Breathing is one of those subjects that should be thoroughly learnt and understood, yet most people never give it a second thought. In this video lesson I give my top tips on breathing for fighting, under the title "Bark Like a Dog". It is for martial artists, boxers and anyone training for self-defence.

The health benefits of full, controlled breathing have been known for thousands of years. When it comes to self-defence and sports combat, breathing can be used in a multitude of ways.

Why Breathing Matters in a Fight

Watch a beginner on the pads. They hold their breath, tense up and are exhausted inside a minute. It is not their fitness that lets them down, it is their breathing.

Under stress, the body wants to hold its breath or breathe high and fast in the chest. That makes you tense, slows you down and drains your energy. It also makes it harder to think clearly at the very moment you need to.

Good breathing does the opposite:

  • It keeps you relaxed, and a relaxed body is a fast body
  • It helps you last longer, in a round or in a real situation
  • It tightens the body at the moment of impact, giving power to your strikes
  • It helps you absorb a shot to the body
  • It helps calm the adrenaline dump that comes with sudden danger

Breathing When You Strike

A short, sharp breath out as the strike lands helps you tighten the core at exactly the right moment, then relax again straight after. You hear good boxers do it on every punch. A noisy, forceful breath out like that is much better than holding your breath, which is what most people do without realising.

The common mistake is the opposite extreme: a long, drawn-out shout that empties the lungs and leaves you with nothing. Keep it short and sharp, then breathe in naturally.

How to Practise

Start slowly. On the bag or shadow boxing, breathe out with every strike and pay attention to it. Then add combinations and keep the breathing matched to each shot. Between rounds, practise slow, deep breaths from the belly to bring your heart rate down.

Away from training, a few minutes of slow, controlled breathing each day builds the habit, so it is still there when you are under pressure. You will not rise to the occasion. You fall back on what you have trained.

Take It Further

Breathing and relaxation run through everything I teach in the Pressure Point Fighting Course. If you would like to work on it in person, have a look at my Training Camps.