Body Shop: Budokon blends yoga, martial arts for flexibility, power - Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Air Force Times

Body Shop: Budokon blends yoga, martial arts for flexibility, power

If yoga and meditation have been on your to-do list for years, why not mix in some martial arts and give Budokon a try? Taken from Japanese, Budokon means “way of the spiritual warrior” — “bu” for warrior, “do” for way and “kon” for spirit.

“Budokon is not too physical, but we can fight … not too spiritual, but we do get our Zen on — and we care about our existence,” says Jamal Pender, a Budokon sensei and former Navy opticalman third class now living in Washington, D.C.

“We take care of ourselves by eating consciously, our communities by working in them and our environment by not being wasteful,” Pender says.

Lifelong yoga practitioner and martial artist Cameron Shayne, who founded Budokon in 2000, says the practice could have particular application for troops.

“I think Budokon, for military personnel, is the perfect combination of therapeutic stretching from yoga and athletic conditioning from the martial arts,” he says. “It focuses a person on the detail of movement rather than a gross expression, and ... this is paramount to field performance, where lack of focus and detail could cost someone’s life.”

As a workout

A typical Budokon class lasts 60 to 90 minutes, with a focus on the basics — flow and flexibility, strength and balance, or power and agility. It’s a mix of traditional and contemporary yoga and martial arts.

Class theme dictates exercise arrangement, with activities ranging from power and flow yoga, handstands, arm and leg balances, punches, blocks, kicks and animal movements.

Movements are designed to take the body through its full range of motion. Classes begin and end with a short meditation.

“The physical practice of Budokon is an excellent supplement to standard military training,” says Jill Mahurin, an Army wife and Budokon sensei who teaches near Fort Bragg, N.C. “It improves body awareness and functional strength, cultivates flexibility and agility, and develops stabilization and structural endurance.”

Mahurin says people usually practice Budokon as their primary source of exercise or as a strengthening component for other athletic pursuits.

All fitness levels are welcome at classes, with the basic class being a good way to learn the movements and class rhythm.

“Due to the physically challenging nature of classes, most of my students attend two or three times a week,” Mahurin says.

You can learn by video if you’re deploying or if no classes are offered in your area.

As a way of living

Budokon is more than a workout, yet it is not a religion nor is it a devotional practice.

Shayne calls it a “way,” based on the Zen beliefs of single-minded living and freedom from your own ideas, a framework for respect of life and healthy living, free of judgment of yourself or others.

Shayne recommends a mostly vegan, or plant-based, diet. Water and fruit are recommended during class. Vegetables, grains and fruits make up the bulk of the Budokon diet. Foods preferably are grown without chemicals and sweetened naturally with maple syrup, stevia or something similar.

One of Budokon’s founding principles, “fighting is a choice; defense of self is not,” may sound contradictory to military service. But Mahurin, whose husband is a Special Forces soldier out of Fort Bragg, views it differently.

“I see my husband defend the things he loves and values — his family, his home, his country, freedom and liberty,” she says. “To me, this is not fighting; it is a form of self-defense.”

Budokon students who practice both the fitness and way-of-life components can advance through a five-belt system to black belt, studying thoughts, emotions, relationships, environment, nutrition and fitness — the six most important areas of our lives, according to Shayne.

“I found the warrior spirit of martial arts augmented my military training by bringing me balance and reminding me to be soft — not weak, but soft,” Pender says. “You cannot be a hard-charger all the time, and our training gives us the physical and mental fortitude to keep pushing forward under extreme circumstances and the insight recognize when pushing is no longer necessary.”