A great deal is written on wing chun breathing in meditation and hei gong. Less dissertation is dedicated to techniques of VT breathing while in the fray. I would like to hear y’alls comments and opinions on the use of breathing while striking, recovering, at different ranges and so on. Is there any common ground with the breathing techniques of western boxing? Other types of kung fu?
Thanks gang
From experience I beat many guys with good cardio from running
and sprinting regularly. Nothing to do with secret sauce, road work.
[QUOTE=Happy Tiger;1184440]A great deal is written on wing chun breathing in meditation and hei gong. Less dissertation is dedicated to techniques of VT breathing while in the fray. I would like to hear y’alls comments and opinions on the use of breathing while striking, recovering, at different ranges and so on. Is there any common ground with the breathing techniques of western boxing? Other types of kung fu?
Thanks gang[/QUOTE]
Exhale when you strike, if possible. Breath in through the nose out through the mouth.
[QUOTE=Happy Tiger;1184440]A great deal is written on wing chun breathing in meditation and hei gong. Less dissertation is dedicated to techniques of VT breathing while in the fray. I would like to hear y’alls comments and opinions on the use of breathing while striking, recovering, at different ranges and so on. Is there any common ground with the breathing techniques of western boxing? Other types of kung fu?
Thanks gang[/QUOTE]
Where has it been written??
You breath naturally. No emphasis is placed on breathing in Wing Chun.
You basically have 3 types of energy systems, one that works with high output and short duration, what that deals with low output for long durations, and one that deals with moderate duration and output.
So if you were running for example, you’d work your aerobic system with long jogs. You’d work your anaerobic system with top speed sprints for say 10-12 seconds or doing tabata’s. And you’d work your mid level stuff with a round of moderately hard strikes on the bag. There’s many many other methods…but for breathing in a fight…the best thing you can do is be in shape.
There’s no special breathing during a fight.
Hopefully it goes without saying that in any fight, no matter your style, you do not breath in while taking a hit. A quick exhale while being hit or hitting is always ideal. As well being able to regulate your breathing, as developed while training, is important to engery conservation and relaxation.
You should know the percentage amout of air remain in your lung whether it’s 3/4, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4. This way you don’t need a full inhale but partial inhale. A full inhale is the most vulnerable moment in combat.
[QUOTE=WC1277;1184448]Where has it been written??
You breath naturally. No emphasis is placed on breathing in Wing Chun.[/QUOTE]I’m glad it’s so plain to you
I would argue that natural breathing is the beginning, but to better hone your fighting. In through the nose out through the mouth is idea.
I read somewhere that breathing through the nose “opens” the lungs more allowing for deaper breathing. So on that ground the research matches the conventional wisdom. Don’t ask me to look up the article though.
Avoid open mouth breathing, slack jaw equals easy ko .
personally i breath in and out through my nose at most times, but exhale through my mouth quickly when executing a strike or throw or being hit.
and what youknowwho mentions is a great point
In the fray merely uses what you’ve supposedly taught yourself through chi gung - using the breath effectively and in tandem with the motion. Less effort means less oxygen used means more reserves you have for the fight.
Intense cardio and sparring should teach you how to gauge how much you have left and how to dig deep when you have none left. That’s why I’m a big fan of tabada drills and crossfit.
YouknowWho’s point is very salient as well - always know how much gas you have left in the tank and how much each technique costs you.
If you’re thinking about how to breathe in a fight, you’re handicapping yourself. Your attention should have a broad external focus.
That said, I agree with most of the other comments regarding training to absorb impact and working the cardio intervals and sprints (mainly so you can run TF away really fast)
No one should be ‘thinking’ about breathing when sparring or fighting. Breathing technique comes as trained, just as any other. But, IMO, its a very important topic to cover early and persist with consistantly until you can breath properly. I have seen too many people breath in when taking a body shot.
I think we all know the perils of ‘thinking’ about technique. Awareness is a slightly different think, though. I am interested in our aproach to breathing in and out while striking/defending. Lin Siu Dai Dar makes for unique breath rhythm. I notice that breath cadence seems different in chi sau than full sparring and fighting. Wing chun can and does inhale while striking, while many martial arts suggest avoiding this.
As an intercept art, VT tends to catch opponents on the exhale. Counter fighters catch their pray more on the inhale getting the value of this vulnerability. Is this true?
I see some VT players snort punch like boxers do. Most do not.
We all know the perils of ‘thinking’ about technique. Awareness is a slightly different think, though. I am interested in our aproach to breathing in and out while striking/defending. Lin Siu Dai Dar makes for unique breath rhythm. I notice that breath cadence seems different in chi sau than full sparring and fighting. Wing chun can and does inhale while striking, while many martial arts suggest avoiding this.
As an intercept art, VT tends to catch opponents on the exhale. Counter fighters tend to catch their pray more on the inhale getting the value of this vulnerability. Is this true?
I see some VT players snort punch like boxers do. Most do not.
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1184463]You should know the percentage amout of air remain in your lung whether it’s 3/4, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4. This way you don’t need a full inhale but partial inhale. A full inhale is the most vulnerable moment in combat.[/QUOTE]
Could you elaborate?
[QUOTE=HumbleWCGuy;1184574]Could you elaborate?[/QUOTE]
In the TCMA there is a “(Fen Duan Hu Xi Fa) - section breathing method”. You
- sit in meditation posture.
- rub your hands to make it warm.
- cover your hands over your eyes.
- rotate your eyes clockwise 7 times.
- rotate your eyes counter-clockwise 7 time (all the above has nothing to do with breathing).
You then
- inhale 100% and exhale 100%.
- inhale 1/2, 1/2, exhale 1/2, 1/2.
- inhale 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, exhale 1/3, 1/3, 1/3.
- …
- inhale 1/7, 1/7, …, exhale 1/7, 1/7, …
This way your body can have better understanding how much air that you still have in your lung. For example, if you want to throw 5 fast punches, your body will exhale 1/7 on each punch and still remain 2/7 air in your lung.
When we exert and feel that burning feeling it is due to a depletion of oxygen. Most people tend to breath very shallow. Very shallow. They maintain a level of oxygen in their blood to maintain the lazy activity of the moment, but if they suddenly have to burst out with some rapid and extended activity, they burn out quickly. If you breath too deeply all the time you can maintain a greater level of oxygen, but if you do this too quickly you have a higher level that is going to make you woozy and lazy again. Breathing through the nose in and mouth out is something that is more for preventing the intake of objects that can choke you. Hair in the nose acts as a filter and most insects can not be simply drawn in. Breathing deeply by mouth can easily get a large insect down the wind pipe. Also, you can regulate the rate of exhausting. Closing off the outflow makes the air sort of compress, which makes it enter the blood at a slightly higher rate. You can discharge air on impact either when being hit or hitting with a full lung or an almost empty lung, it does the same thing for you. It is best to breath deeply so that you can do a lot of hitting and absorbing on a single breath.
I was taught to breath deeply and at an appropriate rate when I was coming up. It is something you need to develop as a habit so that you do it under all conditions and situations.
Some very interesting posts, especially from You Know Who and Kevin. On the issue of nothing special for breath in combat I suppose in a very real sense this is true. Kevin I really like your point about slack jaw.
Thanx gang