FW: [Quest-L] Re: FW: Godai Kokyuho - Five Element Breathing

[Jonathan Kingsley]

Hello, Mrs. Mary!

 

Thanks for taking a crack at this one!  The Elemental Breathing is just something I haven’t found many expository articles on.  The training that I DID do with it was mainly pattern work based on the energies used with the different elements.  In my school, those energy patterns are referred to as:

 

Water- Tidewater Energy

Fire- Springforward Energy

Earth- Sinking Energy

Wind- Topspinning Energy

 

These are the little catch phrases we use to let the students know what Mind Set to “start” with on a technique.  They are encouraged however to “flow” (Nagare) with the technique and use the appropriate energy as they go.  Feeling the combat take place.  With switching freely between elements in this way, however, it has been difficult to explain any breathing that could take place on a conscious level.  In other words, if I make them think about the breathing specifically it’s kinda defeating the purpose of doing it naturally.  That is the reason for the question.  Really just wondering how they should train these breathing methods for effective use during a “live” situation. 

 

Thanks for the collaborative research folks!

 

Jon Kingsley

Charlotte, NC

Charlotte Warrior Heart Association (Quest Affiliate School)

 

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From: Quest...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Quest...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mary Casey II
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 4:44 PM
To: Quest...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Quest-L] Re: FW: Godai Kokyuho - Five Element Breathing

 

Jon,

 

My answer comes more from personal experience than from specific theory.There is a range of of possibility in our indiviual breathing, just as we have different types of heatbeats. Experience shows that we do use different patterns depending on what we are doing and this probably has both physiological and energetic manifestations. This has equal importance to the reactions stimulated by elemental breathing.

 

For your question about techniques for wrestling and boxing from a self-defense perspective, I would not limit myslef to one particular type of breathing pattern. But from a training drill perspective, training with the breathing of the elements gave me the opportunity to discover the relationship of my breath and my mind state so that now I have more freedom in stressful situations. Breathing and mind state are reciprocal and, therefore, each reflects the other. I want to be able to move seamlessly into whatever mind state was necessary to accomplish my goal of getting home safely.  To have this seamless movement between states, it is helpful to thoroughly drill the different possibilities.

 

Short answers: 1.Combo of what you listed and probably more. 2. Yes.

 

Mary Casey

Boulder Quest Center

 

On 9/14/05, Jonathan Kingsley <jkin...@charlottenites.com> wrote:

 

I was just wondering if someone could shed some light on the Godai Kokyuho or Five Element Breathing methods.  I have seen things ranging from actual breath patterns for different tasks, i.e., running a long distance, sitting still, climbing a tree, etc. to just basic intonations that have to do with the natural sounds associated with the elements, i.e., the low "o" sound for earth, high "a" sound for fire, etc.  Is it a mixture of both of these concepts or one or the other?  Is there a application of these breathing patterns that can be used during combat to last longer as a wrestler or be lighter on your feet as a boxer?  Any insights into this would be appreciated.  I look forward to learning what everyone has to offer!

 

Thanks,

 

Jon Kingsley

Charlotte Warrior Heart Association