Breathing

Why is breathing important?
Breathing is important because if you were to stop breathing, you would die in about ten minutes. Oxygen is the highest thing on the list of things that you need to live, followed by water, then food. Breathing is something that people do constantly, and therefore is tied into everything that they do. People have particular breathing patterns for particular situations, and many have difficulty breathing during high stress situations. Improving your breathing by taking conscious control of it temporarily to use it to improve performance is a focal point in the study of martial arts of all kinds.

What is the correct way to breath?
Proper breathing is performed from the lower abdomen, with the lower abdomen extending outward to suck in a breath. When exhalation occurs, the lower abdomen contracts. Whether to breath using the nose and mouth, just the nose, or alternating between nose and mouth is a point of debate among Shotokan instructors. Holding the breath causes muscles to tense in the body since the instinct of any animal is to inhale and exhale. This tension causes reductions in the maximum velocity that a technique can achieve. Also, lower abdominal breathing takes up more oxygen than breathing using the muscles in the chest.

What is in-out pattern breathing?
In-out Pattern Breathing is a method by which the in-breaths are synchronized with blocking motions, and the out breaths are synchronized with striking motions. Since less strength is necessary for blocking since it is mostly a small deflection, the inhalation is time with this motion. Exhalation is generally timed with striking actions. Using this breathing method has several advantages. The in breaths are taken continuously during movements, therefore there is no necessity to find empty moments in sparring or kata to inhale. Also, it is felt that the inhalation helps shape the rib cage properly for blocking actions. This method is not endorsed by everyone.

What is out pattern breathing?
Out Pattern Breathing involves exhaling on every technique, regardless of the nature of that technique. When multiple techniques are executed, they are thrown using one breath only that continues fluidly from the beginning of the first technique to the end of the second. The advantages of Out Pattern Breathing include the ability to quickly deliver two techniques in a row and the ability to be exhaling (stronger than inhaling) during important techniques that should not be weak.

Which breathing method is superior?
Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Any preference between the two is strictly a matter of personal faith, since breathing has not scientifically been proven to affect the techniques yet. Many experts of long time experience doubt the necessity of synchronizing breathing with technical motions. These people claim that breathing calmly and normally no matter the action the body makes is the best way to breath. Your instructor will address this issue and your method.

Any other breathing methods?
There is also continuous disconnected breathing. Some experts prefer to completely disregard all dogma concerning connecting their inhalations and exhalations to particular movements. After learning this kind of basic breathing as a crutch, many go on to simply breath in and out calmly and normally, not necessarily anywhere close to being in synch with the techniques they are throwing. Advantages: less tired after a kata, more relaxation for all techniques, and no obvious breathing motions to key off of for opponent. Disadvantages: Body is not hardened against any stray techniques that break through defenses during exhalations.

What is that noisy breathing that I see in the movies?
Some styles of Karate actually do use something called Ibuki Breathing, when involves contracting the muscles in an isometric fashion while breathing out strongly through the mouth. Usually this breathing is silent in Shotokan, but some Karate schools have their members breath noisily. This noise is created by closing the throat around the breath to provide it resistance. This resistance is felt to strengthen the abdominal muscles.

What is a kiai?
A kiai is a yell or shout given at a particular moment in Karate techniques. Most kata contain only two kiai. The kiai is felt to bring the psychological strength and aggressiveness into combination with strong physical movement. The ki means energy or spirit, and the ai means meet or match. Kiai are usually performed when beginning a new posture (psychologically "pump up") and on the tenth technique of every set of ten techniques performed in basic training. Also, the kiai is used in kumite to improve breathing and to strengthen the counter techniques applied to the opponent.

How is a kiai related to breathing?
Many instructors use kiai to check for proper breathing and to teach good breathing habits to their students. People typically hold their breath during their motions when they first begin training in Karate, therefore weakening their technical force by tensing muscles in the body. When the breath is held the body tenses, so emitting a kiai can ensure that exhalation is smooth. One exercise involves emitting a kiai on every punch for 40 or more punches to strengthen the muscles that control lower abdominal breathing.

What are the acceptable kiai noises?
There are only three acceptable sounds to make during a kiai for beginning and intermediate students. They are, "Eh" , "Oh", and "Ah." Using any other sounds might result in saying something offensive in an offensive tone in Japanese. Since some Shotokan Instructors in the West are Japanese, and the art itself is based in Japan, avoiding this is currently necessary. One famous Karate expert was well known for using the word for feces in Japanese for his kiai, "kusoh."