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Breathing Exercises for Martial Arts
Every martial art teaches breathing in some form, from the kiai to the exhale on a throw. The practical problems are the same across styles: staying loose under pressure, recovering between exchanges, and not burning energy on nerves before a grading or a fight.
Safety first
Breath-hold and forceful drills are for seated practice on dry land, never in water or while driving.
How to use them
Box Breathing is a daily base for calm focus, and CO2 Tolerance Hold builds comfort when you are pinned or out of breath. Before competing, Energizing Breath or Bhastrika raise you up, and the Start-Line Reset brings you down. Tactical Recovery Breath is for between rounds, and Cool-Down Descend is for after training.
New to this? Start with Box Breathing: Equal parts inhale, hold, exhale, hold. Used by Navy SEALs for calm focus.
Every day: build the base
Train daily, away from the action.
- Box Breathing — Equal parts inhale, hold, exhale, hold. Used by Navy SEALs for calm focus.
- CO2 Tolerance Hold — Extend breath-hold for swimming, freediving and combat sport.
Game day: before and between efforts
Before and between efforts.
- Start-Line Reset — Long exhales to tame pre-race nerves in the final minutes.
- Energizing Breath — Short, powerful breaths to boost alertness.
- Bhastrika (Bellows) Activation — Rapid forceful breaths to fire up the nervous system.
Recovery
Bring the system back down.
- Tactical Recovery Breath — Rapid recovery between bursts for combat and team sports.
- Cool-Down Descend — Progressively slower breathing to close out a session.
Get the app
dubchi is free in the browser at dubchi.com (it installs as an app and works offline) and on Android, on Google Play. No account is needed to practise.
Other sports
Breathing Exercises for Boxing · Breathing Exercises for Running · Breathing Exercises for Trail Running · Breathing Exercises for Cycling · Breathing Exercises for Swimming · Breathing Exercises for Triathlon · Breathing Exercises for Rowing · Breathing Exercises for Freediving · all sports
General information about breathing practices, not medical or coaching advice.