Musashi wrote a poem titled Senki (War Spirit) that explains the water element: "The moon, in a cold stream like a mirror." The mind is calm and unaffected like the cold stream that keeps moving while reflecting the emotions (the moon) of the opponent. This empathy is an attachment and harmonization to another person's feeling or intention. It's not only the physical heart that circulates blood in our bodies but also the energy that allows us to feel and have empathy. The name of my father's karate is enshin, which refers to the heart of the circle. Many courses on conflict resolution involve being the person we have a problem with, all in an effort to make us realize the trigger is a barrier we set up to isolate and protect ourselves. Kyushu, on a more social level, refers to putting ourselves in another person's shoes. Kyushu and the water element in general represent a movement that's in opposition to the fire element. Kyushu means "to absorb and cushion an incoming attack." It's the tool that bridges awareness and lets us feel what's actually happening, which is superior to being forced to simply react. In sabaki, we use the concept of kyushu to connect with the force of our opponent. As my father always says, "Put your mind into what you're doing." When we put our mind into our opponent, we can feel his rhythms and interrupt them. Water relates to feeling, fluidity, timing and rhythm. Simulate defending against multiple attackers. Take a course in public speaking to learn how the mind is used to project what you feel.
#SABAKI MEANING HOW TO#
How to enhance the air element: Eat foods that are less dense. Ideally, we won't get hit, but if we do and our mental space collapses, we become more vulnerable. On the flip side, if we have too much of the air element, we're more susceptible to getting swept.Īnother important role of air is its influence on our mental space.
That can make us more susceptible to sustaining continuous damage. This is because the element that's in opposition to air is earth. If we cannot follow directions pertaining to strategy, usually we are very earthy. In sabaki, we want to be in an ideal position in which we know everything about our opponent and his movement potential is limited.Īir is also responsible for our ability to develop and use strategy in combat. My father likes to say, "Your hands are like antennae." Our mental space must be bigger than our opponent's, and our hands should project that power with sensitivity. In the martial arts, we don't just get hit out of nowhere something happens, and we pick up on it. It requires us to discern that something is wrong and then devise a strategy to change or repair the tire before it bursts on the highway. Take, for example, a tire that's slowly leaking. To effect change, it's essential to be aware of that thing. When we work with energy, a fundamental idea is that we can consciously give direction only to something we're aware of. The name means "heart of the circle." Enshin signifies not only the spiraling nature of sabaki techniques but also the authentic connection between ourselves and others, as well as the community at large.
#SABAKI MEANING FULL#
In 1988 he created his own style of full contact called enshin karate. He didn't rely on brute strength he relied on sabaki. Why? Because when he fought, he used angles, leverage, positioning, timing and sensitivity to overcome bigger opponents. In Japan, my father is known as the prince of karate and a modern-day Miyamoto Musashi. In the 1970s, my father Joko Ninomiya had a huge impact on the world of full contact - specifically, on kyokushin, the style of karate developed by Mas Oyama. This fact makes the mindset and spirit of the martial arts even more important because they are what help us combat stress, handle people with opposing views and endure conditions that otherwise might threaten our well-being. The timeless beauty of this text lies in the way it can help us understand those elements in a way that improves our skill in combat, as well as our ability to comprehend human nature.įor most of us nowadays, the martial arts are not needed for survival on a daily basis. It delineates the elements of air, water, fire, earth and the void. Toward the end of his life, he wrote The Book of Five Rings, a classic on strategy and philosophy. In feudal Japan, he was regarded as a kensei, or sword saint. Musashi was a samurai who lived during the 17th century.
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