AthronofEryndor
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Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
this is a common problem for many athletes in fighting sports (boxing, MMA, SCA, Dag, etc.)
People stop breathing while throwing shots (or punches) or while in a particularly intense altercation moment.
This robs you of energy real fast, and makes you a lesser fighter faster than you ought to be deteriorating. Its also a subtle problem that many people don't realize they have, and it can be harder to fix than it seems.
Its a problem I still struggle with 8 years into fighting.
So...
(1) Do you suffer from this problem? Can you even recall, right now, if you do or don't suffer from this problem?
(2) Have you overcame this problem in Dagorhir or any other sport? If so, how?
(3) Is this a problem you've ever tried to identify in a developing fighter to make them better? If so, how did you observe it, and how did you help fix it?
---
Nothing can hide in the light.
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3/31/2010, 12:41 pm
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Sindaric
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
As of right now I'm having trouble remembering how I breath/whether or not I hold my breath while fighting. I'm going to try and focus more on my breathing the next time I spar to find out. I have a feeling I'm a breath holding culprit though.
A-Train is right, breathing is definitely something that's talked about a lot in martial arts/other sports, but gets over looked in Foam Fighting. Tips for over coming breathing problems would be greatly appreciated.
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Proud member of the Fraternal Order of the Dirty Thirty.
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3/31/2010, 1:00 pm
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MarathosoftheD30
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
I also have been suffering from this problem for almost 5 years now and since recently picking up a red sword more I have noticed a decrease in this problem. I can attest this to the forced use of my lungs by having to call out red. Its a subliminal reminder to keep breathing because for some reason oxygen's necessity isn't enough to make me remember. With this being said maybe a good first step is calling out your damage as you swing, no matter what your fighting with. Just like in most martial arts you are instructed to yell something after the end of kata's. Just my two cents.
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3/31/2010, 1:46 pm
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Bogi
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
With my martial arts experience the yelling us used to focus your mind on the attack/defense and also tense the muscles, makes it easier to get hit in the stomach if the muscles are tensed.
As a kind of side effect it does force you to exhale and could then help keep breathing going. Not a bad idea all around. Could be fun to see a whole field of fighters screaming at each other.
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3/31/2010, 3:24 pm
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AthronofEryndor
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
quote:
Bogi wrote:
Could be fun to see a whole field of fighters screaming at each other.
Actually... that sounds sorta bad ass.
I'm gonna start trying to yell out damage during practice and see how it goes.
I think some of my problem is rooted in me being an asthmatic. When I played sports, to overcome the asthma, I would just go into full-force deep breathing right away to get my lungs going. It kept the asthma off, but you hear me literally heaving at every moment, even though I felt perfectly loose and fine.
Since I'm not quite as cut-throat competitive in Dag, I think I'm a little more self-conscious about the heaving sounds from deep breathing (my competitive drive overcoming my embarrassment back in high school), so I subconsciously hold my breathing back now.
I bet there are a metric ton of new fighters who never played sports at all and are particularly likely to hold the breath while fighting. Maybe something for vets to watch out for and offer some helpful protips?
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Nothing can hide in the light.
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3/31/2010, 3:57 pm
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Sindaric
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
So I did some sparring today... And I totally forgot to pay attention to my breathing. Sad face. Since I'm not much help there I figured I would try see what some other foam fighters think about the subject.
Electric Samurai
I found some similar views here, as well as a few news ones regarding breathing. There are also some ideas to help the problem.
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Proud member of the Fraternal Order of the Dirty Thirty.
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3/31/2010, 10:08 pm
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Evias
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
Yelling "Red" helps me with this a lot.
There's another really weird thing I've taken to doing. Some people might remember Phrost from back in the day. He's the dude who I picked this up from:
I find myself slightly puckering my lips and exhaling quickly to make a whooshing noise a lot. If you time it with proper body jukes (fakes with footwork and shoulders, not using swings) correctly, the noise often confuses your enemy into thinking you've already swung. Their stance will tighten and you'll get a split second chance to check out where their openings will be when you actually take a swing at 'em!
I know what you're probably thinking: "Wow, Evias, that's utter BS." But it has honestly gotten me a bunch of kills on both newbies and vets alike, and... it totally makes you breathe.
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4/1/2010, 12:08 am
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katjefranka
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
Another important aspect to beathing is how you breathe. As in using all of your lungs and not just taking shallow, superficial breaths.
Your lungs are like a bellows and they take up quite a bit of space behind your ribcage. They can expand in all directions.
For instance, using the back of your lungs (or breathing into your back rather than breathing into your chest or stomach) can leave your abdomen muscles space to expand and contract making forward movements much easier to execute.
In yoga and pilates, breathing is vital. Breathing in can strengthen a pose and breathing out can put you further into a pose (breathe in before moving and breathe out while completing a movement). This makes movement easier, as you are not in opposition with your own body. I think this can be applied to Dagorhir as well.
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4/1/2010, 8:56 am
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Wolfspirit862
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
Interestingly enough, I've seen a fighter literally pass out because she forgot to keep breathing during her match...
What I've found to be the best solution is to simply become very comfortable controlling your breathe while exerting yourself physically, and one of the best ways to do this IMO is to count your breaths while running or working your strikes (weapon or empty hands) to an in 1-2-3-4 out 1-2-3-4 sort of rhythm.
Obviously, when you fight you don't want to have such a predictable rhythm, but the more you train mindful breathing the easier it gets to apply it.
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Truth, not won, is not possessed. For we are not
entitled to any truth for which we have not fought.
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4/1/2010, 3:05 pm
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Ame Corthos
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Re: Breathing during fighting... problems and solutions
Personally, I've never had problems with breathing during Dagorhir combat.
Despite the fact that a practice or event is typically a very cardio-heavy workout for me (probably because I do more running than actual fighting), I usually get enough air. Why? Because I breathe loudly and deeply. I kinda sound like a creeper on the battlefield, but it works.
Just make a conscious effort to run more while at an event, and your breathing will even out and become more reliable - something I learned from my days in athletics.
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Conflict is inevitable. Victory is not.
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4/1/2010, 3:46 pm
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