This is a summary for a recent gakka from a Black Belt Group session led by Shodan kenshi Alex Nadolishny.
In our regular Shorinji Kempo practice, we don’t often have a chance to spend enough time on developing Kiai and learning to apply our energy. This manifests itself in weak, or disconnected from the movement kiai during Kihon and working in pairs, which leads to low energy and sets a bad example for lower-rank kenshi. Key reasons for this is a certain level of self-indulgence endemic in our culture and perceived lack of situations demanding strong ki in our everyday lives. From the self-defense perspective, this means that we may not be able to apply techniques we learn in class to real-life situations. Practicing martial arts without attention to the state of mind and energy (Ki) aspects turns it into mere gymnastics.
There are two aspects to consider here: learning to control your mind (meaning your intellect, analytical thinking) and developing and applying your Ki (energy). Western civilization overemphasizes the intellect and almost totally ignores the energy aspects of our actions. In our practice, working on one’s state of mind and Ki should start prior to coming into the dojo. One should come to class as if going into battle - which is calm, detached from your own petty emotional issues and in full awareness of “the big picture” of your life and the world. One of the biggest obstacles to achievement in any undertaking is concentrating on your own persona, including your image, the way others perceive you, your accomplishments or lack thereof, pains, aches, and worries.
Masters of martial arts stress the importance of achieving the state where YOU is not separate from OTHERS or the WORLD. A brilliant practical method developed by Shorinji Kempo is working in pairs and the attitude of “half for yourself, half for others”. By caring about the development of others’ skills, we remove ourselves from “the center of the universe”. Another great method is embu, where the flow and perfection of the composition goes beyond you and your partner and ideally you become one not only with your partner but also with gravity, air, and the floor you are moving on.
During Chinkon, we need to try to empty our minds, slowly dropping thoughts one by one as they appear in the mind. Practicing this two or three times a week in the dojo is not sufficient to achieve progress in reaching the thoughtless state. This needs to be done daily. This “mindless” state is the goal during the fight. In the absence of thoughts and plans they can not be read by opponents and things happen at the speed of your INTENTION.
Ki is energy coming from inside that can be used by one’s will. It is not the power of thought, or intellect or physical strength, all of which are simply tools of your will, tools powered by the Ki. The understanding (or the feel) of Ki comes from practicing its application. When practicing punches and kicks (with imaginary or real targets) we should learn to deliver energy by projecting our ki into the target. It is very hard to describe in words, but some metaphors may help:
- it is believing that your fist has already went through the target
- it is a momentary feeling of detachment form your body and observing someone (looking very familiar) delivering a perfect punch
- it is punching BEFORE you have a chance to think about the punch; your INTENTION has to become your action without going through the delay and energy - a draining process of mental analysis
- it is planning the attack, then forgetting about the plan completely and spontaneously attacking
- it is a feeling that your punch is FOLLOWING your Kiai into he target
The moment you THINK about the attack, it becomes possible for an opponent to see it, and the attack is doomed to fail. In a way, you have to surprise yourself in order to surprise your opponent.
A few exercises for practicing mind control and the application of Ki:
1. Start by punching the mitt while visualizing a target to be behind it. Don’t get into a rhythm, deliver punches at random intervals instead. Keep doing it long enough to stop concentrating on it. Then stop CARING about YOU doing it, by gradually detaching yourself from the action and observing as if you are someone else helping another kenshi to develop his/her skill. Enjoy the fact that he/she surprises you by a fast, accurate, and powerful strike when you didn’t expect it.
2. Put the tips of your fingers of your open palm against your opponent’s do. Then suddenly punch the do without winding your arm back. No momentum is available for you this way to enhance your punch – it is all in the movement of your hips and your Ki. Keep doing it at random intervals until you realize that your punch comes at the very moment you decided to punch and before you had a chance to think about this particular punch. Your intellect participated in the decision to punch, but your intellect has no idea as to when exactly this will happen – that is up to your deeper inner YOU, the one that can’t analyze but can act. That YOU is the one who has the energy. Things happen when the inner you INTENDS for things to happen.
3. The match exercise (can only be shown in person) teaches relaxation and exercises direct use of intention and kiai without analysis and planning. Very easy once mastered, but you don’t get a feeling that you’ve mastered it, it just starts to work at some point, just like Shorinji Kempo techniques.
One more important point: Kiai has to be applied not only in the attack, but also in defense (though often it is the silent Kiai). In Juho, while being thrown by a fast application of maki-gote, gyaku-gote and many upper-level techniques, proper application of Ki is essential for avoiding injuries and avoiding disorientation after the fall. This can be exercised by simulating the falls from the application of such techniques on your own, without an opponent, in order to first teach your body in a controlled setting. When moving on to working with a partner at full speed, practice the detachment discussed earlier and view both of you as one entity, with you hitting the floor as an integral part of the composition (not unlike your fist hitting the do). Your pain is a minor, inconsequential part of the overall movement.