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Friday, May 13, 2005
Control your breathing - Kung Fu Style!
Breathing: its one of the most fundamental parts of the biological processes that sustains the functions of a living person, so its essential to know how to use a largely automatic function and make it into a dynamic part of your martial arts practice.
All athletes will agree, breathing is a major part of any exercise or sports, and a lot of it relies on having a good pair of lungs for aerobic activity, which is more or less a by product of a sustained, long term exercise program, and there are many ways to increase your lung capacity and the efficiency of your lungs.
For example, there are many types of sports inhaler/exhaler equipment which forces you to exercise the muscles required for breathing, largely the diaphragm, but also the abdominals and the intercostals to a lesser extent. Not smoking and living and working in a clean environment is also key, as there are more and more free floating pollutants in the general atmosphere.
In Kung Fu and many other eastern martial arts, we also emphasize control of the way we breathe. That is, breath control and the method of breathing is not the same as the automatic function of getting diffused oxygen in our lungs.
In normal automatic breathing, the air enters through one of two orifices, the mouth or the nose, and the lungs expand accordingly, with an increase in the chest cavity capacity as the rib cage expands.
In many internal Kung Fu styles and soft energy forms of most styles, we see an emphasis on breathing with the expansion of the diaphragm and the entire abdominal region, rather than the lungs. This is so that the Chi in the breath we take in can be directed and drawn into the Dan Tien, one of the meridians in the lower trunk of your body, about halfway between your navel and crotch.
Further more, the breath comes in through the nose and, depending on the martial arts system or a specific form, the spent air exits through the mouth or nose, and usually with the tip of the tongue pressed up against the front part of the roof of your mouth.
Breathing like this is soft and relaxed, and mimics a baby's automatic breathing, unconsciously building their own Chi. The softness helps you keep a relaxed mindstate, a relaxed body and the general flow of Chi across the body is smoother, thus promoting a better integration of the whole person when practicing.
It is simple to do, just breathe normally, unforced and relaxed, don't draw a deep breath into your lungs, but, instead, expanding your diaphragm as you breathe in and gently relax it as your breathe out. Practice doing it every day, and soon it will become an automatic function.
The use of the same breath control for hard styles is also most complimentary, as the diaphragm is used continuously keeping it strong for when heavy aerobic breathing is required. The Chi is said to be drawn into the abdominal area, circulates and gently massages the internal organs, promoting internal health.
Also, expanding the diaphragm and abdominals contracts those muscles gently, both during inhalation and exhalation, so they are more resistant to surprise strikes, as your diaphragm and abdominals automatically tenses upon such an attack.
And lastly, the Chi drawn into the Dan Tien meridian helps to form a Chi shield to cushion any blows to the abdominal cavity, one of the few places not protected by hard bones.
Well, maybe its all claptrap, maybe its all just a 2000 year joke.
But, hey, I gave it a go and my stomach has thanked me many a time after receiving unexpected kicks!
Like most things in life, never criticise it until you have tried it, and if you aren't willing to try it, take a deep breath and keep your thoughts to yourself!
Tchüss!
All athletes will agree, breathing is a major part of any exercise or sports, and a lot of it relies on having a good pair of lungs for aerobic activity, which is more or less a by product of a sustained, long term exercise program, and there are many ways to increase your lung capacity and the efficiency of your lungs.
For example, there are many types of sports inhaler/exhaler equipment which forces you to exercise the muscles required for breathing, largely the diaphragm, but also the abdominals and the intercostals to a lesser extent. Not smoking and living and working in a clean environment is also key, as there are more and more free floating pollutants in the general atmosphere.
In Kung Fu and many other eastern martial arts, we also emphasize control of the way we breathe. That is, breath control and the method of breathing is not the same as the automatic function of getting diffused oxygen in our lungs.
In normal automatic breathing, the air enters through one of two orifices, the mouth or the nose, and the lungs expand accordingly, with an increase in the chest cavity capacity as the rib cage expands.
In many internal Kung Fu styles and soft energy forms of most styles, we see an emphasis on breathing with the expansion of the diaphragm and the entire abdominal region, rather than the lungs. This is so that the Chi in the breath we take in can be directed and drawn into the Dan Tien, one of the meridians in the lower trunk of your body, about halfway between your navel and crotch.
Further more, the breath comes in through the nose and, depending on the martial arts system or a specific form, the spent air exits through the mouth or nose, and usually with the tip of the tongue pressed up against the front part of the roof of your mouth.
Breathing like this is soft and relaxed, and mimics a baby's automatic breathing, unconsciously building their own Chi. The softness helps you keep a relaxed mindstate, a relaxed body and the general flow of Chi across the body is smoother, thus promoting a better integration of the whole person when practicing.
It is simple to do, just breathe normally, unforced and relaxed, don't draw a deep breath into your lungs, but, instead, expanding your diaphragm as you breathe in and gently relax it as your breathe out. Practice doing it every day, and soon it will become an automatic function.
The use of the same breath control for hard styles is also most complimentary, as the diaphragm is used continuously keeping it strong for when heavy aerobic breathing is required. The Chi is said to be drawn into the abdominal area, circulates and gently massages the internal organs, promoting internal health.
Also, expanding the diaphragm and abdominals contracts those muscles gently, both during inhalation and exhalation, so they are more resistant to surprise strikes, as your diaphragm and abdominals automatically tenses upon such an attack.
And lastly, the Chi drawn into the Dan Tien meridian helps to form a Chi shield to cushion any blows to the abdominal cavity, one of the few places not protected by hard bones.
Well, maybe its all claptrap, maybe its all just a 2000 year joke.
But, hey, I gave it a go and my stomach has thanked me many a time after receiving unexpected kicks!
Like most things in life, never criticise it until you have tried it, and if you aren't willing to try it, take a deep breath and keep your thoughts to yourself!
Tchüss!
