Choi Gap-bok, Yoga Master, Escaped Prison By Slipping Through A ...

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It's no stretch to say that yoga has many benefits. However, increasing one's ability to escape from prison from a food slot is not usually listed in the brochures or pamphets at most yoga studios.

Still, the prison escape from a yoga master in Korea is proof that the practice has practical applications beyond relaxation and exercise.

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Choi Gap-bok, who had practiced yoga for 23 years, was arrested on suspicion of robbery on Sept. 12 and was put in a detention cell at the police station in the city of Daegu.

He stayed there for five days, but early morning on Sept. 17, he applied skin ointment on the upper part of his body and slipped out of the slammer by squeezing through a tiny food slot at the bottom of the cell. The entire escape only took 34 seconds, according to Rocket News 24.

The space that the 5' 4" Choi slipped through was 5.9 inches tall and 17.7 inches wide, according to the Korea Times, and he made his escape while three prison guards were sleeping.

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To keep the guards off his trail, he reportedly used a technique seen in "The Shawshank Redemption" and covered pillows with blankets to make guards think that he was still in bed, Donga.com reported.

Choi's daring escape has inspired journalists to call him the "Korean Houdini," but his escape may not be long-lasting.

Officials have reported numerous sightings in a mountainous area in central South Korea and have ordered massive manhunts in the region, according to the Korea Times.

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