There’s a secret type of strength that you’ve probably never heard about before.
And if you did hear about it, no one ever revealed to you how it truly works.
“Breathing exercises alone, if done RIGHT, will make many a weak man strong and many a sick man well,” wrote Martin “Farmer” Burns in his 1914 by-mail course, Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture.
When I first read the Farmer’s words more than 20 years ago, I could relate to him because I had experienced it numerous times.
One of my deeply cherished experiences took place in 1992, when I was testing for an upgraded belt ranking in a Korean martial art.
At the beginning of each practice, the master would have us sit with our legs folded underneath us in the seiza position. As we sat, he directed us to inhale while holding our focus in the lower belly. Once the inhale was complete, we held onto the “air” for a few more seconds, then we exhaled.
Well, somewhere along the timeline, when I was learning this art, I experimented with sending the “buzz” I felt in my abdomen into my hands and feet. I was amazed at how I could direct a breath this way, and when it came time for the board-breaking portion of the exam, before executing a spinning back kick, I inhaled, held it, then pushed my inhale into my kicking foot.
The next thing I was aware of was NOT my foot shattering the board; nor was it pain from kicking it barefoot.
It was a strange moment in time because I felt as though I didn’t even hit the board – at all. I felt no pain, nor any impact whatsoever. And yet, the board was broken.
In previous exams, when I did a certain board break, I felt the impact. On one occasion, I definitely felt pain. But this time, I might as well have been kicking air, because that’s all I felt as my foot zoomed out in front of me.
When I first began reading Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture, I had direct experience of this secret strength Farmer Burns was rapping about. Since then, however, by following his advice, which was some good ole rural American advice, not something from a foreign land, it has caused me to marvel at how similar the methods are, and how they are different.
You may not currently believe that deep breathing exercises will make a difference in your life. But you WILL after you read the Farmer’s words and put his advice into ACTION.
Kick ass – take names!
Matt Furey
