This analogy asks you to parallel your breathing with the process in a tea kettle, where heated water is converted to steam, and then forced to travel through a small opening or spout. The result is a more intense and better focused release of energy. This principle teaches that when steam or air is condensed, the force is greater. In a similar manner, condensed breathing, like condensed steam under pressure, proportionately increases the force rendered.
TEA KETTLE PRINCIPLE
This teaches that the expulsion of air when striking should be controlled so that it is condensed or shortened. If we compare our bodies and normal breathing with a tea kettle and the steam that is released through its spout, we will see that greater condensation yields greater energy. With the teas kettle, the condensation is produced by the fixed chamber of the kettle(only so much air can escape through the spout) and the amount of heat beneath it. If the variable of heat is increased enough, eventually the lid would be propelled from the kettle by the steam's expansion. In the case of our bodies the condensation is produced through the contraction of our abdominal and throat muscles( we change the size of the kettle and its spout instead of its contents.) as a result of the increased energy in our bodies (like the steam in the kettle), we propel our strikes with a greater force. In short, condensed breathing, like condensed steam under pressure, proportionately increases the force rendered.
from the Enclylodia of Kenpo by Ed Parker
