Knights Templar Breathwork & Swordsmanship

For animal lovers: well, I’ll get to that bit, but I’ve been reading about the Knights Templar in a book by Sarah Breskman Cosme, ‘A Hypnotist’s Journey to Avalon.’ The Knights Templar were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades, and in particular I’ve been looking into their swordsmanship, and it would seem their most critical lesson was about mastering themselves.

They were drilled by Merlin himself in the value of self-discipline and controlling their emotions and instincts, with the understanding that their true strength lay in maintaining their composure under pressure. A warrior who can remain calm and focused during chaotic situations, and who can also keep his heart steady is virtually unstoppable, even in the havoc and chaos of battle. They were taught to draw courage from this kind of emotional resilience. It’s not just about swordsmanship - it’s about becoming something more, someone unshakable, no matter who or what they are facing.

So, forget about martial arts masters of modern day, the Knights Templars training began with breath control. The Templars – or to be more accurate, Merlin - believed that your breath is like a link between your body and your emotions, and in the chaos of battle, it’s your greatest tool.

When there’s a sudden increase of adrenaline, your breath naturally quickens, becoming shallow and erratic. If you allow that to happen, your instincts spiral downwards, and you’re dragged down into a reactive state with fear, panic or rage taking over. But if you can master your breath, you can master yourself. Relaxing your breathing, keeping it calm and steady, anchors your mind. It enables you to remain unflappable, even as chaos rages around you.

Each inhale and exhale lets your body know that it’s in control, and with that control comes clarity. Your actions are no longer driven by reaction but by intention and intuition. More than that, focused breathwork fortifies the protective energy around you. Or, to put it another way, your aura is cleansed and divinely protected. As you breathe steadily, you feel yourself surrounded by an almost imperceptible shield, a field of calm protection that nothing can penetrate. This isn’t just about defence; it’s about being dominant in your space, influencing the battle according to your own rules.

When you can preserve that state - calm breath, even temper, and a staunch and steadfast sense of safety - like standing in a pocket of calm. Everything may rage around you, but you remain unscathed. You’re able to almost put the brakes on real life until it moves at practically funeral pace. You’re grounding yourself and just embracing the now. People think of a superpower as an acceleration when everyone else moves slow. But that’s nowhere near as useful as going slow when everyone else is moving fast. That’s the inner fortitude of a warrior.

One of the most invaluable lessons the Knights Templar were schooled in was how to read their enemies. To notice everything – subliminal messages, shifts in energy, changes in tone or body language - so that negative energy couldn’t be concealed from them. They had the ability to perceive these vibes simply by being aware of their surroundings. They could see past actions and reveal weaknesses.

This had absolutely nothing to do with brute force or savage strength; it was about precision, timing, and mastery. The key to success often hinged on being just a heartbeat ahead of their adversary, and they trained relentlessly to seize the initiative and gain that edge. They learned to observe with intention, watching for the most miniscule tells – a quiver of the hand, a shift, or maybe just a drift, in weight, a flicker of uncertainty in the eyes.

But to truly master this, they had to remain calm. And that’s where the breathwork came in. By controlling the breath, they could hush the chaos within and retain an unshakable tranquil state of mind. When the mind is calm, awareness is enhanced, and the body reacts faster. With slow, steady breaths, the Knights Templar trained themselves to see more, to feel more, and to anticipate the enemy’s next move. Breath wasn’t just for protection - it was the portal to heightened awareness. It sanctioned them to step into that split second before the assault came, to predict, to move, and to act with precision. In battle, that fraction of a second in the blink of an eye could mean the difference between life and death. And through study and breath, the Knights Templar learned how to claim it. It was about mastering themselves in the face of chaos.

I mentioned animal lovers above, and this is interesting. You see back in the Middle Ages dogs were larger. They kept massive mastiffs and wolfhounds which were half wild and merciless in war, being used in warfare to attack enemy soldiers on the battlefield and cause panic. Plus, there were free-living wild dogs that scavenged near human settlements, and natural crossbreeding with wild wolves regularly occurred, giving these animals raw impulses and wild instincts. So, one of Merlin’s more extreme methods of training involved placing a knight in position and bringing in these wild and aggressive dogs, whose energy was raw and confrontational.

The aim of this exercise was simple yet profound: to simulate ferocious, untamed emotional energy directed at the knight. Merlin would have him focus all his energy on his breath, drawing his awareness inward and discovering that motionless calmness and tranquillity within himself. And the dogs would sense this, perhaps in their aura, and they’d become calm in the knight’s presence.

It wasn’t about overpowering them; it was about aligning their energy to diffuse the energy of the wild dog.

Interestingly, if you ever look at pictures of Shiva, the principal Hindu deity, there’s always a snake, Vasuki, resting on his neck …. Not as a threat, but as a symbol. In Hindu mythology, this snake symbolizes spiritual mastery, control over the ego, and the awakening of primal inner energy. In other words, when you conquer your inner chaos, even the wildest forces become your allies.

The same could be said of Saint Francis of Assisi who tamed the wild man-eating wolf of Gubbio, making it his pet. And, the Buddhist Bodhisattvas and the raw, primal energy of a tiger. The untamed creature symbolises the transmutation of primal, raw energy and destructive anger into disciplined strength and courageous insight.