Breath is the Foundation of Connection in Jiu Jitsu
Breath is the foundation of connection in Jiu Jitsu because it is the foundation of connection in our body. Each breath can and should support, align and stabilize our spine as well as the rest of our body. Each breath you take should create a wave throughout your body, four waves actually. Two on the inhale and two on the exhale.
Breath has a shape, and it is made of physical matter
Take a deep breath, can you feel the waves? They should radiate to the tips of your fingers, toes and the crown of your head. One wave is inside the other. Take another deep breath, can you feel your shoulders rise on the inhale and sink on the exhale? What about the entire torso, all the way around. On the inhale can you feel the pelvic floor and hips spread, creating a rising chain reaction in which the front back and sides of your body also spread outward and upwards coming together at a point on the crown of the head. What about a central channel? On the inhale as the outside of your upper body expands and rises can you feel a downward movement from the crown to the pelvic floor? This would be the two waves of the inhale. The exhale is the exact opposite movements.
What I am describing is a rotating torus, perhaps two overlapping rotating tori. These tori are composed of your fascia, a connective tissue that is significantly stronger than muscle. Fascia surrounds and goes through all of the solid structures of the body, anything that is not hollow. When I say it goes through the structures, it surrounds individual cells as it passes through. Everything that our body is, is literally floating in fascia. Fascia is often cited to have the tensile strength of steel, so wouldn’t it be nice if we could learn to use it to support our bodies and to fight our opponents in Jiu Jitsu? The good news is that you can. The better news is this connection in Jiu Jitsu.
Accessing your fascia through breath
Requirements
Accessing and eventually being able to feel your fascia requires subtle muscle activation. You could do this anywhere you can consciously activate a muscle in your body, but the easiest place to learn is the diaphragm. Why? Because almost everyone can breathe more and more subtly. You have more control over your diaphragm than any other muscle. You can activate it on contraction and expansion cycles and you can change that activation from 100% to 1% on either cycle. For most people, the diaphragm is the only muscle they can do that with. And that is important, because it is necessary to reduce the activation of the muscle until you find neutral. Neutral is not completely relaxed or off, but rather a place of balance where the tension from a desire to contract the muscle matches the tension from desire to elongate the muscle. Finding this place is easiest using the diaphragm.
Upside of using your diaphragm
There is a massive benefit to using your diaphragm to find fascial awareness and connection in Jiu Jitsu. The central channel of the breath mentioned above, acts as a pump for cerebral spinal fluid. And the more consciously that you can influence this channel, the more effective you will become at pumping cerebral spinal fluid. On average cerebral spinal fluid circulates 3-5 times per day. It also comes in direct contact with the pineal gland, meaning you will stimulate your pineal gland by increasing the circulation. And this feels great! So in time, the practice of using your breath to develop fascial awareness and find connection in Jiu Jitsu will no longer be a practice but become a hobby and then a passion. These feelings will transfer into any activity you consciously pair with breath.
Where to Start
The same place as starting Jiu Jitsu, practicing feeling. When I am introducing this to class for the first time this is the process: While sitting, take deep inhales and forceful exhales running into the limit for each with every breath, for 2-3 minutes. On the last exhale, exhale all your air slowly. Let the last exhale happen on its own letting your diaphragm find its own resting place. Hold your breath here. (You will eventually find the neutral mentioned above doing this) Ask yourself what you can let go of in your body while maintaining balance in your spine. Bring your awareness to finding/feeling your heartbeat. Once you can feel your heartbeat ask yourself if there is anything else you can relax, continuing to let go of tension in your body but never allowing any soft tissue engagement to turn off.
Continue to feel your heartbeat, at some point your diaphragm will start to fluctuate with the heartbeat. Later this fluctuation will spread through your entire body. Now you can feel the tori of the breath. Continue holding your breath for as long as you can, repeating the search for more and more subtle engagement. Your body will start producing hormones and chemicals to make you stronger, because it doesn’t understand why you aren’t breathing. You will feel the surge of strength recruit even more activation. Eventually, in the practice, the panic in the body will flash into Euphoria. With even more time in the practice you will go straight into euphoria without experiencing any panic. When you are ready to breathe again, allow air to come in with the fluctuations of the diaphragm paired with the heartbeat. Stay here as long as possible. In the beginning of the practice, you will have to breathe prior to this. That is okay, if you keep practicing, reaching this point is inevitable.
In the video I am introducing this practice to a new class. Practice along with us!
Congratulations
You just felt the systemic movement of your fascia tied to your breath. This will expand to encompass the entire myofascial network of the human body. This is why I say that breath is the foundation of connection in Jiu Jitsu. From here the practice will now be incorporating this into movement and Jiu Jitsu.
Mastery
In its optimal state fascia is a liquid crystal. You will feel the movements of your opponent ripple through your body the same as a stone creates ripples when thrown into water. Your own movement will also create ripples throughout your body. You will be able to use these ripples to propel your movement, rebounding from one movement to the next as you train/compete with your opponent. This perfect union of movement between the two opponents is what is called connection in Jiu Jitsu. If you can do this, and your opponent can’t you will be able to do anything you can imagine to them. For example, if you were moving in water, the water always moves in perfect union with you. When you can create this state in your body, you will be the water that your opponent is moving in. You will be using your body optimally as a tensegrity structure, supple and strong at the same time. Absorbing the movement of your opponent but delivering the force of the movement back into your opponent.
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