Oxygen is highest on the list of substances needed to support human life, followed by water, then food. People may live weeks without food, days without water, but on minutes without breathing. People must breath constantly, and breathing patterns change depending on the situation, such difficulty breathing during high stress situations. Breathing is the only body function that can be controlled consciously or unconsciously. Taekwondo students learn to take conscious control of their breathing to improve their physical performance and physical and mental well-being. 

Natural, Reflexive Breathing

Lungs to not move under there own power. The are inflated and deflated by the diaphragm, chest muscles ,and movement of the rib cage. In natural breathing, the diaphragm drops and the abdomen expands during inhalation and diaphragm rises and the abdomen contracts during exhalation. Breathing is instinctive, rhythmic, and through the nose. Natural breathing automatically maintains a very specific gas ratio of O2 to CO2 in the blood stream; 6.5% CO2 and only 2% O2. Each breath contains 10 times more oxygen and 200 times less carbon dioxide than we need. 

It is possible to breathe too much (hyperventilation). When we breathe normally, hemoglobin, the principle carrier of oxygen in the body, remains 98% oxygen (O2) saturated. When we breathe too quickly, we increase O2 saturation slightly but lose too much CO2, which is essential for O2 utilization. When the level of CO2 decreases too much the hemoglobin does not release O2 to the tissues (the Bohr Effect), which causes O2 starvation. The simple remedy is to breathe into a paper bag so exhaled CO2 is re-breathed and the CO2 level in the blood stream is restored.

Dysfunctional Breathing

Even though breathing is a natural, reflexive behavior, many people do not know how to breathe correctly. The body tries to compensate for bad breathing by using temporary defense mechanisms. If a person continues the incorrect breathing, the body may start relying on the defensive breathing, which may lead to dysfunctional breathing patterns. The six dysfunctional breathing patterns are hyperventilatory, clavicular, thoracic, paradoxical, periodic, and hypoxic. These patterns may occur individually or in combination.

Hyperventilatory

A rapid-breath pattern (averaging 20 breaths/minute) that uses the intercostals muscles and limited diaphragm movement. It is predominantly thoracic (see below) in nature. Caused by poorly managed anxiety, it presents itself as very shallow, very rapid, and compounded by sputtered sighs (periodic) and gasps (clavicular). Symptoms are panic, anxiety, and shock. The body uses this type of breathing when it is attacked in an effort to gain more oxygen for the fight-or-flight syndrome.

Clavicular

In this pattern, the collarbones and chest raise while drawing the abdomen inward and upward. Person may inhale through the mouth in an attempt to get more oxygen.Using the accessory muscles to breathe consumes more oxygen than it provides. These students fatigue quickly.

Thoracic

These are “chest-breathers” who breathe by lifting the rib cage up and out using the intercostals muscles with little abdominal movement. The upper lungs get air but the lower lobes, which receive the greatest blood volume, do not get sufficient air. These students are usually aggressive and fatigue quickly. They may get a "stitch in the side" due to cramps in the overworked intercostals.

Paradoxical

In this pattern, the abdomen contracts during inhalation and expands on exhalation; the opposite of normal. Many beginning students use this type of "reverse breathing." It is characterized by clacicule or thoracic inhale followed by hypoxic breath retention and periodic sighs. These students fatigue quickly.

Periodic

This pattern is characterized by rapid-shallow breathing followed by a holding of breath and a heavy sigh. It is an over reaction to CO2 concentrations in the bloodstream. This panting flushes the CO from the bloodstream, which causes the brain to shutdown respiration until the CO2 level raises to appropriate gas mixture and then restart shallow, rapid breathing without intervention following the sigh. This pattern may be created through sustained anxiety or by post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Hypoxic

This pattern is characterized by holding the breath during exertion. This raises intra-thoracic pressure, which may cause fainting, increase in blood pressure, and hypoxia (lack of oxygen). May students exhibit the pattern when lifting a heavy weight or performing push-ups.

These dysfunctional breathing patterns reduce oxygen delivery to the lungs and stress the breathing muscles, resulting in heavy breathing and fatigue, which leads to even more heavy breathing and fatigue. To counter these dysfunctional breathing patterns, students must relearn the proper, reflexive breathing of their childhood.

Importance of Breathing in Shugendo

Proper breathing and breath control are very important in Shugendo. There is a direct connection between breathing and technique. Breathing is an integral component of the technique, not separate from it. Correct breathing increases power and coordinates body movements. Proper, controlled breathing is the way synchronize intention and body movements.

After inhaling, the body can be thought of as full of potential for power and movement. Powerful or fast movements are best done in conjunction with an exhalation done in the same manner as the technique, quick and powerful. For a longer exertion, such as lifting a person, a longer, forceful exhalation is used.

After exhaling, the body can be thought of as empty of air and potential for power. Since this a point of weakness, particular attention should be paid to proper breathing during sparring, both offensively and defensively. Trying to either defend or attack from a situation of being empty of air momentarily is likely to be ineffective. Offensively, watch for your opponent's "empty" spots and attack just as he/she finishes exhaling.

The kiai (yell) is used during the execution of Shugendo techniques to control the breath and focus total concentration and power. 

Holding the breath tenses the body since it is under stress. One should never hold the breath while performing a physical task, Inhaling pulls "ki" into the body, increasing its kinetic energy, while exhaling uses this stored energy. Inhaling relaxes the body, while exhaling tenses it. Inhaling hampers movement and power, while exhaling assists movement and maximizes power. In combat, we are most vulnerable during inhalation, and critically vulnerable if accompanied by dysfunctional breathing patterns. Deep breathing calms and increases mental alertness, reduces blood pressure, slows respiration, and slows heart rate.

Deep Breathing

People breathe differently. Children usually breathe with their abdomens, middle-aged people usually breathe with their stomachs, and older people usually breathe with their upper chests. The way people breathe is affected by emotions, pain, physical fitness, or illness.

To breathe you must create a vacuum in your lungs. This is accomplished by three methods: expanding the rib cage (chest breathing), lowering the diaphragm (abdominal breathing), or a combination of the two. When babies are born, they breath using their diaphragms, the correct method. You can see their abdomen rising and falling as they breathe. At some point, people turn to the lazy method to breathe, using the rib cage. We learn that we should stand straight, suck in our stomach, and push out our chest. Instead of the abdomen rising and falling when we breathe, the chest rises and falls. Instead of being "belly breathers," we have become "chest breathers." Expanding the ribs is a quick and easy way to breathe but it is ineffective and inefficient. You cannot completely fill the lungs though rib cage breathing and the intercostal muscles between the ribs tire quickly when heavy breathing is necessary, causing pain in the side of the ribcage. Shallow chest breathing strains the lungs, which must move faster to ensure adequate oxygen flow, and it stains the heart, which must speed up to to deliver more of the oxygen deficient blood to the body. Shallow breathing causes stress, which makes you breathe faster, which cause more stress, which makes you breathe faster, etc. On the other hand, the diaphragm was designed for breathing. It can completely fill the lungs and do it for as long as is required. To fill the lungs to capacity, you should fill them using the diaphragm and then "top them off" using the rib cage. This is called "deep breathing."

Deep breathing has been shown to lower blood pressure, improve long standing patterns of poor digestion, decease anxiety, improve sleep and energy cycles, and allow people to wean off addictive anti-anxiety drugs.

To deep breathe, inhale deeply through the nose, mouth, or both (preferably the nose, so the air is filtered and warmed), dropping the diaphragm to fill the lower section of the lungs with air. Contract the abdominal muscles to create an antagonistic pressure called centripetal pressure. The lower abdomen should always be kept slightly tensed in a position of equilibrium between the centrifugal force of the breathing and centripetal force of the abdominal muscles. Near the end of the inhaling cycle, expand the chest to fill the upper section of the lungs. Inhale through nose and exhale through mouth. Keep tongue curled up so it touches roof of mouth. This keeps it away from teeth and lets saliva circulate so the mouth stays moist.

In normal breathing, the "topping off" is not used. You use just diaphragm and lower abdomen. This abdominal breathing pushes internal organs downward, which lowers the center of mass and increases stability. In chest breathing, the chest is inflated and the shoulders are lifted, which raises the center of mass and decreases stability. 

It is possible to over breathe. When we are anxious or stressed, people advise us to "relax and take deep-breaths." However, deep breathing in a relaxed state causes dizziness and sometimes fainting. The cause of the O2 deficiency is not due to the lack of O2, but by the lack of CO2. Over breathing causes and O2 deficiency, so if we breathe too much, we have less O2 in our body. Without CO2, oxygen remains bound to hemoglobin, unreleased, and incapable of being used by tissues. As a result, there is an O2 deficiency in tissues, such as the brain, kidneys, and heart, as well as a significant increase in blood pressure. Ever notice how someone “holding his/her breath” becomes increasingly hyperactive. Over time, the level of CO2 increases dramatically causing the rapid consumption of O2. This hyperactivity may continue until unconsciousness.

Learn Deep Breathing

1. Lie on your back and place a book on your belly. Relax your stomach muscles and inhale deeply into your abdomen so that the book rises. When you exhale the book should fall. You will still be bringing air into your upper chest, but now you are also bringing air down into the lower portion of your lungs and expanding your entire chest cavity.

2. Sit up and place your right hand on your abdomen and your left hand on your chest. Breath deeply so that your right "abdominal" hand rises and falls with your breath, while your left "chest" hand stays relatively still. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth and enjoy the sensation of abdominal breathing.

3. Place a clock with a second hand in view. Breathe in slowly, filling your abdomen, for five seconds. Then breathe out slowly to the same count of five. Try exhaling through a straw in a glass of water. The bubbles you produce will provide feedback so you can control the slow exhale.

4. When walking for exercise, walk and talk with a friend. It is difficult to walk and take shallow breaths.

Deep Breathing Exercise

To practice deep breathing use the following exercise. You may also use this exercise to recover normal breathing quickly when you become "winded." When breathing quickly and heavily during Shugendo training, such as during free-sparring, deep breathing will allow you to resume a normal breathing rate quickly. Be careful when performing the exercise when not winded so you do not hyperventilate. If you feel dizzy, stop! Use this breathing exercise at your own risk.

Deep Breathing Movements

* Stand in an attention stance. Breathe normally.
* Step the left foot about 12-inches to the left, relax the body, and, while deeply inhaling through the nose, raise both arms up, outward, and forward with the hands open as if you were putting your arms around a large beach ball. Inhale using the diaphragm until the lungs feel full of air; think about air filling your abdomen rather than your lungs.
* While holding the breath, pull the hands inward toward the upper chest, rotating the hands palm down as they approach the chest, ending with the palms facing down, one hand over the other just in front of the upper chest as if they were resting on top of a post.
* As you slowly force the breath out through pursed lips, slowly and deliberately push the hands down as if you were forcing the post deeper into the ground. Tense the abdomen and think about forcing oxygen into the bloodstream. By slowly releasing air, you will prevent you blood pressure from rising too high. When the hands reach belt level, tighten the abdomen and quickly and forcibly exhale all the remaining air in the lungs through an open mouth, while snapping the hands and body into a parallel ready stance.
* Repeat the cycle until you breathing rate returns to normal.

Breathing Exercises

When performing breathing exercises, remember to concentrate on breathing through the nose, both during inhalation and exhalation. Nose breathing is important for breathing exercises, but it is impossible to use when sparring since the body's demand for oxygen increases too quickly for the nose to handle the air flow.

Attention Breathing

Attention breathing is focusing your awareness on the natural rhythm of your breath, not to control it, but merely to observe it. Your awareness allows you to shift from unconscious breathing to conscious breathing as you feel air as it moves in and out through your nostrils and lungs. As you become aware of your breathing, it should become smoother and more relaxed. But do not try to change your breathing, just observe.

Abdominal Breathing

Once you become aware of your breathing, you may start modifying it. Abdominal breathing is easy to learn and brings quick, tangible results. It invigorates abdominal muscles and their constant movement massages internal organs and increases blood circulation.

Abdominal Breathing is filling the lungs completely, from the bottom upward. Most people breathe with their chests and the top half of their lungs. Abdominal Breathing uses the abdomen to fill the lower half of the lungs. The focal point of Abdominal Breathing is an area about three finger widths below the navel, known as the "hypogastrium," or "dan tien" in Chinese, or "hara" in Japanese.

To begin, inhale through the nose, expand abdomen gradually by lightly pushing out and down as oxygen fills the lower lungs. Focus on expanding the abdominal area but do not forcefully protrude the abdominal wall. Instead, try to achieve a gentle and smooth expansion in rhythm with the inhalation. When the abdomen is full, exhale through the nose and gently retract the abdomen, compressing bottom of the lungs. Do not expand or contract your chest, rather, breathe as if your lungs were in your abdomen. Repeat for ten cycles , filling to maximum capacity and emptying completely with each breath.

Reverse Abdominal Breathing

Reverse Abdominal Breathing is more difficult than Abdominal Breathing because it reverses the natural flow of the breath. Reverse This breathing method best suited for martial artists since it concentrates focus on the hara during exhalation. It strengthens abdominal muscles and makes breathing naturally strong.

To begin, inhale through the nose, drawing the abdomen inward and upward. The upper chest will naturally expand as oxygen fills your lungs. As you inhale, contract the muscles of your perineum, the area between the anus and the lower edge of the pubis at the front of the pelvis. The central point of the perineum is called the huiyin in Chinese and is the focal point for Reverse Abdominal Breathing. By contracting and pulling up the huiyin, you are able to concentrate on the abdominal area. Do not forcefully squeeze the abdomen, use smooth and relaxed motion. When lungs are full, exhale through the nose, release the huiyin, and push the abdomen outward and downward. Repeat for ten cycles , filling to maximum capacity and emptying completely with each breath.

Nose Panting

The nose has an important part in breathing. Nose hairs trap large particles that could injure the lungs and mucus membranes warm cold air trap fine particles. The nose's sense of smell detects poisonous fumes that could damage our health.

The Nose Pant is a great exercise for charging yourself with energy or for releasing stress. Imagine you are blowing a piece of dust out of your nose by sharply puffing outward through the nostrils, immediately followed by an equally sharp intake of air through the nose. Perform these quick in-and-out breathes ten times., then uses a couple of deep slow breaths to calm the body.

Complete Breath

Complete Breath practice will expand lung capacity, which will slow unconscious breathing and makes it smoother and more regular. The Complete Breath maximizes oxygen intake and it cleans and invigorates the lungs.

In the beginning, the Complete Breath is best practiced while prone so maximum concentration may be placed on the exercise. During breathing, the tongue is up, touching the top palate of the mouth just behind the front teeth, and air is expelled from the nose with a slightly audible hiss. The Complete Breath consists of four elements: inhalation, retention, exhalation, and suspension.

Inhalation

Inhale through the nose, pushing lower abdomen outward and downward. Once the abdomen is extended, continue inhaling by expanding the chest and filling the upper lungs. As you inhale, raise the collarbone and shouldersm, fill the throat and nose, and then stop.

Retention

Hold your breath for a count of ten and concentrate on the fullness of the body. Feel the oxygen-rich blood circulating throughout the body.

Exhalation

Exhale through the nose, contacting lower abdomen pushing inward and upward. Continue to exhale by squeezing air from the lungs and chest. Lower the collarbone and shoulders, blowing air from your throat and nose. When all the air is expelled, stop.

Suspension

Hold your breath out for a count of ten and concentrate on the emptiness of the body. Feel your body as being an empty balloon waiting to be filled.

Repeat

Repeat by calmly and smoothly inhaling, do not gasp for air.

Pattern Breathing

In-Out Breathing:
In-out breathing is a pattern in which inhales are synchronized with blocks, and exhales are synchronized with attacks. As stated before, you have greater power when exhaling than when inhaling. Also, the body is hardened during exhales, so it may absorb a blow while closing range during an attack. Since blocks usually use deflections, less strength is required for blocks than for attacks. Also, inhaling expands and strengthens the chest for blocking techniques. Therefore, it is best to coordinate inhales to occur during blocks. Since an attack must destroy its target and many times must overcome a blocking technique, maximum power is needed for attacks. Therefore, you must exhales during attacks. Since inhales occur continuously during movements, it is not necessary to plan an inhale. Exhales may be controlled and used at the appropriate times.

The control phase is the period at the end of exhalation before the start of inhalation. Sometimes during intense concentration, such as figuring the next chess move, we realize we are not breathing. This point is always after an exhale. This is the point of our optimal performance. It is also when we are at our stillest. In precision-based events, such as archery or marksmanship, athletes learn to fire the weapon during the control phase.

When sudden surprised by something, we flinch, and make an instinctive quick inhale to prepare the body to operate anaerobically during any subsequent fight or flight. We freeze for a split second, similar to a “deer-in-the-headlights” as the brain processes what has just occurred. In combat, it is best best to attack immediately after the opponent is made to flinch, before the opponent can react.

Out Breathing:
Out breathing involves exhaling on every technique, blocks and attacks. Multiple techniques are executed using one exhale that continues from the first techniques until the end of the last technique. Out breathing allows you to quickly deliver multiple techniques and to exhale for power in all techniques. 

Continuous Disconnected Breathing:
Continuous disconnected breathing is simply inhaling and exhaling at a steady rate with no regard to whether you are blocking or attacking. This type of breathing is useful while performing patterns since it requires less energy and is relaxing. During sparring, there is no obvious breathing pattern that will alert an opponent to an attack. A disadvantage with this pattern of breathing is that the body is not hardened against any techniques that may slip through your defenses during exhalations.

Ibuki Breathing:
Ibuki breathing is a hoarse, heavy, noisy breathing pattern that involves contracting the muscles in an isometric fashion while breathing out strongly through the mouth. A noise is created by tightening the throat to provide resistance to the exhale. Many believe this resistance helps strengthen the abdominal muscles. It is used by karate stylists when they perform the sanchin pattern. Some people perform ibuki breathing silently. 

Which Breathing Pattern is Best?
Each pattern has its own advantages and disadvantages. No scientific studies have been done to confirm whether any particular breathing pattern has any significant affect on power or speed. Many seasoned black belts doubt the need to synchronize breathing with blocks or attacks. They feel that continuous disconnected breathing is the best way to breath. 

Breathing and Ki

Most martial artists have heard of the concept of Ki. Ki refers to the natural energy of the Universe, which permeates everything (see Ki topic). Ki is not breath, it is the power that makes it breathing possible. It is the power behind movement and thought and is in the oxygen we breathe and the blood that flows through us.

Ki within the body is similar to power in a rechargeable battery. Occasionally it needs to be replenished. The Ki of the universe is inexhaustible, but the body needs fresh Ki to maintain its vitality. By energizing the body with Ki, it is revitalized naturally enabling it to fight off illness. The secret to replenishing Ki is in breathing.

Breathing through the nose enables the body to process Ki energy effectively. Most people understand the importance of breathing in through the nose, but breathing out through the nose requires a deeper understanding of the nature of Ki. Martial artists need to absorb and process Ki to generate the power and they must be able to retain Ki until it is needed. When we inhale, we bring oxygen and Ki into our body. When we exhale through the mouth, we expel carbon dioxide, but we also expel the Ki. If we continuously expel Ki, we never build a reserve of Ki within the body. However, exhaling through the nose transfers the Ki to the dan tien or hara. Each breath strengthens the dan tien. Once sufficient Ki has been stored, the Ki may be expelled with tremendous force. This is known as the Kiai where the breath is expelled through the mouth. This is the reason that there are usually only two times within each pattern where we Kiai. We have to recharge the Ki for a while before it may be released again. If we try to Kiai with every technique, we quickly become fatigued since we are expelling Ki with every breath.

Stillness

Stillness is closely related to breathing. Taekwondo is a powerful, physically demanding, hard martial arts style. However, without weakness you cannot measure strength. Without soft there is no hard. This idea of contrast or balance is best symbolized by the concept of Yin and Yang, where dependent opposite forces are must always be in balance. For martial artists, one of the most important principles of Yin and Yang is the relationship between stillness and motion. Stillness is the natural state before movement begins, and yet it is also the basis of all movement. A technique that begins from perfect stillness enables you to execute the movement in a coordinated and efficient manner that allows your body and mind to unite in a balanced harmony and helps you to release unnecessary tension and to relax more completely. From a state of stillness, any movement is done with complete awareness and true intent. Your actions become the embodiment of quality and perfection. Once you have a feeling for perfect stillness you will be able to call on it whenever needed. In a pattern training, you may only be still for a split second between moves, but if it is perfect stillness, then the transition between the moves becomes flawless. 

Stillness training also strengthens muscles but is a different type of strengthening than gained from weightlifting where we breakdown muscle tissue so it grows back stronger. Rather than breaking down muscle, stillness training tones the fibers of the muscle tissue. While it does not expand the size of your muscles, it does make them stronger.

The best way to learning the principle embodied in stillness and movement is to stand completely still. To begin, choose a position from your favorite pattern, get into that position, and remain completely still. The goal is to achieve total, pure stillness. This is different from just getting into a stance and holding it. The goal is to make absolutely no movement; no adjustment, no weight shifts, nothing. With practice, you will become aware of all your muscles and their relationship. Then quality of your movement will naturally move toward perfection.

Once you have achieved stillness, relax the focus of your eyes and bring your attention inward into your hara or dan tien. Begin slow Abdominal Breathing, but keep completely still in every other way. Hold the position for as long as you can without moving. When you cannot stay still any longer, slowly shift your position so that you are in a mirror image of the original position and hold still again for another session.

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