The Importance of Understanding Hapkido Danjun Breathing Exercises by KJN Ronald Stone 

The importance of understanding Hapkido Danjun breathing exercises by KJN Ronald Stone 

Whenever I teach danjun breathing exercises I start out by reminding the students that according to the majority of respected Grandmasters in Korea, there are two ways to increase your Ki energy,  The first is meditation which we will leave for another article and the second, the object of today is breathing. When I attended my first masters instructional course in Hapkido that was delivered by a board of Hapkido Grandmasters I was surprised that the first topic was an explanation and demonstration of proper Danjun breathing exercises.  I was also amazed at the length of time they took explaining it.  Therefore I reasoned this must be an important subject in the art. To this day I am amazed by the number of supposed Hapkido instructors who don’t truly believe in Ki, understand it’s application and who teach the Danjun exercises as if you merely wave your arms and yell.  Sometimes it looks like they are trying to wave in an airplane down onto a WW2 aircraft carrier. 

So let’s begin at the beginning (always a good idea) and talk about it’s function. In martial arts terms the purpose of these exercise movements is to draw positive Ki energy into your body and to expel negative Ki.  If you are one who is so modern and science driven. That you need another alternative explanation I remind my students that it is a way of hyper oxygenating oneself while at the same time making a concerted effort to eliminate carbon dioxide and other harmful elements that have accumulated in the lungs.  

I relate these exercises to those done by Japanese pearl divers who are renowned for their trained lung capacity and their ability to remain underwater for significantly longer than normal without the aid of scuba devices. Done properly the practitioner should feel refreshed after the exercises, hard as they may be to perform correctly and at the same time will experience a sort of metallic taste in the mouth from the waste products  (or negative Ki) that are being expelled through proper exhalation. 

As for the teaching of proper technique for these exercises I start with stance ad attitude.  The practitioner should be in a comfortable stance with the feet about shoulder width apart, and should clear the mind of any negative or stressful thoughts. This is not meant to be performed with a wide horse stance and an aggressive attitude. During the exercises the feet are not stiff nor are they flat footed. They should be somewhat arched from toe to heel in order to better grasp the earth. 

The actual breathing involves bringing up the hands to enable a very deep thoracic- abdominal inhalation.  You should breathe in as much air as you can until it fills the lungs to the point where it almost hurts. What follows is an audible expulsion of air which creates an open mouth exhalation which in turn creates the loud sound heard.  It is not a closed lip blow nor is it a screaming Kiyup as I have sometimes seen incorrectly taught. During the breathing the body moves in a flexible manner with the back straight, aligning the spinal Ki centers.  

The arms and legs will perform movements to accompany the breathing and to capture the Ki flow.  Once the stance is achieved and the lungs are filled the arms will slowly extend in four sets of directions, straight forward,  up, down, and to the sides.  While moving the arms the hands should be in a rigid position known to Hapkido practitioners as “live hand”. The fingers are stretched forward as if they were iron bars and tensed to the point that they actually beginning to tremble on their own. Once the live hand is achieved and the lungs are filled the exhalation portion begins. The arms are first slowly extended straight forward about shoulder width apart.  They are not however fully extended, but rather are pushed forward against the live hand, as if there were a strong resistance to the movement. (Isometrics) While doing these movements I occasionally imagine my hand pushing its way through a block of ballistic gel to create the slow resistance.  

The arms going forward are not fully extended which would lock the elbows, but rather end comfortably at which time the hands slightly rotate upward as if pushing on someone’s face with the palms. During this exhalation phase the practitioner squats slowly and rhythmically downward with the back maintaining a straight up position. Once the open mouth exhalation is completed the arms slowly return to the side and as they do the body arises again to a relaxed position.  

The forward movement is repeated.  Sets are usually five to ten tines in each direction although it can be done more. During the next set, after the deep breath, arms are next raised straight upward in a similar live hand parallel manner. Again, as the rise the practitioner slowly squats. The arms do not fully extend, but rather come to rest with thumbs about level with, but of course not touching one’s eyes, and with the hands finally rotating slightly outward with the palms slightly higher than before, now directed forwards with thumbs about eye level. As the arms are brought back the body relaxes out of the squat and the arms return to the waist. 

The third set involves the same action and sequences in a downward direction.  The important part here is that the fingers do not point downward which would create a negative Ki flow but rather are held in one of two acceptable manners.  I was originally taught to lower my arms as if my two hands were grasping a pole and lowering it into a hole with my fingers forward obviously. Another acceptable technique would be to slowly hold the palms down and fingers level as if doing a patty cake. The rhythm, breathing and posture remain the same. Finally the last set involves moving the arms during the exhalation phase sideways.  Again there are two acceptable techniques for this.  I was taught to push sideways as if pushing apart two elevator doors, that is to say, fingers upward and palms facing sideways.  It is equally acceptable to push sideways with a spear hand with the palms facing forward not sideways and the fingers stiff and level in a live. While all these movements are being performed the eyes are either opened or closed and the head is level.  Looking down, as with finger position, creates negative Ki.  One thing I do with skeptics of Ki flow is to direct them into the stance and then to push the live hand forward and up and remain as tense as they can.  Then I direct them to feel the strength generated and finally, with their arms still level, to drop their fingers and hand suddenly downward.  

Try this yourself and you will be amazed at the sudden feeling of loss of strength. If we look at the Danjun exercises merely from a breathing standpoint is clear that there is benefit, but the benefits go beyond this. Maintaining the back in the correct position aligns Ki centers and strengthens the support structure of the body.  The squatting and rising helps increase leg blood flow and strengthen core musculature. Clearing the mind and exercising while correctly breathing creates a sense of euphoria and helps eliminate anxiety and depression. In fact it has been shown that increased oxygen levels in the body cause the release of serotonins which create endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain relievers and mood boosters. This creates a feeling of well being.

Correct stance and posture are essential to the exercises and both help strengthen the body. So in other words there is quite a lot more to Danjun breathing than merely waiving one’s arms and screaming. 

About the author: R.W. Stone is currently a practicing veterinarian in Central Florida. He is an avid equestrian, a master ranked martial artist, a best-selling western author, and a firearms enthusiast. After joining a martial arts school in 1970 Stone started studying Yudo with a Korean grandmaster. He eventually became a member of the Judo team of the University of Illinois. It was at the University that a Korean classmate and friend introduced him to Tae Kwon do. After graduating veterinary college, he found the martial arts becoming too sports oriented and eventually after moving from Miami to Central Florida he sought out a Hapkido grandmaster. Currently Stone is ranked 8th dan in Haemukwan Hapkido, 4th dan in Daehan Yudo and a second dan in Kukki Taekwondo. He is the Hapkido Instructor at the American Dragon Martial Arts Academies. 

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