# How can I ease my tension whilst practicing kata?



## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 11, 2022)

Hi there, I’ve just started karate 2 days ago, some time before the end of the lesson my head started feeling very dizzy and I couldn’t see properly, my sensei told me that throughout the lesson I’ve been too tense and stressing my muscles, I’ve tried practicing at home but to no avail I was still stressing myself out, any suggestions on how I can relax more during training?


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## punisher73 (Aug 11, 2022)

There was a recent thread that had a lot of good advice on it with the same question.





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						I am physically unable to relax my upper body during kata. Should I give up Karate altogether?
					

I have been doing Karate for 7 years (currently in WKF Shotokan, 1st kyu brown belt, training in Canada). My sensei keeps telling me to relax my upper body and use my legs/hips for power. However, no matter how much I consciously try to do this, he keeps telling me I am too tense. I have been...



					www.martialtalk.com
				




This would be a good place to start.


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## Flying Crane (Aug 11, 2022)

If you became dizzy and couldn’t see properly there may be a medical issue.  You should get checked by your doctor before you continue training.


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## MadMartigan (Aug 11, 2022)

Flying Crane said:


> If you became dizzy and couldn’t see properly there may be a medical issue. You should get checked by your doctor before you continue training.


I second this. While I've never heard of overly tensed muscles causing dizziness and affecting eye-sight, life-threatening blood pressure issues or other serious medical conditions come to mind. 
I would stop classes immediately until I'd been examined by a doctor.


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## Flying Crane (Aug 11, 2022)

MadMartigan said:


> I second this. While I've never heard of overly tensed muscles causing dizziness and affecting eye-sight, life-threatening blood pressure issues or other serious medical conditions come to mind.
> I would stop classes immediately until I'd been examined by a doctor.



Yeah, sudden loss of vision can be a symptom of both a detaching retina or a stroke.  Both are serious issues.


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 11, 2022)

Thanks for the thread!


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 11, 2022)

Flying Crane said:


> If you became dizzy and couldn’t see properly there may be a medical issue.  You should get checked by your doctor before you continue training.





MadMartigan said:


> I second this. While I've never heard of overly tensed muscles causing dizziness and affecting eye-sight, life-threatening blood pressure issues or other serious medical conditions come to mind.
> I would stop classes immediately until I'd been examined by a doctor.



Will check in with a doctor or optician as soon as possible, thanks for the advice guys


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## isshinryuronin (Aug 11, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> Hi there, I’ve just started karate 2 days ago, some time before the end of the lesson my head started feeling very dizzy and I couldn’t see properly, my sensei told me that throughout the lesson I’ve been too tense and stressing my muscles, I’ve tried practicing at home but to no avail I was still stressing myself out, any suggestions on how I can relax more during training?


Wow!  There is so much wrong with this post.  Some red flags:

1.  The poster offers no info on age or physical condition.
2.  Says he/she has unsuccessfully practiced relaxing for ONE/TWO DAY.  It takes some two years to learn this.
3.  Who made the link between the symptoms and being too tense?  Whether student or sensei, this is a leap.
4.  A first lesson is usually not too physically demanding as more time would be spent explaining things.
5.  As has been said by all, wouldn't a visit to an MD be a better choice than to seek out a MA forum at this point?

The poster's first name seems well earned.  If this post is sincere, my advice is to stop working out immediately.  If not sincere, my advice is to stop posting immediately.

Edit:  Just saw that Confused has seen the way.


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 11, 2022)

isshinryuronin said:


> Wow!  There is so much wrong with this post.  Some red flags:
> 
> 1.  The poster offers no info on age or physical condition.
> 2.  Says he/she has unsuccessfully practiced relaxing for ONE/TWO DAY.  It takes some two years to learn this.
> ...


1)Sorry I didn’t provide more information. I’m a 14 year old male and I’m not sure how I should describe my physical condition 
2)I didn’t know it would take 2 years to properly study relaxation! My sensei kept saying that I should’ve been less tense throughout the lesson and hopped on here for some advice
3)I’m gonna go to a doctor anyways
4)My sensei and I sort of just jumped into practicing basic kata and the purpose for them
5)I wasn’t sure if this was a normal thing or not so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to post something 

I’m sorry if I came off as insincere or untrustworthy, but I’ll head down to a doctor tomorrow, it’s understandable if this post would seem weird I would too in your position reflecting back on it now.


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## Flying Crane (Aug 11, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> 1)Sorry I didn’t provide more information. I’m a 14 year old male and I’m not sure how I should describe my physical condition
> 2)I didn’t know it would take 2 years to properly study relaxation! My sensei kept saying that I should’ve been less tense throughout the lesson and hopped on here for some advice
> 3)I’m gonna go to a doctor anyways
> 4)My sensei and I sort of just jumped into practicing basic kata and the purpose for them
> ...


And it goes without saying, make sure the legal adults in your life know how this is moving as well.  

There is a lot in your first post that simply strikes us as potentially odd and possibly dangerous.  But we aren’t in a position to comment much because we were not there to witness what happened, we don’t know your teacher nor how knowledgeable he really is, nor what your physical capabilities are, etc.  So get with your doctor and make sure you do not have any medical issues that need to be addressed, nor anything else that might become an issue down the road or would make training dangerous for you.  Better safe than sorry.  

I hope it all turns out to be fine, maybe you were training too hard for your level of conditioning?  Maybe you got dehydrated?  Maybe you need to ease into this a bit more gradually?   These are just thoughts off the top of my head that could be possible.  But see the doctor first.


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## JowGaWolf (Aug 11, 2022)

Flying Crane said:


> If you became dizzy and couldn’t see properly there may be a medical issue.  You should get checked by your doctor before you continue training.


Either a medical issue or the OP isn't breathing. Similar to what happens when people lift weights while holding their breath.


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## Tony Dismukes (Aug 11, 2022)

JowGaWolf said:


> Either a medical issue or the OP isn't breathing. Similar to what happens when people lift weights while holding their breath.


The other likely possibility is dehydration.


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## JowGaWolf (Aug 11, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> 2)I didn’t know it would take 2 years to properly study relaxation! My sensei kept saying that I should’ve been less tense throughout the lesson and hopped on here for some advice


Some people are able to relax easier than others. For people like me, I need to practice relaxation often or I'll slowly tense up without realizing it. Sometimes tension is not related to martial arts.  It can come from daily activities. Two days ago I began to learn how to covid on one thing at a time.  I try to limit my thoughts to one present task. I don't want to be void of thought.  I only want to have one thought.

For your training, think less about force. If your technique is good then force will be there even when it doesn't feel powerful.


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## JowGaWolf (Aug 11, 2022)

Tony Dismukes said:


> The other likely possibility is dehydration.


Yep that too.  Dehydration will mess up a lot of things.  It's like running a car without oil; the system starts to grind.


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## Tony Dismukes (Aug 11, 2022)

isshinryuronin said:


> Says he/she has unsuccessfully practiced relaxing for ONE/TWO DAY. It takes some two years to learn this.





Confused_Tranquility said:


> I didn’t know it would take 2 years to properly study relaxation! My sensei kept saying that I should’ve been less tense throughout the lesson and hopped on here for some advice


Learning to relax properly while performing techniques, kata, sparring, etc is a long term, incremental process. "2 years" is kind of an arbitrary estimate of how long it might take a typical student to reach a certain level of relaxation, but the learning process goes on much longer than that.

However, even a first day student shouldn't be so tense that they get dizzy or have trouble seeing. Really the only way that excessive tension would likely cause those sorts of symptoms is if the student was so tense that they were holding their breath while performing the kata. That could do it.

If you weren't holding your breath, then the next most likely possibility which could cause those symptoms would be dehydration. If the intensity of the exercise was significantly higher than you are used to and you hadn't drunk enough fluids before and during the workout, it could have that effect. Otherwise, check with your doctor to make sure there isn't some more serious underlying health issue.


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## isshinryuronin (Aug 11, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> 1)Sorry I didn’t provide more information. I’m a 14 year old male and I’m not sure how I should describe my physical condition
> 2)I didn’t know it would take 2 years to properly study relaxation! My sensei kept saying that I should’ve been less tense throughout the lesson and hopped on here for some advice
> 3)I’m gonna go to a doctor anyways
> 4)My sensei and I sort of just jumped into practicing basic kata and the purpose for them
> ...


Your age explains a lot (not your fault, we all were 14 at one time). Giving full info in your posts helps others understand and make relevant and more helpful comments.

All new students are usually over-tense.  Not a big worry now.  Just work on the big movements and don't try too hard and be concerned about power yet.  It doesn't take everyone 2 years to learn to relax, but even black belts have to keep it in mind from time to time.


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## isshinryuronin (Aug 11, 2022)

Flying Crane said:


> And it goes without saying, make sure the legal adults in your life know


I know this is very hard for a teenage boy, but it is absolutely VITAL that you share (certain) things  with your parent.   Your health is at the top of the list.  At 14 you just don't have the experience yet to judge what's important and what's not.  You listen to your sensei, right?  Why?  Because he knows more than you.  Believe it or not, in most things the same is true of your parents, as much as you'd like to deny it.  One thing martial arts teach is to step back from your ego.  Good luck.


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## Buka (Aug 11, 2022)

Too young for the forum.


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## mograph (Aug 12, 2022)

I can't speak to any medical issues, but I'd wager that the OP is trying to hard to be "tough," or "angry." I saw a youth at a karate demo doing a kata (and yelling "kee-ai!"), but he was so tense, I could see that Y-shaped blood vessel on his forehead quite easily. Very bad.

It's unfortunate that we need to learn how to relax, when we shouldn't have been tense in the first place!

So, OP, just put your limbs where they need to be. *Don't try to be tough.* Relax. Doing this stuff while tense is like driving with your foot on the brake all the time. It prevents you from moving easily and smoothly.


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 12, 2022)

So went to the doctor today and they told me nothing seemed to be wrong and that I probably didn’t eat well enough or wasn’t hydrated enough on that day


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 12, 2022)

mograph said:


> I can't speak to any medical issues, but I'd wager that the OP is trying to hard to be "tough," or "angry." I saw a youth at a karate demo doing a kata (and yelling "kee-ai!"), but he was so tense, I could see that Y-shaped blood vessel on his forehead quite easily. Very bad.
> 
> It's unfortunate that we need to learn how to relax, when we shouldn't have been tense in the first place!
> 
> So, OP, just put your limbs where they need to be. *Don't try to be tough.* Relax. Doing this stuff while tense is like driving with your foot on the brake all the time. It prevents you from moving easily and smoothly.


I think I understand the point of kata now, it’s supposed to kind of get you into the feeling and movement of things and one shouldn’t give out full force while trying to memorize it to preserve energy and to not tire yourself out without reason, I think.


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## Dirty Dog (Aug 12, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> So went to the doctor today and they told me nothing seemed to be wrong and that I probably didn’t eat well enough or wasn’t hydrated enough on that day


I'm going to disagree with your doctor. Diet and hydration can cause problems. But there's an easy way to tell. Was your diet and hydration prior to class significantly different than your norm? I don't mean "I normally drink 5 glasses of water but only drank 4". It would need to be a pretty drastic change. Now, I am not a Dr. I'm an ER/Flight nurse with 40 years of experience, a Masters in Human Physiology, and (quick counting on my fingers) 53 years of experience in the martial arts.

It's far more likely that you were holding your breath. This is a very common problem for new students. Especially kids.

It is also kind of silly to think you could have corrected this (or anything else) in a whole two DAYS of training. That's likely to be what, 2-3 hours total? 

When you're standing in whatever ready stance your system uses, there should be little or no tension in your body. You're just standing, after all. Consciously relax, and breath from your diaphragm. When you're doing forms, inhale (again, from your diaphragm) when you're chambering and exhale forcefully with every punch or kick. Exhaling during strikes makes them more powerful. That is the reason for the kiap. Go watch the Wimbledon matches. Hear all the grunting? This is why.

The other thing it does is make you breath. People breath-hold after inhaling. Holding your breath after an exhale is far less likely.

Making this automatic is going to take time and effort. Especially breathing from the diaphragm. Most people (especially westerners) breath by expanding their chest. That will never fill the lungs. To fill the lungs fully, you must first breathe from the diaphragm. Your belly expands, then your chest. Not just when you're in class. Breath like this all the time. Every breath. It often takes people years to correct this.


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## Dirty Dog (Aug 12, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> I think I understand the point of kata now, it’s supposed to kind of get you into the feeling and movement of things and one shouldn’t give out full force while trying to memorize it to preserve energy and to not tire yourself out without reason, I think.


The point of kata is to teach you how to perform specific movements and combinations of movements in a way that can be practiced solo. Putting a ton of power into techniques that you don't really even know how to perform is not helpful, and can, in some cases, lead to injury. Learn the movements. Learn the pattern they follow in a given kata. *Then* learn to do them with power. When you're doing kata correctly, it *should* tire you out. If a student isn't huffing and puffing and sweating after finishing a form, I know they're coasting along, not really working.


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 12, 2022)

Dirty Dog said:


> The point of kata is to teach you how to perform specific movements and combinations of movements in a way that can be practiced solo. Putting a ton of power into techniques that you don't really even know how to perform is not helpful, and can, in some cases, lead to injury. Learn the movements. Learn the pattern they follow in a given kata. *Then* learn to do them with power. When you're doing kata correctly, it *should* tire you out. If a student isn't huffing and puffing and sweating after finishing a form, I know they're coasting along, not really working.


Thanks man, may have gotten too excited and rushed into this a bit 😅, I will try and take this a little bit slower and try and practice that breathing routine in your other reply, should I try and start out breathing like that only while practicing kata or try and incorporate whilst doing everyday things like chores and stuff?


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 12, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> Thanks man, may have gotten too excited and rushed into this a bit 😅, I will try and take this a little bit slower and try and practice that breathing routine in your other reply, should I try and start out breathing like that only while practicing kata or try and incorporate whilst doing everyday things like chores and stuff?


Nvm just reread the message will try to practice this regularly


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## JowGaWolf (Aug 12, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> Nvm just reread the message will try to practice this regularly


A Lot of traditional martial arts have breathing exercises.   You may discover this later as you advance in your system


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## drop bear (Aug 12, 2022)

Do some yoga.

Same sort of concept but they will take you through the mental aspect as well.


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## Dirty Dog (Aug 14, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> Thanks man, may have gotten too excited and rushed into this a bit 😅,


Also a super common reaction.


Confused_Tranquility said:


> I will try and take this a little bit slower and try and practice that breathing routine in your other reply, should I try and start out breathing like that only while practicing kata or try and incorporate whilst doing everyday things like chores and stuff?


You're going to have to consciously control your breathing at first. So start at rest when there's nothing distracting you. Then keep reminding yourself to do it constantly. Eventually it'll become automatic.
In class, start by doing the exhale with movement to force yourself to take ANY sort of breath. Eventually, you will belly breathe automatically and this will carry over into every breath you take.


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## Darren (Aug 16, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> Hi there, I’ve just started karate 2 days ago, some time before the end of the lesson my head started feeling very dizzy and I couldn’t see properly, my sensei told me that throughout the lesson I’ve been too tense and stressing my muscles, I’ve tried practicing at home but to no avail I was still stressing myself out, any suggestions on how I can relax more during training?


Give it time, your new don’t rush, don’t keep up with everyone else your in competition with you self, practice your forms, technique’s slow do it that way till you get used to, then add a little speed to your movements! Go slow to make it flow!!


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## Olde Phart (Aug 16, 2022)

Glad you went to the doctor to make sure there isn't anything overall that is a problem.  You'll eventually get your body figured out and then progress accordingly.  That's why some of us older practitioners use the word "years" when it comes to the practice of Martial Arts.  Here are a few things to remember in your journey.

*Breathing.*  I'll jump on the "bandwagon" here and agree with all those stressing the importance of learning to breathe.  My instructor is constantly telling the students to control their breathing.  Before each class gets into the actual practice, we have a few minutes of seated meditation to try and set aside the things we've been thru during the day and to generally calm ourselves.  Because most of our commands are given in Korean, there is a short verbal drill after the meditation that covers those terms.  It tends to bring our minds into the dojang from the rest of the day.

*Focus.*  As an older guy, my focus when doing forms (or kicks/punches/throws, etc.) is to aim for a semblance of perfection in the movement.  Most of the teens seem to be focused on how fast they can do it once they've learned the basic movements.  They're just throwing their hands or feet out and then back in with no real attention paid to the proper stance or the actual purpose of what that block is supposed to do.  Focusing on the form and trying to get it right is a part of the life-long learning experience.  I may be slower than the younger set, but my aim is doing it "right."

*Food*.  Like hydration, food is important.  I find if it's been 6-7 hours since the last meal (such as going to an evening class and the last meal I've had was lunch), it affects me both physically and mentally.  I get tired quicker and I start thinking about leaving class early or taking a longer break to catch my breath.  It's more than just needing water.  I generally try and eat a little about an hour or so prior to class so that my body has something to work with.  I'm diabetic, so when my body is on "E" as far as glucose is concerned, it doesn't do much more than have the desire to sit!


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## Kung Fu Wang (Aug 16, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> too tense


Instead of doing 1,2,3,4 and 1,2,3,4 and ..., try to make the end of one move (exhale) as the begining of your next move (inhale), you may feel different.


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## TularosaKungFu (Aug 16, 2022)

Breathing.....keep breathing out the accumulated tension and it does take awhile
We teach that the first phase should be relaxed and just about learning the moves. After that, strength is put into it as if practicing the strikes and the final stage is to have a strong strike while relaxed

Congrats on becoming a martial artist and best wishes. You exhibit patience and tolerance well.


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## Darren (Aug 16, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> Hi there, I’ve just started karate 2 days ago, some time before the end of the lesson my head started feeling very dizzy and I couldn’t see properly, my sensei told me that throughout the lesson I’ve been too tense and stressing my muscles, I’ve tried practicing at home but to no avail I was still stressing myself out, any suggestions on how I can relax more during training?


I have a very mild form of cerebral palsy, TN(they call it the suicide disease) very bad inner ear problems, balance problems, 12+ surgeries, very hard of hearing and heck that’s enough for me!!  But still do martial arts off and on about 5-6 years of training, got back in it last year after 27 years of being out( hardest thing i ever done was getting back in it after 27 years) I do get dizzy at times that’s my inner ear working against me, the question is not if I fall but when I will fall, plus had  about 5-6 concussions. So as I read earlier somewhere go see a doctor!!!  But also be aware you can learn martial arts as per your doctor!! Keep it up you will get there in time!!!


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## jergar (Aug 17, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> Hi there, I’ve just started karate 2 days ago, some time before the end of the lesson my head started feeling very dizzy and I couldn’t see properly, my sensei told me that throughout the lesson I’ve been too tense and stressing my muscles, I’ve tried practicing at home but to no avail I was still stressing myself out, any suggestions on how I can relax more during training?


Hi C/F , it's been sometime since i studied karate but i do remember a few things . When your first learning kata ,first of all relax, then you need to time your breathing, breathe in on the wind up and breath out on the strikes. Your holding our breath that's why you feel dizzy lack of oxygen! If your trying to follow your instructor just remember he's been doing the kata for years so he can do at full strength . In kung fu at least in my style we breathe in on the blocks and  out on the strikes ,then when you do actual technique , you breathe in on the blocks and then short breaths out on the strikes.  Have fun and learn!
Peace!


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## Confused_Tranquility (Aug 17, 2022)

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice! After my recent karate sessions I feel less tired and drained ,and the stretching techniques some of you recommended to me really helped me out having less sore muscles after a session, I’ve also tried to use to breathe through my stomach, I usually forget to do it 99% of the time but it’s helped me practice my kata longer whenever I do remember to do it.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Aug 17, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> breathe through my stomach,


You may also try:

- Fast inhale and slow exhale method (for health and not for combat).
- Section inhale and section exhale method (inhale 1/2, or 1/3, or ..., exhale 1/2, 1/3, or, ...).


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## Confused_Tranquility (Sep 9, 2022)

An update: Hey guys so I’ve taken a lot of the advice you gave to heart, I breathe down to my stomach before my chest and I exhale during my strikes although not automatically I get what I should be doing, 

I’ve also been doing some of the yoga drop bear has recommended, been going to my lessons 6 days a week and haven’t had an episode like that again. 

So I just want to thank you all for all the tips you guys gave me and the concern you all showed for my health, I feel like I’ve gotten somewhat healthier and have really enjoyed the lessons, I now have a bigger hurdle to cross now though, gaining some gosh darn muscle.


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## _Simon_ (Sep 10, 2022)

Confused_Tranquility said:


> An update: Hey guys so I’ve taken a lot of the advice you gave to heart, I breathe down to my stomach before my chest and I exhale during my strikes although not automatically I get what I should be doing,
> 
> I’ve also been doing some of the yoga drop bear has recommended, been going to my lessons 6 days a week and haven’t had an episode like that again.
> 
> So I just want to thank you all for all the tips you guys gave me and the concern you all showed for my health, I feel like I’ve gotten somewhat healthier and have really enjoyed the lessons, I now have a bigger hurdle to cross now though, gaining some gosh darn muscle.


That's really wonderful to hear brother! Karate is such a process of self-inquiry and mindfully attending to yourself and the moment, so enjoy the journey and take it day by day with a curious and open spirit.


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