Most Challenging?

[Holly ODonnell]

Just wondering what specific part of karate do/did you find the hardest? Was it a certain part of kata? What is a certain kick? Maybe speed or mental adaption.

 

Discuss.

[Holly ODonnell]

I agree. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember someone telling me that If It's a blackbelt you're bowing to, It's more than 45 degrees?

[Mike Oliver]

My understanding from Master Joslin is that we bow at 45 degrees to people at our own rank or higher. 30 degrees for those of lesser rank.

My own conjecture is that this is related to the Japanese concept of sempai and kohai. A sempai is someone above you (an elder, teacher, more experienced person) whereas a kohai is someone that is below you or an equal. I understand that these traditions (when to bow, to whom, and how low) are becoming lost in current Japanese culture as it is not taught to most children anymore.

When in doubt, bow at 45 degrees. ;)

[Mike Oliver]

I was going to say the same thing. Not only do people get lazy with the physical portion of the bow, but also with the mental aspect of the bow. I see the bow as a recognition of another person's human spirit. Deepak Chapra says it well when he interprets namaste and the associated bow as "I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me."

We bow a lot in class, and so it is easy to forget that there is much more to it than just the physical side. I think a good time to remind yourself of the bow is when you first bow on to the dojo floor. Remind yourself that you are entering a dojo, a place of training. Not only is this good practice for every other bow we make, but it also helps me to get my head in the correct place--I can leave everything else at the door and focus on karate.

It's interesting to note that the word rei, which we often interpret as "bow" is actually one of the codes of Bushido. it means courtesy, respect, or morality. So it isn't just a physical action. Rei is a virtue.

[Lisa Clark]

@ Sensei Debord and Mr. Oliver,

Questions: Is it disrespectful to nod the head?

The question arises from class time spent doing kata. When you, Mr. Oliver, show me something new, it is still processing when you turn to go away. I find myself unconsciously nodding in acknowledgement, only to say the more genuine "Thank you" with a bow to the air where you were. My gratitude is not less but the outward show of it is either delayed or lost. So, is it disrespectful to nod my head in that situation?

[Mike Oliver]

Some instructors expect you to say "thank you sir" or "yes sir" and bow every time you get a correction.

The verbal feedback is nice because then, as an instructor, I know you "got it," but when it comes to the physical bow I'd rather your mind and body stays "in karate." You don't have to break your form, stop, and bow. Focus on fixing your karate.

[Lisa Clark]

Mushin seems to be the hardest part of training so far.

My family always taught me to embrace emotions and use them as fuel when you need energy, stamina, more resolve, etc. They did not teach how to use those emotions while separating their effects.

Example: My aunt's grief. When she was in the anger phase of grief, she used her anger to vaccuum. The forward thrust across the floor was short, fast, and quick to return. When she was in a sad phase, the same forward thrust of the same vaccuum was slow and a couple trudging steps longer. The return was even slower than the forward motion. The vaccuumed floor, as a result of the motivating emotions, was barely cleaner than before it was vaccuumed when she was angry, and clean of every possible ounce of dust when she was sad.

So while sadness may help vaccuum a floor, is emotion useful to a martial artist in action? How does a martial artist acknowledge the emotion without allowing it to influence the activity at hand?

[Lisa Clark]

Would you mind answering for yourself Sir?

I have been contemplating the subject for a few months now, before knowing the word mushin. Now with the name, it has been an even more present thought than before. Thanks for the Bruce Lee tip. I'll look into it.

[Lisa Clark]

Yes. Thank you.

[Jonathan Schultz]

I have been thinking about mushin quite a bit lately myself. I am also a student of Zen Buddhism, and I have been considering a famous koan recently. I don't understand Japanese at all, so it is only because of the first syllable in 'mushin' that I connect these things syntactically, but obviously they are correlated conceptually:

"The Case:

A monk asked Chao-chou, "Has the dog Buddha-nature or not?"
Chao-chou said, "Mu."

Wu-Men's Comment:

For the practice of Zen, it is imperative that you pass through the barrier set up by the ancestral teachers. For subtle realization, it is of the utmost importance that you cut off the mind road. If you do not cut off the mind road - then you are a ghost clinging to bushes.
What is the barrier of the ancestral teachers? It is just this one word, Mu, the one barrier of our faith. We call it the "Gateless Barrier of the Zen Sect." ..."

This famous koan instructs the novice to contemplate 'Mu'. This, to me is the the very same ideal as Mushin, albeit in a more abstract sense.

As I say, my connecting these two items may be coincidental...your mileage may vary.