Comments on: Why Natural Breathing is Smart Breathing

By: Smart Breathing for Martial Artists |

Smart Breathing for Martial Artists | — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:51:34 +0000

[...] correctly (and I say this at the risk of incurring the contempt of Chris at Martial Development who wrote his own article on the subject) is [...]

By: josh young

josh young — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:48:29 +0000

The vocal component of taiji, alluded to in the Dao de-jing and recorded in the historical records is now one of the most obscure aspects of the true art. This relates to out and in breath and the harmony of voice and breath and used to form an integral part of taiji qigong.

Now that this is lost in so many transmissions it is no wonder that breath is a point of confusion.

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:08:00 +0000

The habit of breathing out with every strike betrays a lack of skill, in any style. That it increases striking power (some of the time) is a lucky coincidence, and should not IMO be allowed to serve as an excuse.

Regarding the principles of Wing Chun…have you heard this old joke before?

Q: If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?
A: Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t mean it is one.

Declaring that the function of the limbs should not be limited by the position of the body does not make it so. Looking at the Wing Chun forms, and the kuen kuit, it is clear that the arms must be supported one way or another by the body, specifically the stance and the waist.

By: mike

mike — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:59:01 +0000

interesting point about the breathing and it is something that every student needs to learn, however the principle that exhaling during a strike increases power is still true. It is simply a shame that many people only learn one type of breathing at the basic level and then try to do an advanced movement with such a basic core movement. Every style has a way to breath which supports the attacks and defence of those movements.

Did it ever occur to you that the problem was not the timing of the breath but simply that the Wing Chun breathing was inefficient when used with Tai Chi movements. Your breathing was natural for Wing Chun but was not natural for Tai Chi.

Coincidentally, Wing Chun uses the principle of free movement such that the movement of one limb should not be limited by the movements or position of any other part of the body. So you would have eventually gotten past the exhale while punching limitation anyway, since every style eventually teaches to strike the ribs when the opponent is inhaling because it is easier to break the ribs. You can also learn to breath with the lower dantien and the back which removes the ribs/arm movement limitations.

By: S.Smith

S.Smith — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:49:28 +0000

I’m with you: we must, at some point, sever breathing from movement. It’s a point of freedom…I want my breath to be free from being strongly linked.

But that’s not for beginners. Beginners need to learn to coordinate motion and breath, extending and deepening each, before separating them. You’re good.

Of course, all breathing is natural…even the frozen breath reflex on a fear-reactive inhale is natural in the sense that it is built into our nervous system, as an infant, to protect our head from floppy and hitting the floor.

Some of our development then is to move through layers and levels of sophisticating and refining “natural,” developing attention and expanding awareness of breathing and motion.

What Is The Key? Breathing describes a way of focusing on physical, anatomical structure. It’s just basics though…to gather fundamental experiences breathing. Some other methods of breathing are merely extensions of sophistications of it.

Naturally, sitting here typing (the process of engaging in vast digital landscapes) encourages frozen breath, so Type-and-Breathe Method emphasizes exhaling. Long, long exhales.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:35:51 +0000

Mark, how do you harmonize these aspects together in training?

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:12:56 +0000

In the practice of Tae Kwon Do, the martial arts instructor must teach control of the body, the mind and breathing. When these three aspects harmonize together in training, this is the proper practice of martial arts. If we look closely at the martial arts, we must understand that the Ki (air or life-force energy) will internally unite the body and mind. We cannot properly advance the mental aspect of control without mental training, but if we only focus on mental training, our physical progress will be slow. Therefore, we need to maintain the balance of these areas to be true to the martial arts.

By: Rick Matz

Rick Matz — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:29:49 +0000

About breathing out when receiving a strike – when I trained in Yoshinkan Aikido, we were taught to cultivate the habit of exhaling when taking a break fall. If we took one hard, while we were exhaling, it would be harder to have the wind knocked out of you.

Also, in my short experience with taijiquan, it’s all been natural breathing. The movments of the form works your body like a bellows. You inhale and exhale when it’s appropriate to do so.

By: Mooter

Mooter — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:17:50 +0000

Staying relax and using your muscle memory is the best course of action in any fighting situation. You shouldn’t think about breathing, maybe that’s what’s meant by breathing naturally.