Did you know your nose is one of the most important body parts when it comes to training martial arts?
Strength, Speed, Power, Focus and Endurance all start with your nose...
Don't believe us, what if we say Strength, Speed, Power and endurance all start with breathing?
Everyone knows that breathing is important for all strenuous activities, but you may not know that breathing though your nose is very, very different than breathing with your mouth. Many think that they accomplish the same task, since they both get oxygen into your body. This is true, however breathing through your mouth will compromise your performance.
Let’s start with a very basic look at the two organs. First, we have a mouth, it does a lot of beneficial things for our body, but it was designed with basically one purpose. To Om Nom the foods. Yes, that’s right, our mouths main purpose is to consume food and drink. Some may think its main purpose is used to talk and communicate, we think that is a good second. Food comes first, then probably talking. When it comes to breathing, it seems more like an afterthought in the mouths overall design.
The nose however does not place oxygen as an afterthought. In fact, we will find that it has a very specific purpose. It exists to first and foremost assist our respiratory system in bringing in air. Everything about the nose is designed with your lungs in mind. From the hairs and nasal passageways that are designed to assist with filtering allergens and foreign bodies. To the moisture and warmth that is added to inhaled air for smoother entry into the lungs. Basically, the nose was designed for breathing.
So why is this important to Martial Arts specifically?
Well, Nasal breathing, as opposed to mouth breathing, has important advantages; It allows for more oxygen to get to active tissues, specifically oxygen flow to muscles optimizing your strength. Since air can flow more efficiently there is little to no risk of hyperventilation, which assists with Endurance. Also, breathing through your nose engages more of your lungs maximum volume capacity and creates intra-abdominal pressure, that creates tension needed to create core power during martial arts movements making your movements more powerful. This all leads to you being a tougher, stronger, more resilient form of yourself.
The last and most important feature of breathing through your nose has to do with stress. Martial Arts can put a person’s body and brain under various levels of stress. Trying not to get punched in the face again for the 4th time in a row or making sure you don't get choked out can definitely cause a stress response in your body. Nasal breathing has a wonderful effect on your nervous system that even if your body is in a stressful state, provides your body with a sense of calm and allows you to function better. This also ensures mental clarify and Sharpness compared to breathing through your mouth. This means you are more focused and allows your reflexes, knowledge and skills to take over instead of your bodies normal stress response.
To summarize, your nose was designed for breathing, use it and ensure you are Ready to Fight!