expands; on the out breath the head comes down closer to the floor as the leg and back lengthens.

Forward Bend Pose

At the point where the posture is complete the next begins. In one popular sequence (surya namaskar A, ashtanga style) the out breath shifts the weight in a movement starting at the base of the spine which tilts the pelvis even further over, lifts the legs off the floor, drops weight into the hands and then expands out of the psoas and the core shooting the legs back to land softly on the floor with the body in a low press up position – chatturanga and the weight evenly balanced in the centre between the hands and feet and held by strength expanding from the centre.

Plank Pose

From chatturanga the in breath draws the centre forward slightly rolling the feet over and bending the thoracic spine back so the head rises.

Upward Dog

With practice the postures can flow into each other very quickly without ever jolting or over straining the body, reaching a maximum range of movement every time.

The postures are linked into a sequence according to various principles. The most obvious is common sense. There are only so many postures the body can fluidly move into from standing forward bend. Slightly less obvious is the principle of complementary movements. At the end of the forward bend the front of the body has compressed so much that it has to expand. The move to chatturanga offers some expansion but the body needs to go further, reversing the forward bend with a back bend that takes the front of the body to the extreme of expansion after which it will have to contract into the next posture, downward dog.

Down Dog

Another principle behind krama, the sequencing of postures, is that of progressive repetition. After one posture prepares the body another takes it even further in the same direction.

There are other, deeper, principles behind the sequence of postures, such as the placing of energising and cooling postures in the sequence, but these are best experienced to be understood and are often expressed in terms that can seem esoteric.

Training like this is phenomenally hard work. It requires intense focus over a long period to build up the body awareness. It requires a constant willingness to renounce the illusion of a short cut straight to the point of maximum flexibility and instead to move into the posture step by step focusing all the intention on the current step. In return you get a combination of strength, flexibility, aerobic, balance, awareness and kinaesthetic training in one package.

There are other, more esoteric benefits too. Most are probably best left to be experienced after practice but some are quite simply explained.

It quickly becomes a challenge to maintain smooth, even, natural, full, breathing in the yoga postures and transitions. It is tempting to grab for breath and pause breathing when moving into handstand. In postures like bound karnapidasna the body is forced to let go of restricted breathing patterns and breathe using the full lungs. This translates into an ability to breathe well in even the most restricted positions and to remain calm and relaxed when the breathing is restricted, both useful when grappling.

Training like this reveals imbalances in the body and forces the student to confront them. I can transition from downward dog to seated forward bend swinging my legs up towards handstand and then down between my arms two ways. I can either use my upper back and shoulder muscles to force through or I can use my legs and core to full advantage, exactly positioning the pelvis to direct my body movement. After 90 min of the first my shoulders are in knots and my elbow and wrist joints are protesting. After 90 min of the second my body is calm and energised and my joints feel strong. There’s no contest between the two methods, as long as I listen to the feedback my body gives me I’m going to use the correct kinaesthetic approach and gradually my overdeveloped shoulders and (in consequence) over tight upper, outer, abdominals will relax as the small muscles of my core and the big muscles of my legs strengthen and I learn to move in the most efficient way. With efficient movement comes increased endurance, more result for less effort.

Focusing on the breath is an excellent way to monitor the body. Practice with awareness and focus increases body awareness which leads to honesty in practice. It becomes easier to know when your ego is pushing you towards an injury which will put you out of action and cost you training time.

Correct yoga breathing and movement calm the mind and produce a positive response in the nervous system. The mind learns to relax and focus even in unusual and difficult postures which extends to life off the mat.





Building one posture on another, using crow to work the balance, energise the body, and strengthen the upper body then working the balance more intensely and adding hip opening by moving into lotus crow.

It is entirely possible to train in this way without doing yoga but you are on your own. With yoga you are not on your own, you are benefiting from thousands of years of dedicated practitioners behind you who have honed the asanas and the sequences and the breathing exercises to perfection.

How do you start getting these benefits? Find a good yoga class nearby and start practicing. Like anything else it takes time to find a good teacher who suits you and can offer what you are looking for. Different schools and teachers emphasise different aspects of yoga practice. Expect to have to try several different classes and “styles” of yoga to find one that suits. Be prepared not to find everything you are looking for in one teacher or school. Buy some books or DVDs to get a wider exposure.

Keep an open mind and try to investigate what you are being taught not your own preconceived ideas. Don’t reject anything just because it doesn’t fit what you think you know about yoga or because it involves listening to a philosophy you may not have adopted yourself. Expect to sweat, expect to sweat buckets at first, that’s just your body cleansing out impurities. In return you will gain essential techniques for your flexibility regime, an invaluable addition to your training, and an introduction to a comprehensive system for living.


-John Foster with thanks to Franziska Koller of Zisgo Yoga who introduced me to this approach












Thanks John, you're an inspiration. It's important to remember one of the key points about Yoga John drove home, much like Supersets (or strength training using opposing muscle groups back to back), Yoga works by alternating between contracting and relaxing muscles. That's why the flow or sequence of Yoga postures is just as important as which postures are selected. Don't worry though, you are in luck, we've been given an evaluation copy of a very interesting Yoga for Martial Arts DVD, look for a complete review in the next few days. Until then.. Namaste!
-Hazmat

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Getting Started...

What is White Collar Jiu-Jitsu? In it's most basic form, WCBJJ is for the working man/woman. The grappler who has kids, a job, perhaps a mortgage, and precious little time to train. In fact, WCBJJ is for the person who would gladly trade money for more time to train.

Who am I? Well I'm a father, husband, small business owner, and BJJ player. I've been rolling for a few years, formerly a GI guy, now training almost exclusively No Gi. During the last few years of training I've learned a good bit about what you can do off the mat to make your time on the mat more valuable. Let's face it, if you are reading this blog it's because you don't have the time to train as much as you'd like, perhaps you are getting a session once a week or maybe twice a week, however you want to make the most of that time and more importantly, the most of your non-training time.

What sort of things am I going to talk about?

Here's a sampling:

• Good methods of documenting your lessons, how to use freely available software to make the most of your training sessions.
• Strength Training and Conditioning resources and recommendations to get more out of your gym workouts.
• DVDs and Books that provided value on and off the mat.
• Yoga and flexibility resources to improve your game and recovery.
• Natural herbs, vitamins, and supplements to aid in recovery.
• And anything else that comes to mind.

You can trust that anything I talk about here I've tried and used for a period of time. If I recommend something it's because it worked for me, not because I get a deal on selling them to you.

With that being said I hope you enjoy the material.

Train Smart

-hz