Gas extraction is an important topic because of poor permeability and high gas seam in coal mines. A new method for reducing stress and improving permeability of coal seam was proposed to reduce the cost of gas extraction and danger of coal and gas outbursts. In this method, the roadway in coal floor was replaced with directional main borehole, directional branch boreholes were used to replace crossing holes, and soft coal was mined along soft sub layers using a directional drilling machine and a directional hydraulic jet. The numerical simulation showed that the porosity and permeability of coal seam significantly improve after soft sub layers being removed by the directional hydraulic jet. The application of the proposed method and its supporting equipment was carried out under the special gas conditions of Hudi Coal Mine. Results show that the soft coal is mined efficiently along the soft sub layer using the main borehole, branch boreholes, and directional hydraulic jet. Compared the hydraulic punching in the borehole with the ordinary drilling machine, the average speed of mining soft sub layers increased from 0.5 t/h to 3.6 t/h, the equivalent diameter of mining soft sub layers increased from 1.2 m to 7.6m, and the average flow of gas extraction increased from 0.41 m3/d to 6.25 m3/d. The conclusions obtained in this study can provide a reference to the similar coal mining methods.