Mental development in Karate

 

The primary aim of practising meditation in karate is not to turn the fighting art or the

sport into a religion. It serves a practical purpose.

Rigid patterns of thought and confused emotions always tend to obstruct the understanding

and anticipation of an opponent. They close the mind, and meditation or ‘mokuso’ is the means

by which you are able to clear it before training. Here is how to practice.

You begin by sitting on your heels, Japanese style. Your back is straight, chest out,

shoulders down, and your nose must be vertically in line with you navel. Look straight ahead for

a few minutes, then half close your eyes and fix them on a point two yards ahead of you on the

floor. After a few more minutes completely close your eyes but continue to see the point on the

floor in your imagination.

While you are a beginner, in order to forget whatever you may have on your mind, it may

be helpful to concentrate on your breathing.

Imagine that you send the breath to the top of your head, down through the spine to the

coccyx, the anus and the testicles, then concentrate it in the abdomen for a few moments. Return

it through the chest to the mouth, breathe out and repeat.

Either routine should ideally be repeated at least once every day for five or ten minutes,

and also before and after training. We have already mentioned its use before training. The

purpose of ‘mokuso’ after training is to quieten the mental and physical excitement which a hard

session necessarily entails. At this time it is practised by all the students, sitting in line, facing

their instructor.

 

It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of ‘mokuso’. You may not appreciate

it at first but you will soon feel the benefits if you practise it every day. It is the moments of

complete blankness, of being empty of all thoughts, that enable you to cultivate the sixth sense

that men have to such a large extent forfeited in return for intellectual development. It was

precisely this sixth sense that enabled the mediaeval ‘samurai’ to fight in pitch darkness or

anticipate the most cleverly concealed ambush.

Ultimately, karate should consist in the

you’re challenged to fight, you will be prepared to avoid any attack and at the same time you will

observe your opponent’s weakness. You will take for granted a successful outcome for yourself

and will concentrate completely. Without thought you will be aware of every slightest change or

mental control of an opponent or opponents. If

movement in the environment. In such a state of mind you are ready to beat your opponent in

physical combat, and meditation is essential for the cultivation of such a state of mind.

But if, on the other hand, you can control an opponent by sheer mental force – by the

force of your personality – and make a peaceful settlement, this is the course you will choose.

This is a discipline common to all the martial arts. It is known as ‘kiai-jutsu’ and is the real end

of meditation in ‘budo’.