How to face a punch in the abdomen

The first thing to say is that breathing is one of the most important tasks in the economy of any kind of fight:

While moving

While attacking

While defending

…

It helps us to:

Increase power

Cool our body

Manage timing

Limit the damages

Economize the energies

…

Read also /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///.

For example, inhale while being hit in the solar plexus can be extremely painful and dangerous, it could literally put us out.

How to breathe when we receive a punch

We have simply to follow what occurs naturally. breathe out, accompanying the movement:

The more we are fast and able to connect with the blow, the better it is

The more our body bends and moves accompanying the blow, the better it is (liquid structure, read The 6DKF’s Liquid and Fluid Contacts)

The more our body deviates the blow from its ideal target (eg. rotating), the better it is

The more we avoid to be reached in weak points, the better it is

The bigger is our lung capacity, the better it is

…

What does it mean to connect the blow with breathing?

In reality, a perfect synchronization would decrease the potential effectiveness of the accompaniment.

What we have to do is:

To use the air as a cushion

To start to follow the movement with a small delay

To create a passive resistance to the energy we receive

It is not the superficial blows that must frighten us but those that go deep, those that can cause serious damage (eg. something that forces us to stop fighting).

To protect the internal body elements we have to “sacrifice” the superficial ones and use then the resistance of the air as a shield (or better as a car’s airbag).

How to learn to breathe in sync with the blows we receive

The theory is relatively simple but the actual application, in a fraction of a second, not.

The blows arrive at high speed, we will never be able to breathe correctly if we do not force this in our body memory (read also The muscle memory).

A note by Master Kongling – During my career, you cannot imagine how many times I have seen people breathe out after having received the full amount of power of the blow. It is not simple at all, especially outside a controlled context and against a skilled fighter.

The only way to let this mechanism work properly is to convert it in a completely instinctive second nature and to reach this goal, exercising is really fundamental.

To learn to absorb shots, we have to:

This will condition our body to limit the damages and will give us the instinctive timing to breathe out.

Final notes

A few conclusive tips and thoughts:

Naturally, this is not the only way to face a blow (nor the better in all the occasions)

It must be said that it is not always possible to use air as a shield (eg. when we are attacked during the wrong phase of breathing, read also The 6DKF’s combat breathing)

This is an effective technique but, like many others, it is not the answer to all the possible questions

We will see different ways to face a striking technique but always remembering that each method has specific prerequisites (conditioning, etc.)

…

In the next article of this series, we will deepen the topic.

In-depth video courses

Basic free hand fighting techniques – All the core techniques of 6 Dragons Kung Fu

In-depth articles

Preparing body to dodge punches (“U” motion) – How to avoid a punch using a “U” motion

Conditioning check for the impact – What are the characteristics we should aim to reach

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Are you able to use the air as a shield?

Author: Master Kongling Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu. Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu. Twitter Facebook

How to master 6 Dragons Kung Fu?

Are you searching for:

Daily training exercises?

Synthetic theory and concepts?

A step by step path from white to black belt?

A path (clear, consequential and gradual) designed to build real martial skills?

A direct contact with Master Kongling?

Go to our Patreon page and choose a training plan: starting from the Practitioner level, you will gain access to all this and much more.

Inside each Premium Lesson, you will receive the same teaching (practices, tips, concepts, small secrets and corrections) reserved to the live students of Master Kongling.

Important - Once a certain number of registrations are reached, no other participants can be accepted. For more information write to: [email protected].