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-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

champion,

Taoist yoga Daoyin is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Taoist neigong, meditation and mindfulness to cultivate ''Jing (Chinese medicine), jing'' (essence) and direct and refine ''qi'', the internal energy of the bod ...

teacher and well known practitioner of

Monkey Kung Fu Monkey Kung Fu or Hóu Quán (猴拳, "monkey fist") is a Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique. There are a number of independently developed systems of monkey kung fu. Some are integrated ...

. He founded

Yin yoga Yin Yoga is 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 styles. Advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for fi ...

which is also known as Yin and Yang Yoga.Zink, Paulie and Maria March 2012
"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 ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

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, physical postures derived from Hatha yoga, devotional and tantra-based practices, and Hindu nation-b ...

by the

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

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 bestselling 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 Yog ...

'' and the yoga programs on

PBS television The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

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, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

. While he was attending the

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, 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 ...

, 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 years in a row, 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 () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

disciplines and

Hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

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.com CompleteMartialArts.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