Meditation

Whether we're sparring or in the midst of a dangerous altercation, our training is designed to facilitate our ability to respond immediately and effectively to any kind of attack. As if a blueprint were being enacted, spontaneity should flow from us unimpeded with effortless ease. The problem arises when we try to anticipate what our adversary might do. The solution in part is to arrive at a placid state of ambivalence. Given the unpredictable nature of a fight, achieving this frame of mind can indeed be difficult. How do we prepare for this?

Meditation is commonly defined as the practice of stilling the mind. To be precise, the means and end of meditation is to become fully aware of ourselves, especially our thoughts. Ordinary cognitive thinking does interfere with our ability to become one with a task. The last thing we want to do is to start mulling over the "what ifs" during a moment of crisis.

One of the roles of forms (kata) practice is to provide us with a moving meditation of sorts. Anyone who has had to test for kata in front of a high ranking board or go out to compete at a large tournament can appreciate how daunting it can be to "become" the form sans the interference of self-consciousness. This is referred to as mushin no shin - the mind of no-mind - a realm where the practitioner merges with her/his art. Although kata can never approximate the chaotic uncertainty of a real fight, it does provide us with the tools to attain not only a level of technical proficiency, but also a negation of the self.

The most common method of meditation in the martial arts is called mokuso where the practitioner sits, usually at the end of a training session, to develop presence of mind. In certain schools of Chinese boxing such as yiquan and tai chi, standing meditation is practiced. Though simple sounding enough, the standing practice is reputed to be quite arduous, particularly for novices.

In many schools, formal meditation is rarely seen at all. Most instructors regard its practice as either unnecessary or obsolete. I've been meditating for almost as long as I've been practicing karate, and I find it to be a valuable resource for both training and daily living. In his Classical Budo, Draeger writes, "Meditation gives a chance for the vital 'loosening' of one's inner powers. It is a practice that builds hara, that patient, calm, and undisturbed coolness of mind essential to classical disciplines."