need help breathing...

[battousai16]

alright y'all, in my 10 years in the martial arts, i've never had this problem until the past month or so, and it's beginning to become quite the problem. when i start to do a form or sometimes just a basic technique or kicking drill, i forget to breathe. it was actually kind of funny, as today i was doing a belt test and i had to do my form and i started and i was thinking to myself "ok buddy, you gotta' breathe. this is a long form, and if you don't breathe you're gonna' pass right out. just breathe" and i ended up thinking about it so much, when i stopped i realized that i was bowing out of my form and that i'd forgotten to breathe (i didn't pass out, though, for those of you who were wondering i got very winded though). anyway, i guess what i'm asking is if anyone has any suggestions? i asked my instructor, and he said that i should keep practicing until i'm comfortable; however, i'm very comfortable with everything and i don't think this is the issue, or at least not all of it. i rarely ever get nervous and i'd like to think i know my stuff well . does anyone else have this problem? i'm very sorry if this has already been posted. i looked for it but i didn't see it anywhere. anywho, yeah... any suggestions?

[capn_midnight]

something that has always helped my breathing is "power katas" or "resistance katas".

 

The basic process is to make each move as hard on yourself as possible. Your are contracting every muscle in your arm or leg together, so that opposite muscle groups counter each others movement.

 

The point is, the technique is so physically tiring, and so long, that you HAVE to breathe, or you WILL pass out. Also, you have so much time between each move it kind of hard to forget to breathe.

 

I also use the opposite technique, where you relax as much as possible, and perform each move as slowly and softly as possible. This actually quite relaxing (I suppose it's similar in mind to Tai Chi, I don't know, I have no knowledge of Tai Chi), and excellent for balance.

 

I think your main problem might be anxiety. You are starting to believe that this problem will negatively effect your performance, which makes you anxious and prone to not breathing. To quote Fat Bastard from Austin Powers, "It's a vicious cycle". Perhaps, you are beginning to think that after 10 years, you need to exhibit more speed and power in your kata, to show improvement and advancement, and thereby are performing TOO fast and hard.

[major_motoko]

breath out as you execute each move (ie block/strike/kick). That will force your body to breath in just before the next move. Think of it as doing a silent kiai on each move.

 

osu,

 

motoko

[CampIatt]

I did that same thing during a brown belt test in front of a black belt board of about 20.

 

I was so nervous I wasn’t breathing properly and I almost passed out. Needless to say, my chest burned so bad and I was lightheaded to a point that I could not finish the test.

 

The first think I learned in Karate was how to fall without getting hurt, I wish breathing had also been one of those early lessons…

[GrrrArg]

breath out as you execute each move (ie block/strike/kick). That will force your body to breath in just before the next move. Think of it as doing a silent kiai on each move.

 

osu,

 

motoko

 

Why bother with silent kiai's, do them properly, this will probably have the same effect as motoko's idea but it will also make the kata look and sound a bit better (opinion), plus making the noise should make it easier to remember.

 

I have noticed before that when im relaxed or concentrating on something heavily I stop breathing so your not the only one, its never happened in training. But I do remember lying in bed watching T.V and suddenly sitting up and taking a very deep breath before I passed out - very weird. As it happens I nearly choked because I was watching a Billy Connoly video and started to laugh just after the big breath...

[granmasterchen]

good words major motoko, as a judge though i would have to disagree with grrarg....if you kiai on every move, i am going to think that you forgot where your actual kiais were in the kata, and therefore you will get penalized, one think that i have started to do after watching a fellow black belt compete and show us his kata, is on every move like motoko said do a silent kiai, yet make a noise as you let the air escape your mouth, this wont be a loud kia, yet you still will get the effects of the breathing, kind of like when you are doing breaks, also this will make it obvious when you actually kia to the judges on where your kias are.

[GrrrArg]

Sorry I didn't mean loud kiai all the time, I meant just when practicing at home-or in the dojo, if he's already spoken to his instructor about it there shouldn't be any real problem, I wouldn't do it at a competition though. Although technically there shouldn't be any real problem doing that either (on the strikes at least) a kiai just shows you're putting everything into a technique for the best effect so it should be taken as a good thing to do-thats a different question altogether though .......

[Gloi]

I used to have a lot of problems with holding my breath when concentrating too hard or when I was anxious. I had a real problem when sparring and would almost pass out during grading tests due to not beathing properly due to tension. The key of course is to relax and I am slowly getting better at this as time goes by. (How an instructor expects you relax when he walks up behind you, slaps you on the shoulders and screams "RELAX!!!" down your ear I'll never quite understand though)

 

I've found it helpful to work on different breathing patterns when doing kata. Firstly breathing out on each technique as major_mokuto said before, but also doing it in another was - Breathing in on any blocks/receiving techniques and out on the punches/attacks. Doing it this way gives a different feel/flow to the kata. Going through a very basic kata in this way I find helps with keeping a relaxed breathing through it.

[ZR440]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned proper breathing technique yet. From the belly...not the shoulders. Anyone care to expand on this? Grandmasterchen? KSN Doug?

[yellowsnow]

Exhale. Always exhale. When you exhale, you are forced to inhale. That way you cannot pause on the inhale. Concentrate more on the exhale, and the inhale should come to you