You Teach What?

​People always give me a double take when I tell them that I teach ballet and karate. And now that I have added yoga into my teaching repertoire, the looks are even more stunned. Everyone’s initial impression is that they are so contradictory and opposed to each other. Ballet and Yoga are so soft and pretty and feminine. Karate is so hard hitting and macho. Yin and yang.

But I have always seen them as being so much the same, complimentary and analogous arts. I see the beauty of the movement arts and the discipline behind each one. They all have a deep and extensive history, reaching back centuries to many different countries and continents.  Foreign language is used in all three arts. We use Japanese terms in karate, ballet terminology is in French, and all yoga poses are in Sanskrit. They have all fractured from their original incarnation into numerous branches, crossing borders and nations, reaching people all over the world.
​

I love that they all have structured physical techniques, which is what I generally teach, yet there is tremendous opportunity for mental exploration to find deeper movements and meaning in what you are doing. In karate, we have bunkai, the application of the movements in the katas as real life self-defense. We can break down each move of every kata (form) and extrapolate many different ways of responding to an attack. We can look at each move individually or in conjunction with moves before or after.  They also incorporate hidden pressure point techniques. The katas are an encyclopedia of self defense. There are also katas that incorporate the use of traditional weapons.

In yoga there are hundreds of poses with hundreds of variations. Learning and exploring a few basic poses and their possible modifications can be a study unto itself.   There are a number of props that can be used to alter the poses to accomplish different kinds of movement and mobility. There are straps, blocks, blankets, and bolsters (*see bottom of page for links).  They can change a pose from being active to restful, or take a restful pose and create muscle activity where it didn’t exist before.  Within the practice of yoga, there are actually eight limbs, only one of which is the practice of the poses.   Breathing (pranayama) and meditation are two other limbs that are critically important to the tradition and way of yoga. Both of these practices are also part of the martial arts.

In ballet there is the structured technical classroom work, much like in the other arts I have mentioned. The barre exercises are repeated over and over again, as they are the building blocks of the rest of the more complicated steps that are used in choreography. The more advanced students can graduate to working en pointe, wearing pointe shoes with a hardened rigid box to allow them to dance on the tips of their toes, creating the illusion of ease and lightness.  There is also the performance aspect of finding your character and discovering how to bring the music and choreography to life in your dance.  This is quite similar to the practice of exploring the bunkai of the katas in karate.  ​

There is also so much you can discover and learn even when you aren’t in the studio. You can always be thinking and exploring the nature of the arts. There are so many books on each subject. If you are interested in the history of ballet, Apollo’s Angels-A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans is a must read.  It is the most complete ballet history book I have ever read. There are also innumerable biographies on many interesting people from the ballet world.

​A friend of mine recently published a book about Karate.  Isshin-Ryu Karate-Do, An Instructor’s Manual was written by Shihan Bill Reynolds. It is rich with the history of Isshin-Ryu Karate, as well as teaching and training tips.  

​Yoga books run the gamut from history and anatomy to meditation, breathing, and self growth, since the physical portion of yoga asana is a small aspect of the training, contrary to popular belief.  I can’t say I have one favorite right now, as I am constantly immersing myself in new ones each week but I did enjoy reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda and The Bhagavad-Gita, a classic work, in preparation for Yoga Teacher Training. They set a tone for me that prepared me for the extent of the learning that was going to transpire over the following year.  And the learning goes on and on and on…

​In each of these arts there are many history books, biographies, technical training books, teaching methodologies, and anatomy books. If you want any more book recommendations, I would be happy to share additional ideas from my personal library and “to-read” lists.
​
What are your favorite books related to your art or sport? I am always eager for new suggestions. Comment here or contact me on Facebook or Instagram.

Click to set custom HTML

*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites