The Concept Of Breathing In Martial Arts Training

By Gabriel Lozen

One of the most crucial elements of martial arts training is breathing correctly. This is important because the underlying philosophy is that proper breathing results in your body getting cleansed from within. All toxic wastes such as carbon dioxide get eliminated due to this cleansing and are replaced by fresh oxygen and nutrients.

If you are just starting to discover the importance of breathing in your martial arts training, you will find the following exercises very useful.

The most basic methods of learning how to breathe properly are Attention Breathing and Abdominal Breathing.

While practicing either of these techniques make sure you focus on breathing through your nose. Normally just breathing through the nose is difficult when you are practicing martial arts exercises. However, for the purpose of these breathing techniques it is essential you use just your nose. While breathing, imagine you are creating a closed circuit by breathing in through your nose and then again breathing out the same way. Every time you breathe through your moth, the circuit gets broken and the energy gets dissipated.

You need to be aware of the fact that everyone does not breathe in the same manner. Children breathe differently from older people. When people are excited they will tend to breathe more rapidly as compared to when they are depressed. When you are at peace, your breathing will be deep and slow.

The Attention Breathing method is about focusing your attention on the natural flow of your breath. You do not need to do anything to change it. You only need to take note of the way the breathing process is occurring within your body. You can do this by feeling the air when it enters your nostrils, then circulates through your lungs and finally gets exhaled. As you concentrate and feel the movement of the air through your body, your breathing will become smoother and more even.

If you feel your concentration waning, try and focus back. Practice this method for at least five minutes at the same time every day. Once you get used to this, try and practice it at other times during the course of the day. Gradually, without your realizing it, this awareness will become integrated into your life.

Abdominal Breathing is one of the easiest breathing techniques to master as it is actually different to do it incorrectly. The basic concept behind this method is to fill up your lungs with air completely. This is important since we usually tend to breathe with just the upper half of our lungs. The Abdominal Breathing method helps in expanding the capacity of your lungs.

To practice this technique, breathe in through the nose. Expand your abdomen slowly and allow the air to fill your lower lungs. Do this in a smooth and gentle manner. Once your abdomen is full, breathe out through the nose and keep pulling your abdomen in slowly. As you inhale, your abdomen should expand and with each exhalation your abdomen should contract. Repeat this method in sets of ten. - 31497

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