Breathing and Movement

First, continuous breathing is a must. Holding your breath to accomplish some physical exertion is a no-no. Another very important part of the breathing process is how we breath while we move. An example is when swimming one normally turns the head to the right to take a breath. The experts recommend you actually turn your head to the right on one breath then the left on another breath. This back and forth process balances out your breathing. 

Your breathing to the motion of your body provides many benefits and to fail in this results in bad breathing and adverse effects to the body, mind and chemical balance of the body. When you realize that the whole body physically responds to the breathing process it is easy to come to realize that proper breathing moves the abdominal muscles that keep them strong without actually doing sit-ups and stomach crunches, it provides proper spinal alignments, i.e. spinal flexion and extension. 

In martial arts the connection between how we breath along with the movement of the body also contributes toward maximum efficiency of the body, i.e. as used through the application of the fundamental principles of martial systems. 

The placement of the sub-principle of “Breathing” within the principle of “Physiokinetics” is significant because proper breathing is critical to achieve many of the other sub-principles such as posture, spinal alignment (proper spinal alignments, i.e. spinal flexion and extension), structure and the ability toward relaxation and sequential locking and sequential relaxation, etc. 

One reason why kata practice is significant in Okinawan karate as well as other martial disciplines, it provides a vehicle for proper breathing methods within their movement, rhythm and cadences that all run on the movement and the breathing as synchronized for maximum proficiency and efficiency in martial applications. Add this to bunkai, etc. then you begin to see the significance in principles based training and practice. 

Bibliography:

Maffetone, Philip Dr. “The Maffetone Method: The Holistic, Low-stress, No-Pain Way to Exceptional Fitness.” McGraw Hill, New York. 2000