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.