# Breathing question...



## Cruentus (May 8, 2004)

How do you gus breath when you punch or strike?

Do you inhale on impact, exhale on impact, or try do breath naturally, not prescribing to either?

How about breathing with other movements besides striking?

I am just wondering about breathing from a systema point of view.

Thanks!

 :asian:


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## Gary Crawford (May 8, 2004)

I always exhale before and during impact.That is the purpose of a kia.Think of ot this way-what is the fastest thing a human body does? Sneeze. A Sneeze is only an exhaling action,therefore exhaling during exicution speeds up the exicution.


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## Roland (May 8, 2004)

Breath in, breath out, in the end it does not really matter, except you must keep breathing.
I have been playing with breathing in while striking for awhile now, it works just the same as breathing out.
I brought this up at Vlad's the other day, he kind of nodded, so I think he agrees. lol


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## Gulo (May 9, 2004)

for me, breathing starts movement. it is never forced, often times sustained with multi strikes. i seldom do power strikes anymore, just one continuous motion. using systema movements while doing any of the 12 strike combos do not speed up the process, just feels like more fluid imo.


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## Jackal (May 10, 2004)

> Do you inhale on impact, exhale on impact, or try do breath naturally, not prescribing to either?



All of the above. (I had to refrain from stealing Furtrys yes again)
In Systema, we learn to move and strike (same thing) on the inhale, exhale, while not breathing, _and_ while just letting the breath cycle naturally.

I believe (but dont quote me) in the ROSS System, the focus is on conscious exhalation with each movement while letting inhalation occur naturally and reflexively. Breathing is also accomplished by the movement of the body itself. When the body performs a movement that expands the chest, the lungs fill automatically; when the body moves in a way that compresses the torso, the breath is released.


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## Cruentus (May 10, 2004)

So...answer is "all of the above." Same with me too.

Now, what results are you looking for when you strike while inhaling or exhaling? Are they different?


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## kenpo12 (May 10, 2004)

Roland said:
			
		

> Breath in, breath out, in the end it does not really matter, except you must keep breathing.
> I have been playing with breathing in while striking for awhile now, it works just the same as breathing out.
> I brought this up at Vlad's the other day, he kind of nodded, so I think he agrees. lol



Actually it makes a huge difference and for many reasons.  The most obvious, if you miss your strike and get caught with a counter strike to the body on an inhale  you will get the wind knocked out of you.


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## Cruentus (May 10, 2004)

In the ring, you generally exhale when striking for the very reason kenpo12 said.

I ran into a instructor (who will remain nameless) who advocates "inhaling" when striking or locking because it takes away the other persons "Chi." When he demoed this, though, his body mechanics were clearly different when he "inhaled" to get better results, so I think it was body mechanics that could be achieved breathing in any manner, not breath by itself, that made his movements more effective. 

I say just breath, and your body will respond the way its supposed to. I generally exhale when striking, but I can't say that I prescribe to "rules" on this one. My answer is all of the above on this one too.

It's just that the "systema" outlook on things is very similar to my outlook on things, so I thought I'd ask your opinions. Thanks!


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## Jackal (May 11, 2004)

Tulisan said:
			
		

> Now, what results are you looking for when you strike while inhaling or exhaling? Are they different?



Generally no real difference in intention. Strikes in Systema generally come out of the overall body movement as the opportunity presents itself. The idea is not to get hung up on _having_ to tie the breath to your strikes.




			
				kenpo12 said:
			
		

> Actually it makes a huge difference and for many reasons. The most obvious, if you miss your strike and get caught with a counter strike to the body on an inhale you will get the wind knocked out of you.



Not necessarily.
You get the wind knocked out of you because the diaphragm goes into spasm. As quickly as you can relax the diaphragm, you can breathe again. One of the ways to relax the diaphragm is through a sharp _inhalation via the nose_, then puffed out of the mouth while bringing the shoulders back and expanding the chest. It works pretty well. If you can keep your breath cycling, you can deal with being struck on the inhale _or_ exhale.


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## Brian King (May 13, 2004)

As you are walking on the sidewalk and approaching a curb, do you inhale or exhale as you step off the curb, is it different when you step up onto the curb? Why should punching/striking be any different? You don't even think about the breath while stepping off a curb, striking should be the same in my opinion.

See you on the mat soon
Friends
Brian King


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## LOC (Jun 18, 2004)

Absolutely, Brian. Do what your body tells you to do. The only rule to breathing is to keep doing it.


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