Correct Breathing Unlocks Martial Skill
How is something that everyone does every day, without so much as a thought, so important to expert martial arts skill and conflict mastery?
You likely speed through your day, going from one urgent task to the next, and never once pay attention to it…
…unless you are choking.
Then, it is the only thing you can think about, to exclusion of everything and everyone else.
It is the ONLY thing that matters.
I’m talking about Breathing.
Breathwork has been the foundation of the martial arts from the very beginning.
In fact, my very first martial arts lesson contained a basic breathing exercise.
The layperson may think that you have to master some secret fighting techniques to achieve expert skill, and they are not wrong.
You do have to master some secret techniques to become an expert.
You must master your own breath.
You Can’t Perform While Under Extreme Stress
Being attacked at close-range is one of the most stressful situations you can experience.
In a split-second your whole body suffers a hormonal onslaught of stress chemicals, like adrenaline and cortisol, to instantly prepare you for a fight to the death.
And, you breathe faster and shallower to send oxygen-rich blood to your biggest muscles as your blood vessels to all “non-essential body parts” close up.
One effect of this Stress Response is that you lose fine motor skills AND you lose your ability to think beyond simple, reflexive actions.
If this short-term Stress Response runs rampant, you experience panic and you can actually, physically shut down completely.
So an out-of-control stress response can lead to combat disaster, and even death.
But there is a way to control your stress response to avoid this total breakdown under pressure.
The Breath-Stress Connection
When your heart rate hits about 115 beats per minute, the stress response kicks in, once it hits 145 bpm, you lose complex motor function, vision and hearing loss, and by 175 bpm you lose all thought and have only the grossest motor skill control.
No matter how skilled you are or how many secret techniques you know, you will not be able to access these skills under extreme stress!
A Typical Response to an Assault
A knife-wielding attacker stabs at your stomach…
…When that knife is headed toward your guts your brain cuts off your memory of your best technique and your mind goes blank.
Your muscles lock up and refuse to move one inch to your knife disarm.
Your body curls up, your hands instinctively raise to block, and your breathing stops.
You’ve just been literally cut off from all of your martial arts moves.
Your Own Body Fights Against You, Not Allowing You to Use Your Trained Responses
You Lose!
BUT, what if you could access your best skills under threat, what if you could keep your wits about you, what if you could respond to stress like it was a leisurely walk in the park?
Because your heart rate triggers your stress responses, it makes sense to do whatever you can to take control of your heart rate.
If you can keep your heart rate from spiking, you can stop your stress response from hijacking your mind and body.
Keep your heart rate below 115 BPM = Keep the Stress Response from Firing
Unfortunately you cannot directly control your heart rate.
Fortunately, you can INdirectly control your heart rate.
Through your Breath.
Why High-Level Martial Arts is All About Breathing
Martial arts masters know how to use specific breathing to influence, control, and keep their heart beat under the rate that triggers the stress response, leaving them 100% prepared and clear-headed to deal with the threat at hand.
Proper breathing short-circuits the stress response:
- NO Tunnel Vision
- NO Auditory Exclusion
- NO Labored Breathing
- NO Loss of Motor Control
- NO Brain Fog/Fugue State
- NO Rapid Expulsion of Bodily Fluids
- NO Memory Impairment
- NO Loss of Critical Thinking Skills
The Best Response to an Assault
This time, when the knife comes at you, you breathe properly and allow your training to save your life.
You move out of the way, naturally, and you see exactly what is needed.
You seize immediate control of the attacker, disarm his knife and subdue him…
All without activating your stress reponse.
You didn’t fight, you didn’t freeze.
You FLOWED.
All thanks to the power of proper breathing.
Many Stresses, One Response
Being physically assaulted may be the most acutely stressful experience, yet chronic worry from modern living as well as unavoidable relationship conflicts also trigger the Stress Response.
Your body makes no distinction between bodily threats and psychological threats, it only has one threat/stress response for any perceived danger.
An overbearing boss, being behind on bills, keeping your kids safe and on track at school, a breaking-down relationship, or caring for elderly parents all set off your stress response.
If you don’t master your stress response it doesn’t shut off, it becomes chronic.
Chronic Stress is possibly the most destructive force in modern society, leading to a host of psychological issues, such as anxiety and Depression, and physical ailments, such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, and memory loss.
Because the Stress Response is the same for physical, psychological, and relational threats, the solution is also the same:
Proper Breathing
To learn more about the Power of Breathing for Combat and for Life, sign up for our Saturday Self-Defense Seminar on February 28th, 2026.
Email office@scornavacco.com to reserve your spot.