Another win for TMA. How breathing calms your brain

Monkey Turned Wolf

MT Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
12,212
Reaction score
6,308
Location
New York
That article is a bit misleading. It's suggesting that science didn't have evidence of this until about 1-2 years ago. It meant neuroscience in particular didn't have evidence. There's plenty of controlled, legitimate studies in the field of psychology stating exactly what this study is stating from 10+ years ago. By the time I took psych in high school (~10 years ago), it was established enough that breathing techniques were being taught in school, and there's a whole mindfulness movement in psychology supporting basically eastern practices (meditation, breathing, etc.) as good for your mental and physical health, which started I think in the 80's. Breathing techniques are a large part of that. All of this based on grounded, legitimate science.
 

Andrew Green

Grandmaster
MTS Alumni
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
8,627
Reaction score
452
Location
Winnipeg MB
I thought this was an interesting read. It's stuff that TMA guys have known for some time now, but may not have had a scientific explanation and proof of the benefits of controlled breathing.

How Breathing Calms Your Brain, And Other Science-Based Benefits Of Controlled Breathing

TMA doesn't have any sort of monopoly on the idea of controlled breathing... pretty much any sport will teach you about controlled breathing. TMA has nothing on yoga, meditation, swimming, endurance sports, etc. in that regard.

It really doesn't matter what sport you do, at some point a coach is going to mention how to breath while doing it.

The article doesn't even mention martial arts in any way, so I'd say your headline is rather misleading.
 

drop bear

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
23,337
Reaction score
8,070
I once saw a man forced to endure over 30 minutes of that, naked in cold weather if that matters, as punishment for the actions of a man junior to him. I can imagine how you must have felt. What was your transgression? ;)

Leaving the toilet light on.
 
OP
JowGaWolf

JowGaWolf

Sr. Grandmaster
MT Mentor
Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
13,960
Reaction score
5,851
TMA doesn't have any sort of monopoly on the idea of controlled breathing... pretty much any sport will teach you about controlled breathing. TMA has nothing on yoga, meditation, swimming, endurance sports, etc. in that regard.

It really doesn't matter what sport you do, at some point a coach is going to mention how to breath while doing it.

The article doesn't even mention martial arts in any way, so I'd say your headline is rather misleading.
if TMA does control breathing exercises then it's not misleading.
 

oftheherd1

Senior Master
Joined
May 12, 2011
Messages
4,685
Reaction score
817
Leaving the toilet light on.

I'm taking it that you were joking. But in some cultures, leaving a light on when the area isn't being used will get you corrected. That often occurs in bathrooms in Korean facilities here in the USA. It comes I guess, from poorer times when electricity was rather expensive. You would not leave any light on when you weren't in the area, to save money.

So for instance, when I enter a bathroom in a Korean restaurant, I usually have to turn the light on and then am expected to turn it off when I leave. We do the same things in our homes, but in public facilities we usually expect the lights to stay on during business hours.

Everybody gets to do it how they want.
 
OP
JowGaWolf

JowGaWolf

Sr. Grandmaster
MT Mentor
Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
13,960
Reaction score
5,851
That article is a bit misleading. It's suggesting that science didn't have evidence of this until about 1-2 years ago. It meant neuroscience in particular didn't have evidence. There's plenty of controlled, legitimate studies in the field of psychology stating exactly what this study is stating from 10+ years ago. By the time I took psych in high school (~10 years ago), it was established enough that breathing techniques were being taught in school, and there's a whole mindfulness movement in psychology supporting basically eastern practices (meditation, breathing, etc.) as good for your mental and physical health, which started I think in the 80's. Breathing techniques are a large part of that. All of this based on grounded, legitimate science.
I think the new part of it is how it's measured now vs how it was measured 10 years ago. The better the medical technology is, the more likely they will revisit things to see the results by testing with the newer technology.

A good example would be how the U.S. took P.E. out of the schools and kids started getting fat. Everyone knew why but it always takes study to "make it real"
Most kids don’t get enough PE time, study finds

It took a study to make many in the medical field and general population to understand that Tai Chi had physical benefits such as increasing bone density. For the longest Yoga and Tai were just things that wimpy people did and contact sports were something that strong people did. But once the study comes out, it changes the mindsets.
 

Andrew Green

Grandmaster
MTS Alumni
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
8,627
Reaction score
452
Location
Winnipeg MB
if TMA does control breathing exercises then it's not misleading.

Sure it is, claiming it is a "win" for TMA when it is a commonly known fact that pretty much every sport and a lot of non-sports regularly imply definitely is. A win for TMA would be if there was evidence that something done in TMA that wasn't done in other things turned out to have a lot of merit. But controlled breathing? That is not even close to being unique to martial arts practice. It's not a win as there was no one saying it wasn't important.
 
OP
JowGaWolf

JowGaWolf

Sr. Grandmaster
MT Mentor
Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
13,960
Reaction score
5,851
A win for TMA would be if there was evidence that something done in TMA that wasn't done in other things turned out to have a lot of merit.
Tha'ts not a win. That's an ego thing that always get TMA into trouble. To think that a benefit only exists in TMA is an arrogant way of thinking. A WIN can simply be a validation that you aren't doing some crazy exercise that doesn't have any real positive or beneficial effect on the body. A sports team can win but they aren't the only one ones winning. So why would we want to put TMA in this mystical box of only TMA can "WIN."

If this was a Yoga forum then my post would have been. " Another win for Yoga. How breathing calms your brain." but since this is a martial arts forum and I know a lot of people do TMA, I decided to put TMA. I never thought so many people would get hung up on the use of TMA.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

MT Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
12,212
Reaction score
6,308
Location
New York
I think the new part of it is how it's measured now vs how it was measured 10 years ago. The better the medical technology is, the more likely they will revisit things to see the results by testing with the newer technology.

A good example would be how the U.S. took P.E. out of the schools and kids started getting fat. Everyone knew why but it always takes study to "make it real"
Most kids don’t get enough PE time, study finds

It took a study to make many in the medical field and general population to understand that Tai Chi had physical benefits such as increasing bone density. For the longest Yoga and Tai were just things that wimpy people did and contact sports were something that strong people did. But once the study comes out, it changes the mindsets.
But the thing is that there have been studies on this since the 80s. Not just common sense "breathing helps with anxiety". There are studies on exactly what type of breathing helps best with different things, on its relationship to health, and on its relationship to stress (and stress' relationship to health). These were observable behaviors that were quantified and studied. Neurology is just catching up to other sciences, and they tend to forget that science can happen without looking at people's brains.
 

drop bear

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
23,337
Reaction score
8,070
I'm taking it that you were joking. But in some cultures, leaving a light on when the area isn't being used will get you corrected. That often occurs in bathrooms in Korean facilities here in the USA. It comes I guess, from poorer times when electricity was rather expensive. You would not leave any light on when you weren't in the area, to save money.

So for instance, when I enter a bathroom in a Korean restaurant, I usually have to turn the light on and then am expected to turn it off when I leave. We do the same things in our homes, but in public facilities we usually expect the lights to stay on during business hours.

Everybody gets to do it how they want.

That is the one rule of our gym.
 

Latest Discussions

Top