When I hear a professional martial arts instructor advising their students to be more natural, I cannot help but feel contempt. Could any help be less helpful?
What is the most natural method for safely evading a knife thrust, while simultaneously positioning oneself for an effortless disarm and throw? How does one naturally reverse a guillotine choke? People who know the answer to these questions don’t need an instructor or a class; for the rest of us, more detailed guidance is appropriate.
With that said, I am a strong advocate of “natural breathing” for martial applications, in contrast to the more exotic approaches advanced in some dojos.
While it may be true that one’s strikes are more powerful during an exhale, and least powerful during the inhale, this fact is subordinate to a higher truth. If your movement and breathing are strongly linked, then your opponent(s) can more easily control them both. Despite your best intentions, this coordination can quickly become a self-imposed suffocation, of the muscles and the brain.
I’ll illustrate with a short story from my own training. When I met my first Taiji instructor–whom we shall call James–I already had years of experience in Wing Chun, Aikido and other martial arts. With this experience, I had developed the habit of breathing out to meet an unavoidable incoming strike.
One day, James and I were working on a close-quarters sticking exercise, and he noticed this subconscious habit to his great amusement. When I started to breathe in, he laughed and hit me. So I let the air out, waited a second or two, and tried to breathe in again. James laughed again, and hit me again. After a few more rounds of fun, I got his point. Until I was willing to abandon this habit, I literally could not breathe without his permission.
Although this was only a training exercise, similar constraints are present in a real fight. We do not always have the luxury of choice when timing our attack and defense.
If we attempt to match the rhythm of our breathing with the unpredictable pace of our opponent’s movement, the most likely results are hyperventilation and auto-asphyxiation. Neither of these is conducive to power, sensitivity, or relaxation.
Since I cannot predict in advance when the opponent will drop their guard, or how many times I will need to punch them in response, I don’t even attempt to coordinate my breathing with the attack. By the same principle, I am very careful about creating defensive space through exhalation, recognizing that a poorly timed breath may be my last.
It seems that the only safe time to exhale decisively with a strike, is after the opponent is already knocked out. Be advised however that that referees frown upon such behavior.
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译文:
为何在武术中自然呼吸是明智的呼吸方式
当我听说一位专业的武术教练教导他的学生攻击时要更自然，我不禁觉得它没什么用。难道任何帮助都用处不大吗？
什么才是最自然的安全避开刀子的方法，而同时又定住对方不费力气地夺下刀并把它扔出去？如何从一个人的背后自然地勒住他的脖子使其窒息？知道这些问题答案的人就不必请教练或上课了；对我们大多数人来说则需要更多的悉心指导才是适合的选择。
据此说法，我强烈拥护战术应用上的“自然呼吸法”，它与外来的一些道场的先进方法截然不同。
有时这种方法是有效的，在某人进攻时候呼气攻击力就会更强，而在吸气时攻击力弱一些，但这并不十分符合实际情况。如果你的动作紧紧伴随着呼吸，那么你的对手就更容易将两者都控制住。尽管你的肌肉发达而且进攻决心最强烈，但这种动作与呼吸的协调会很快使自己窒息。
我将举一个亲身经历的小故事作为例子来说明这一点。在我遇见我的太极教练James之前 ，我已在咏春拳，合气道及其它一些武术上有了几年的造诣。有了这些经验，我已养成了通过呼气来对付迎面而来攻击的习惯。
一天，我和James正在进行近身攻击练习，他发现我的这种潜在的习惯给他带来了很大的乐趣。当我开始吸气时，他笑着击打我。所以我只能呼气，待一两秒后再次吸气。James再次笑着并进行了又一轮攻击。几回合后，我明白了他的意思。直到我自愿放弃这个习惯，按照他的指令进行呼吸练习。
虽然这只是个练习，但类似于真正打斗时的情形。在攻击和防御时，我们经常极少有机会选择何时攻击或防御。
如果我们试图调整呼吸的节奏来配合对手那不可预测的动作，那么结果极有可能是我们换气过度，最终自我窒息。这两者没有一样对我们的力量，灵敏度，或松弛度有帮助。
因为我不能事先预测对手何时会放松警惕，或我将需要几次来回击他们，甚至我也不能使自己的呼吸与进攻相协调。所以，我十分注意通过呼吸创造自己的防卫空间，认识到短时间的呼吸会成为我最好的选择。
看似只有在对手已经出击后，果断把握呼气瞬间予以一击才是最保险的。不过要提出的是裁判并不赞成此类做法。
原文版权属2006-2009《武术攻击的发展》
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