Yoga for Grappling: Introduction
Yoga probably is not the first thing that comes to mind when most people think about training for grappling or mixed martial not. Believe it or not, though, it should be an essential part of the training process for these practices. Yoga is much more than just breathing and stretching exercises. It actually is a valuable tool for training both the body and the mind. In addition, the added flexibility that will develop as a result of practicing yoga will definitely improve one’s grappling abilities. Many of the poses performed during a yoga session resemble the movements in various forms of martial arts. These poses can help the athlete to strengthen all the muscles that will be frequently used in the sport.
The mental aspects of yoga can be very beneficial for grapplers as well. One of the primary focuses of yoga is teaching practitioners to relax by controlling the breathing. Precise, controlled breathing is required even when one is strained and in complicated positions. In grappling, athletes frequently find themselves in difficult poses while feeling extremely fatigued. Knowing how to breathe calmly even in these situations is one of the key components to excelling at the sport. Developing the ability to remain calm and to not panic even when your body is strained is important because panicking can lead athletes to make costly mistakes.
Yoga Flexibility for Grappling
One of the things that most everyone knows about yoga is that it is an excellent method for developing greater flexibility. In grappling, increased flexibility obviously has numerous advantages. Being flexible in the hips, legs, and torso can be very beneficial during aggressive grappling matches. This type of flexibility can make it easier to athletes to reach their legs higher on their opponent, making it possible to do many different submissions in the closed guard. In the open guard, being flexible makes it possible to pass the guard. When trying to escape pins, increased flexibility can also be very beneficial. While not everyone is capable of developing the extreme flexibility of “The Human Pretzel” Nino Schembri, nearly everyone is able to develop enough flexibility to be able to benefit greatly during a match.
For those who are trying to increase their flexibility, the process can be very challenging. Regular stretches simply cannot provide the same flexibility that rigorous yoga study can provide. Learning how to breath while stretching is the key component that makes yoga different. Breathing correctly can help one actually stretch further, and this can lead to increased overall flexibility overtime. In fact, according to martial arts and grappling professional Stephen Kesting, he was able to gain more flexibility in just a few months of yoga training than he was able to develop doing 20 years of regular stretches. The most important areas to stretch for grappling are the legs and the hips. The legs can be stretched easily, but the hips can be much more difficult because they make up such a large area. The “Hip Opener” yoga pose is a stretch that increases flexibility in the hip while protecting the knee’s ligaments. There are also several other poses in yoga that can help to increase overall hip flexibility as well as many stretches designed to increase flexibility in the legs.
Yoga to Build Your Stability and Core Strength
In grappling, core stability is absolutely essential in order to help prevent injury. By properly stretching and strengthening the back, for example, it is possible to greatly reduce the risk of painful back injuries. Strengthening the core, or the trunk of the body, ensures that one will have excellent control over his body and that he will be able to get the maximum power from the arms or legs. In fact, core strength is an essential building block to overall strength in the rest of the body.
Yoga is considered to be the original method of stabilizing and strengthening the core. In fact, many of the other exercises that have been developed for this purpose make use of many of the elements of yoga. When working on strength training, yoga can actually strengthen all the muscles used in various poses when they are stretched all the way to their limit. This typically does not happen when one is utilizing other methods for strength training. As an added bonus, there are numerous yoga positions that are actually incredibly similar to the poses one would commonly use during a grappling match. When the athlete learns how to hold these positions by strengthening the muscles and breathing in a controlled manner, it becomes possible to do them safely and effectively during a match as well without causing injury.
One of the most common movements in grappling that exemplifies the importance of core strength and stability is bridging. Bridging is an essential movement that is used to escape pins or to sweep an opponent. It can also be used to put extra strength behind many types of submission holds. Having a strong core can make it much more likely to be able to cause an opponent to tap out when put in a submission hold. This movement requires the usage of multiple joints, and it requires a large degree of strength and flexibility in the torso region.
Yoga Breathing Exercises for Grapplers
When beginning a yoga class for the first time, people are quickly taught the importance of developing an awareness while breathing and learning how to control the breath. Surprisingly, this can be on of the major benefits of implementing regular yoga into training sessions. This is because many athletes do not make use of their entire lung capacity. Rather, they tend to use just their upper lungs, and this can lead to the athlete becoming overly tired prematurely. A recent study done at the University of California actually proved that the breathing awareness taught by yoga can actually work to increase an athlete’s endurance in just a matter of weeks.
There are several yoga breathing exercises that are designed to put focus on forcefully inhaling and exhaling, using the diaphragm as a pump for pumping the air and and out. These exercises are designed to strengthen not only the diaphragm but also the lungs. While one would not actually do these breathing exercises during a grappling match, they do strengthen the lungs and hence increase one’s endurance. Becoming more aware of your breathing can also make it much easier to deal with stressful situations. Remembering to breath during a match can help keep you focused and reduce the risk of you making a mistake because you made a mistake and forgot to breathe. Proper breathing techniques also makes it possible to keep breathing when one is put into uncomfortable positions. Maintaining the ability breathe can be the difference between having to tap out or being able to free oneself from a submission hold.
Yoga to Help With Recovery
For a grappler, practicing yoga can also help to enhance relaxation and reduce recovery time. Relaxing on the mat is one of the characteristics of the most elite grapplers. Knowing how to relax all the muscles in the body can help to heal parts that have become bruised and sore. In fact, some athletes even say that doing yoga after a grappling session can make the body feel as relaxed as if they just had a full body, deep tissue massage. This is because yoga teaches not only how to property stretch the muscles but how to effectively relax them as well. Yoga practitioners are also taught the ways to contract only the muscles that are needed for holding a particular position while keeping all the other muscles in the body completely relaxed.
Rickson Gracie is a world renowned athlete and instructor. During many of his training courses, he would grapple with each and every participant, winning every single match. In order to pull of such an accomplishment, it is absolutely necessary to be relaxed and easy to recover in a timely manner. Keeping the body in an overall relaxed state can also help to reduce the risk of injury. Knowing how to properly relax the muscles in between sessions can also help to heal overexerted or damaged muscles. Yoga teaches athletes how to use their muscles in a controlled manner and how to relax all the muscles following strenuous activity. This can be especially important and beneficial for grapplers.
Yoga to Help Improve Your Grappling
It is unfortunate that so many people have developed negative responses to yoga. While many people hear the word yoga and have mental images of half naked people in very disturbing poses, the truth is there is so much more to this ancient practice. Yoga is not just good for meditation or as a means of finding a higher spiritual power. It can also be an essential part of an athlete’s regular training regimen. When integrated into the exercise routine of a grappler or practitioner of mixed martial arts, yoga can offer a huge number of benefits.
Yoga has been proven to help athletes improve their flexibility, develop excellent core strength, and control their breathing. This can help them to greatly improve their grappling game. Increased flexibility makes it possible for athletes to execute various moves and to successfully escape from various submission holds. Core strength can help to reduce the risk of injury, and it can also allow grapplers to perform the bridge move more effectively than ever. Perhaps of all these, though, controlled breathing offers the most benefits. Yoga breathing exercises can teach one how to make full use of their lungs and diaphragm, which has been proven to increase endurance. Being aware of one’s breathing can also make it possible to breathe calmly and comfortable even when put in a restricted position. Maintaining regular breathing helps prevent an athlete from panicking or from becoming exhausted, and this can allow him regain control of the situation rather than tapping out.