One of the most neglected areas of reality-based self-defense training (including Krav Maga) is breathing. It is something the combat sports and traditional martial arts emphasize a lot, but is somehow seen as irrelevant or a low priority when it comes to dealing with real-life violence. I have heard more than one Krav Maga instructor state that because real-life confrontations only last a few seconds there is little reason to spend any time training breathing – unfortunately this idea that real-life fights only last a few seconds, fails to take into account all the time spent in the pre-conflict phase, where an assailant will argue, posture, hurl abuse, etc., before launching a physical assault – if you don’t take your breathing into account, you may find yourself exhausted before the first punch is thrown. If your Krav Maga training only involves or emphasizes sneak attacks, and surprise assaults, your training won’t reflect reality; most violence against both men and women, starts face-to-face, and is preceded by some form of verbal exchange. The actual physical component of the assault may be over quickly, but the entire confrontation will last much longer. Because of this, controlling your breathing is an essential skill to have.

If you want to get a good idea of what your breathing may look like in a real-life confrontation, hold your breath for as long as you can and then start doing burpees. About 5 burpees in, you’ll feel what it’s like to have been in a fight for a couple of seconds. If you want to add some real stress and duress to the drill, have a partner strangle you till your lungs are almost empty and then do your burpees. If you want to go one step further, have your partner strangle you, then release the pressure so that you can breathe out (something you must do before you breathe in – this is a good way to improve the effectiveness of a strangulation), and then reapply it before you can take a breath in – then do your burpees (for safety, make sure your partner has experience of performing safe strangulations, and is prepared to release when you tap). Whichever way you drill this it sucks, and you’ll feel exhausted and gassed. This is what real-life will feel like, if you don’t learn how to regulate your breathing. Whenever I put a new student into a stressful situation where they feel under pressure, the first thing I notice that they do is to hold their breath. This is replicated in real-life incidents, when two untrained individuals start to throw punches at each other; it lasts all of 3 seconds, before they clinch up, and hold on to each other exhausted. They’ve only been exerting themselves for a few seconds and yet they’re physically spent, and gasping for air, just because they didn’t breathe whilst they were working. It is essential that we don’t find ourselves replicating this.

If you’ve worked in the security industry, law enforcement, or the military, it is likely that you have been introduced to “Tactical Breathing”, as a means of managing high stress and emotion. When people find themselves under duress, one of two things tends to happen: they stop breathing or they hyperventilate. Tactical Breathing aims to counter these two extremes by having the individual regulate their breathing, by breathing in for a regular count, holding their breath for a regular count, and exhaling over a regular count e.g. you breathe in for 2 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, and breathe out for 2 seconds. From my own personal experiences, Tactical Breathing is the closest thing I have found as a magic bullet, for alleviating panic and calming the nerves. Fear can be overwhelming, and adrenaline can take over our actions/behaviors to our detriment. Regular breathing, regulates our heart-rate, and the blood flow around our bodies – the blood which carries both oxygen and adrenaline to our muscles. Tactical Breathing is something we should initiate when we enter the Conflict Aware phase on the Timeline of Violence (when we first become aware of the presence of danger in our environment), and continue during the Pre-Conflict Phase (when you understand that you are the target of danger/violence), where possible. Once you are involved in the conflict/fight itself you need a different type of breathing.

I have practiced different types of Karate, which use different methods of breathing. I have practiced styles from the Shurite school, which emphasize natural breathing (you just breathe normally, regardless of the movements you make), and styles such as Goju-Ryu, where breathing and movement are tied directly together. Whilst I prefer “natural breathing” I have found it very difficult to teach – students seem to find and adopt it through practice rather than instruction. It is easier to teach breathing when it is tied to movement, such as breathing out when you punch/strike. The issue comes when you have larger, multi-phased movements, which don’t lend themselves to a rhythmic inhalation and exhalation. As a Judoka (somebody who practices Judo), throws are often created by opportunity rather than just intent, and so trying to tie breathing to a throw, which came about through opportunity is pretty much impossible; you have to breathe to keep your brain and muscles oxygenated, in preparation for the throw, rather than regulate it to the phases of the throw. This though doesn’t come naturally, it comes through practice. One of the best ways to sort this type of breathing out and get it to be “natural” is to spar, and you must do different types of “sparring”.

I remember the first time I rolled with a BJJ guy – we started on the floor. I believed that within seconds I’d have him wrapped up and pinned down. My style of Judo was pretty powerful and extremely strong, and I thought that it would be seconds before I had him immobilized in a good scarf hold. Thirty seconds in I was done; completely wiped. After taking a breather, I employed exactly the same tactics, to exactly the same result. I’d never done ground-work from starting on the floor, it’d always been as a continuation from a throw, or after being thrown. To train your breathing effectively, you must spar in different ways. I’ll be the first to admit that sparring (in any form) doesn’t resemble reality, but it’s an excellent way to teach you to breathe naturally. You may at first have to apply some conscious processes to this, such as trying to set your breathing to a regular aerobic pattern, as if you’re going for a run, etc. This is what got my groundwork breathing to a good place when I rolled with the BJJ guys; I imagined I was on a run, and set a steady, regular breathing rate, rather than applying the explosive/steam-roller breathing that I used against Judoka.

Next time you train, consider the amount of physical work you accomplished, against your level of exhaustion. If the two don’t marry/add up i.e. you’re effectively wrecked after what was really only a minor exertion, you probably need to work on your breathing.