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Thread: Mushin

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
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    Default Mushin

    Greetings,

    I understand that Mushin is a term usually associated with Japanese sword arts but I was wondering how it applies to Okinawan arts or any combat art in general.

    I started thinking about it while watching a show called "Weird Connections" the episode titled "Monkey Genius" in which they explored the idea that all of our "higher abilities" (speech, logic, etc.) were actually interfering with our memory.

    In one experiment they zapped the volunteer with a strong magnetic pulse to the portion of the brain that controlles higher vision. At the same time they flashed an image on the screen with four faces in a pattern three neutral and one with an expression. The volunteers stated that they did not see any of the images as they were temporarily blinded by the magneric pulse, but they were able to answer all the questions about the patterns correctly.

    Could this be what the Japanese mean by "no mind", kind of an unscientific way of saying to act with your primative mind?

    My understanding is that early in its development karate techniques did not have names. They were just movements. Now all the techniques are named and catagorized. i.e. blocking, striking, side kick, low block.
    Does this play a roll in boxing us in, fixing our higher brain into thinking along certain lines and now the movements are fixed with predetermined meaning?

    What would happen if we taught kata in silence, mirroring your sensei and just focusing on following his movements. The kata would have names to distinguish them but the techniques would just be movements. Would this then disengage the higher brain allowing the techniques to become instinctive?

    A side note, at one dojo I visited the yudansha were very good but I noticed that some of could only perform kata if they started facing shomen, if they did not they became disoriented. These were highly intelegent individuals, i.e. a physics professor, could this be a result of their higher logical brain interfereing with something that they should be ingrained in them at this point?

    Thanks for reading my ramblings.
    I'm interested in reading your replies.
    Last edited by JS3; 23rd January 2010 at 23:12. Reason: grammer is not my strong point
    Joe Stitz

    "Black belt and white belt are the same, white belt is the beginning of technique. Black belt is the beginning of understanding. Both are beginner belts."
    - Doug Perry -Hanshi, KuDan -Shorin Ryu ShorinKan

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Default

    I am increasingly of the mind (pardon the pun) that mushin/no mind refers to automaticity.

    That is, proper movement/mechanics practiced to the point that they are automatic and require no conscious thought.

    In daily life, a good example would be driving a car. We perform all sorts of complex operations, and can often do so without really paying attention - at times not even remembering a route we drove. I do think this could be a negative issue with either improper biomechanics or when a counter-productive habit has been ingrained.

    Combatively speaking, when under extreme duress (life and death stress with a human adversary), there really is no "brain" (that is, attention) to spare to apply to basic mechanics. Empty handed wise, I should not be "caught up" thinking about how to perform a strike from a particular position, or how to escape a particular hold, as I simply won't have that time, and science is showing that I will not be able to effectively innovate a new "skill" when under extreme stress. (Though I argue that we can string together basics that are patterned into a new schematic adapted to the situation at hand.)

    Wielding a weapon, I can't be thinking about how to draw my sword, or how to bring a long weapon into play; Or, firearms wise, I can't be caught up thinking how to clear a malfunction, or have to remember to reload my weapon under life and death stress. The action has to be automatic, and has to occur from a base in patterned skills/mechanics.

    Maybe off base, but just my perspective. I think mushin, zanshin, etc. all refer to very different psycho-physiological phenomena that are all part and parcel of the stress response during lethal threat situations.

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