Breathing techniques to switch gears

I'm at the point in my training where the body has some idea of what to do.  There are some processes already built in.  They need to triggered, monitored and refined; but they exist.  The challenge now, is to invoke them.

This past Sunday, we were working some striking drills.  I was doing a 3 punch, 1 kick combination and I was exerting one quick breath per strike.  It's my preferred breathing technique when striking (and when I remember to breathe)!

Then, I was asked to do all four strikes with a single breath.  Not surprisingly, the strikes that were strong just seconds ago, did not feel as strong.  However, I did notice that the kick was coming in much cleaner because the strong cross wasn't keeping me so far away.  I also noticed that the strikes flowed much more nicely into one another.  After maybe five or six combinations with a single, prolonged, breath each;  I had caught my breath.

Then, I revisited the idea of doing the combination with one breath per strike.  This time I found that my strikes were much stronger than they had been as I was losing my breath.  They were not as smooth as a single breath combination, but they were smoother than when I showed up to class.

It feels as if I've found a sustainable method for using my breathing to switch gears.  With each side showing me something useful and different about striking combinations.

YouTube Street fights

I normally don't like watching street fights on YouTube. At the same time, I have to admit that they've definitely helped my training.  Mostly they involve several people surrounding one person who doesn't want to fight, then one, or all of them begin to strike.  It's instructional in the sense that it shows you just how cruel people can be.  Also, it will give you a clear, real-world picture of what our training aims to emulate.
 
Ironically, our multiples always seemed a little silly to me until I watched these videos.   All of a sudden, I saw it as a very important part of our workout.  If you watch a few of them, you'll quickly find that the victims often do not follow some (or all) of these ideas.

• Be aware of who is around you.
• Don't allow anyone to stand directly behind you.
• Move out of the center.
• Don't expect to be treated with mercy.
• If you have to interact with an attacker, do so for only long enough to help you get away.
• Don't be afraid to run.

In general, do the exact opposite of what the movies do. I suggest that any new student who has been around for at least six months and has not yet done so to seriously sit down to study those videos.  You'll get a lot more out of your training when you can conceptualize what it is that you're training to attain or avoid.