Paulie Zink is an American

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

champion,

Daoyin ''Daoyin'' is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Daoist ''neigong'', meditation and mindfulness to cultivate '' jing'' (essence) and direct and refine '' qi'', the internal energy of the body according t ...

teacher and well known practitioner of

Monkey Kung Fu Monkey kung fu or Hóu Quán (猴拳, "monkey fist") is a Chinese martial arts, Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique. Northern Chinese martial arts such as Northern Praying Mantis and Wuzuqua ...

. He founded

Yin yoga Yin Yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga (as exercise), incorporating principles of traditional Chinese medicine, with asanas (postures) that are held for longer periods of time than in other yoga styles. Advanced practitioners may stay in one asa ...

which is also known as Yin and Yang Yoga.Zink, Paulie and Maria March 201
"Yin yoga"
Yoga Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2015. Yin yoga is a synthesis Paulie Zink created by combining hatha yoga and several disciplines from the Taoist tradition along with insights, visualisations, and animal based yoga postures, movements, and vocalisations he developed himself. Growing up in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, California, Zink was exposed to

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

teahouses by his father and to

modern yoga Modern yoga is a wide range of yoga practices with differing purposes, encompassing in its various forms yoga philosophy derived from the Vedas, asana, physical postures derived from Hatha yoga, Bhaktiyoga, devotional and tantra-based practices, ...

by the

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

s who practiced it on the streets of Hollywood Boulevard around him. At 14, he began practicing yoga, too, learning from ''

The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga ''The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga'' is a 1960 book by Swami Vishnudevananda, the founder of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres. It is an introduction to Hatha yoga, describing the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' and the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika' ...

'' and the yoga programs on PBS television with

Richard Hittleman Richard Hittleman (7 March 1927 – 14 October 1991) was an American yoga teacher and author who taught Hatha and Raja Yoga through one of the first yoga television series, ''Yoga for Health''.Joe Hyams, "Hittleman’s Taking Yoga to the Ladies", T ...

and Lilias, Yoga and You with Lilias Folan. At 16, he began studying

kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

. While he was attending the

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

, Cho Chat Ling—a student from Hong Kong—showed him that he could improve his kung fu through foundational advanced yoga postures. Thereafter, Zink studied privately with Cho for a decade, learning three separate styles of kung fu. Zink was trained as Cho Chat Ling's protege to expose the styles of kung fu to the west. During this period, Zink began to compete successfully in martial arts tournaments, ultimately taking the Long Beach International Karate Championship three consecutive years (1981,1982 and 1983). He won Grand Champion in the "weapons forms" category all three years and Grand Champion in the "empty hands" category, two of the three years. Zink began teaching yoga in the late 1970s, when he founded Yin yoga by synthesizing

Daoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

disciplines and

Hatha yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...

with his own created postures and approach.

Awards and honors

* Hall of Fame, Kung Fu Artist of the Year, 1989 Black Belt Magazine * Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement Award, 1987 Martial Arts Magazine * Hall of Fame, Competitor of the Year, 1983 Inside Kung Fu Magazine * Hall of Fame, Complete Martial Arts.comCompleteMartialArts.com * Long Beach International Karate Championships, California ''(Non Combative Divisions)'' * Grand Champion Empty Hands 1981, 1982 * Grand Champion Weapons 1981, 1982, 1983

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zink, Paulie Living people American martial artists American yoga teachers People from Hollywood, Los Angeles Year of birth missing (living people) Modern yoga pioneers