Mokuso

The spring camp was held at the sports hall of one local junior high school we use regularly (two times a week) for practice place. The hall is nice with decent amount of natural light and wooden structures all around.

Here all the members participating to the days practice are gathered to one line and having short meditative session to clear their minds and prepare to the actual practice. The moment is called mokuso.

Mokuso is part of the training of the mind called "Mushin", which comes from Zen Buddhism. One must attempt to return to the mental state of a new-born-child that is without a sense of fear, not conscious of distress, pain, cold etc. A baby cannot anticipate these things and therefore has no fear and does not hesitate before moving. An adult knows fear and is afraid. When attacked they feel tense and are often useless against the assailant because movement is restricted.

If one sees a beautiful flower, normally the mind concentrates on it, but with an empty mind (Mokuso) the mind is aware of everything else as well as the flower. So when one fights an enemy, attacking and defending, if only concentrating on blocking techniques, the mind is restricted to that movement, but if the mind is empty the body is able to do the next movement automatically and movements will always be natural. If the body is tense it is wasting energy and restricting speed, it is essential to move without being conscious of it. That feeling is called Mushin.


Sometimes useful outside dojo also :)