Karate Kid, Breathing, and Diaphragmatic Generalization

The 1984 movie Karate Kid prominently features what I believe is one of the most beneficial self-care methodologies. And it all surrounds the breath.

After telling Daniel that he can help him win the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Mr. Miyagi puts Daniel to work washing cars, sanding floors, and painting fences. Daniel resents the unpaid drudgery at first because he doesn’t realize how it is helping him. It is actually making him stronger and more coordinated because of the way he is taught to breathe while performing the work. Mr. Miyagi tells Daniel to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth emphasizing that the breathing is the most important aspect of the training.

“Breathe in through nose, out through mouth. Don’t forget to breathe, very important.”

-Mr. Miyagi

Breathing through the nose and being aware of the breath are two fundamental components of diaphragmatic breathing which uses the respiratory diaphragm to provide the power and rhythm to our breaths. When breathing this way, all mammals experience calmness. Mr. Miyagi probably does this to teach him foundational principles of focus, energy management, and discipline. But it also probably achieves “diaphragmatic generalization.” Before moving forward let’s define that last term.

Definition of Diaphragmatic Generalization

Diaphragmatic generalization is the process of integrating diaphragmatic (deep abdominal) breathing into various activities or contexts beyond its initial practice setting, so that its benefits—such as relaxation, focus, and efficient energy use—extend across physical, mental, and emotional tasks. This concept involves transferring the habitual use of diaphragmatic breathing into everyday actions (e.g., working, exercising, or handling stress) and more demanding situations (e.g., sports, martial arts, or public speaking), enabling improved performance and resilience in diverse scenarios.

In my book Program Peace, I discuss how diaphragmatic breathing can be generalized to other behaviors and activities. It reduces muscular tension, preventing fatigue and repetitive strain during demanding tasks. It also promotes calmness and focus. How does one breathe with the diaphragm? Deeply, smoothly, and on long intervals. For detailed information on this visit programpeace.com. The main tenets of optimal breathing are conveyed here in the diagram below with time on the horizontal axis and breath volume on the y axis.

Every time before I get up from a squatting position I take a deep inhalation and then a deep exhalation as I rise. This supports my knees, helps them grow stronger, and makes them "bulletproof" or injury resistant. Similarly, when I do a cartwheel, a flurry of punches, or a spinning back hook kick, I am exhaling.

This is not the case for most martial arts practitioners (in the US at least). I have trained at over a dozen martial arts studios and no one is employing diaphragmatic breathing or intentionally exhaling during exertion. In fact, most of the martial artists breathe in a distressed manner during training and their bodies are very tense through the class. Most of my masters had debilitating hip cramps. If you are a martial artist, be aware of the social tension, the plays for dominance, the pressure to act submissive, and the tendency to breathe shallowly found in the dojos or studios. Try to overcome these things and practice with a light heart and it will improve your form, strength, and bodily health.

How Diaphragmatic Generalization Can Help You

Diaphragmatic breathing promotes efficient energy use because it helps you reduce your muscles tension and unnecessary bracing patterns, allowing you to learn new movements without the encumbrances of bodily tension. In effect, it takes you back in time to your youth when your body was better at learning, you held less tension, and you naturally breathed with the diaphragm (people generally lose the ability to breathe with the diaphragm as they transition to adulthood). So, breathing diaphragmatically tells your body that what you are doing is safe and that you can relax while doing it. This helps the activity become efficient and deeply ingrained.

The chores that Mr. Miyagi asks Daniel to perform involve repetitive movements that he will need in martial arts. Because he is instructed to do these movements while breathing diaphragmatically, Daniel will become comfortable with these movements, and they will become free of startle, trembling, and trauma. Thus, when these motions are triggered in a fight, they will come out easily, fluidly, and with strength, rather than from a place of anxiety or overstimulation. Repeatedly practicing these movements in a safe, controlled environment desensitizes Daniel to any fear or hesitation that might otherwise accompany their use in a real fight. This ensures that the movements are fluid and confident rather than rigid or reactive.

Diaphragmatic breathing is known to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, countering stress and anxiety. By generalizing this practice during routine tasks, Daniel learns to maintain composure and perform effectively even in high-pressure situations like combat. When paired with repetitive movements like waxing or sanding, diaphragmatic breathing creates reinforces muscle memory incorporating the relaxation response as an unconscious habit. The diaphragm's engagement supports core stability, while its calming effect allows him to enter a flow state because the movements have been encoded in a state of composure and focus rather than stress.

You should utilize this technique yourself in martial arts and in everything else that you do. I use it while working out. For example, I will breathe in fully and then breathe out slowly while performing squats or pushups. When I go upstairs, I take a deep breath between floors, and then breathe out slowly and calmly while actually climbing each flight. When we exert ourselves in ways we are not used to, we tend to breathe shallowly adopting the distressed breathing pattern. This wears us down and makes workouts draining, hard to recover from, and injury promoting. Deep breathing, on the other hand, convinces your brain that the muscles and motor patterns are safe to use and should not hold trauma or excessive tension.

Could a real person have followed Mr. Miyagi’s lessons and actually become appreciably better at martial arts? Yes, I think so although they might need more instruction than we saw Mr. Miyagi give Daniel in the movie. Without an understanding and appreciation for how the method works, Daniel may not have emphasized the diaphragmatic breathing enough. He may have focused more on all the cars he had left to wash and not on breathing full, deep breaths. Also, it would have helped if he could have been thinking about how the motions would transfer into self-defensive actions but Mr. Miyagi didn’t explain this to him. However, this would have interfered with the pacing of the movie, its reveals, and its storyline.

 

All in all, the movie encapsulates a fantastic message that may have influenced many people, including me, more than they realized. I think it sent me an early message about the importance of exercise, repetition, and breath.

 

How can you put all this into practice? Let’s formalize a diaphragmatic generalization protocol:

Diaphragmatic Generalization Protocol:

 

1.      Choose an action. It could be repetitive, weight bearing, postural, cardiovascular or other (e.g. painting, lifting, typing…).

2.  Create a calm environment. Adopt a posture that promotes ease of movement and good alignment. Ensure the diaphragm has space to move by avoiding slouching. Set your intentions and goals for the session (e.g. skill improvement, relaxation, stamina-building).

3.      Break the repetitive task into two distinct phases (e.g., "up and down" for painting). Assign a 2 to 5 second inhalation to the preparatory phase (e.g., lifting the brush) and assign a 3 to 10 second exhalation to the exertion phase (e.g., applying paint).

4.      While performing the activity, breathe deeply, smoothly, and on long intervals (around 5 second inhalations and 7 second exhalations).

 

You can use the free Program Peace breathing app to help you visualize and time your breaths. It is available on both Android and Apple devices.