Budokon - Yoga Meets Martial Arts

What is Budokon? It is the coming together of yoga and martial arts. Created in 2000 by fitness instructor Cameron Shayne, the word Budokon is Japanese for "Way of the Spiritual Warrior" and Shayne is the embodiment of his creation. Budokon isn't just the hyped-about new workout that has celebrities praising his name, but is more about accuracy and style while being true to your mind and soul and tending to your body's health needs. Shayne states that Budokon is really a "living art," going on to say that it involves your complete being, "It is your waking and your sleeping, your walking and your sitting, your living and your dying." Shayne claims that he isn't selling anything with Budokon and that there are no gimmicks, there is only something he calls "The Way."

Although "The Way" sounds like an association to a religion or another structured teaching, Shayne emphasizes that it is simply a zen way of approaching your life and is not meant to be taken as enlightenment. There's a unique philosophy attached to the practice of Budokon as a way of connecting spirituality to the physical and mental stages of the art, but it mostly concentrates on the individual and letting go of attachments and being authentic to yourself above all else.

There's three steps to bringing Budokon into your life. First, study the practices and do them regularly, maintaining a fluid motion within your body and an open communication with your spirit. Second, learn the ten cultivations of Budokon and investigate the food criteria in order to reach the highest level of success so as to completely bring balance to your life. The cultivations are simple and range from the simple and direct, to the more complicated. Food stipulations are also straightforward and painless to follow by advising against eating or drinking a lot before training and sticking with light foods, maintaining a diet of leafy vegetables during the day, consuming meat sparingly in your food regimen, staying away from rich foods, and trying to eat only natural sweeteners like honey and stevia, among others.

Thirdly, the final step to attaining full Budokon is to keep a rhythm moving from the relaxing yogic poses to fast moving cardio kicks to the seated meditation as the final section of a class.

As you would expect the practices are acquired over time and newcomers aren't obliged to be graceful immediately. Try out a class or two and challenge your body to work outside of its comfort zone. It sounds like fun regardless of whether or not the rest of the Budokon lifestyle suits you. Budokon may end up being one more fad work out trend that celebrities will wear out soon, but it appears to be gaining strength in the meantime. If it

Makes you feel good and helps to make your body look like you could be a starlet's body double, more power to founder Cameron Shayne and the refreshing style called Budokon.

John Lord is a sports enthusiast and free lance writer on many aspects of health, especially as they relate to sports and fitness. John uses a comprehensive supplementation program to effectively boost his own athletic performance. He is passionate about promoting a drug-free healthy lifestyle including organic products and natural supplements. John is a frequent contributor to a variety of health-oriented websites including http://www.the-best-sports-nutrition.com and http://www.hghratings.com.