Van
You know...the problem with you is I never know what you believe, and you never really tell us what you
really think.
But seriously...
My personal belief is that breathing while fighting is a very complex proposition, as is the topic of fighting itself. There's a time to breathe, and a time not to breathe. There's a certain "functional"
range for lung volume while engaging in fighting. What you do as far as breathing (or not) - assuming you are effective - has a lot to do with what you are trying to accomplish. When you watch individuals that espouse a particular breathing method practice their art, the reasons for their choice(s) are often strikingly self-evident.
Yes, the "experts" disagree on this breathing subject. The "experts" also disagree on how to do a technique.
Finis origine pendet - the end depends on the beginning. Enough said...
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I have been trying to link my breath with these motions.
As I load the spring I breath. I uncoil the whip I exhale.
The sanchin arm thrust is a big air pump.
The hsssst? When I'm aggressive there is a grunt just before the nukite lands (last part of hand turn,breath is never locked)Otherwise I'm quiet,just like when I normally breath in everyday life.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is an interesting analogy and way of thinking. What you are doing is taking advantage of the tendency of the body to "mirror" (crosstalk) from one system or body part to the next. Sometimes that's good because it is very easy. "
Simple good... Complex bad..." grunts the feared, Neanderthal street fighter.
There's also an advantage to your thinking when you consider the flow of forces from the legs to the tip of the arm thrust. Any good practitioner worth his/her salt derives more than half the power in the thrust from the legs and hips. The arm then becomes the crack on the end of the whip. But what about the energy transfer between the hips and the shoulders? Ahh...now it gets interesting. Breathing or breath holding can add to the whole process of energy wave "conduction" in the trunk. How you do that depends a lot on how you strike. There are indeed many ways...
But there are times when you want to pat your head and rub your tummy. Some aspects of fighting have very little to do with thrusting the arm. It is at those times when you are soiling your britches and before the first blow has landed that you begin to appreciate this. And then there is that whole concept of movement. Blocks aren't necessary when you don't stand in the way of the oncoming freight train. A simple step
sans breath will do, thank you.
My point is that the most important lesson you can learn from years of training in and experimenting with sanchin is to take the simple elements and combine them in less than simple ways. Often the way we do things in application is very different from the way you do things in kata - particularly when it comes to intra-body timing. Kata can be (relatively) simple and predetermined. Freeform fighting is a fluid concept.
The easiest way to visualize this is to watch how a knowledgeable weight lifter breathes in the weight room. When the exercises are simple and the weight is light, the breathing is often simple. When the exercises are complex and/or the weight is very heavy, things get much more interesting. The concept of the linking of breath to movement here then becomes very important. But sometimes even within a single movement, you find that the experienced weight lifter has a quite complex inhale and exhale. Breathing becomes part oxygen exchange, part whole body recruitment, part tethering of the trunk, part controller of intrathoracic pressure (for health reasons), and part spiritual ritual. The breathing sounds can range from totally inaudible to hissing to grunting to outright yelling - much like the breathing technique ranges you hear from dojo to dojo.
Why these various methods are employed has a lot to do with what the individual is trying to accomplish at any one point in time. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>While we’re on the subject. Maybe Bill would be so kind as to settle an argument.
When I fall I breath in holding my breath at the moment of impact. A blue belt has told me that my lungs should be empty. Bill please, is there any medical evidence ether way.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm not sure I will settle any arguments, but I will surely attempt to get you thinking along the right lines.
First of all, this discussion has a lot to do with things Van alluded to above. The art of ukemi and the art of taking a hit have a lot in common. Basically it's all about dissipating energy, and keeping that energy from destroying your body tissues.
Second, what you do has a lot to do with how you fall or where you are taking a hit. If we are talking about a shoulder throw that sends the force mostly to your legs (or a leg kick), then the breathing thing is much more a matter of personal opinion and medical paradigm (and I am not going there...). But if you are talking about taking a hit to the gut or falling onto your back or side, then it's a much more critical proposition. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
A blue belt has told me that my lungs should be empty.
That's actually a misunderstanding of respiratory physiology. Even when we exhale, there is some
functional residual capacity. And even when we make a conscious effort to exhale out all the air, there is still some
residual volume. The only exception is when there is a puncture wound to the chest and the lung on that side completely deflates like a released balloon (called a pneumothorax).
What you are attempting to do when recruiting the breathing in some active or passive way here is to prevent the intrathoracic pressure from getting too high. When that happens, damage can happen to a number of different places inside the body. Ian's example above happens when you have an impulse pressure on the diaphragm, where the solar plexus is located. That "excitation" of the solar plexus can cause the diaphragm to spasm, which is what Dr. Ian means when he talks about <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
your getting the wind knocked out of you
There are several approaches to taking a hit or a bad fall. A passive approach just makes sure that there is nothing restricting the airways when you take a hit. An active approach (intentionally exhaling) gets one actively involved in that intrathoracic pressure regulation process. That process also can give a little bit of active "spring" to the exterior that can help the victim "reflect" some of the forces (an elastic collision). Whatever you do, there is a time
not to hold the breath in. Experience dictates that.
But in the end, one must remember that we need to be able to survive the sucker punch and the unexpected fall. Can one practice something "actively" and "intentionally" for years, and expect good things to happen when the unexpected confronts us from behind? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. Sometimes one needs just to be sure that one doesn't get in the way of what the body will naturally do when we don't even think about it. Ever wonder why drunks can take a bad fall or be involved in auto accidents
sans seatbelt and survive? Think about it.
- Bill
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