Mushin:
The Japanese concept of mushin 無心,
meaning “no mind,” is an important practice for martial artists. It is
essentially the skill of clearing your headspace so you're better able to focus
on the task at hand.
In Mushin, your own mind is out of your way and you are efficient and effective.
Shuhari:
The process of mastery.
Shuhari 守破離, meaning “Follow, Digress,
Transcend “ is the stages that we must go through in order to master any skill
or technique.
Shu - Follow the way - Learn Budo.
Ha - Digress from the way - Unlearn Budo.
Ri - Transcend the way - No Budo.
Most people only follow in their martial arts, but mastery
cannot be achieved by following alone. “Follow not in the footsteps of the
master, but rather seek what they sought.” – Basho.
The greatest masters in history didn't just “do as Sensei
said,” they also questioned it, innovated and adopted different ideas and
concepts. They found their own way.
The ultimate aim of learning a skill should be to make use
of that skill without thought or effort.
Wu-wei:
The ancient Chinese concept of wu-wei 無為,
meaning “non-action” or “no action,” is a key component of Daoism.
It's often
misunderstood as “doing nothing,” and used as an excuse to be lazy and
ineffective in the world. In truth wu-wei is about working with the flow of
nature.
It's the concept of not trying to force events or the world around you
to be a certain way, and let it be what it's going to be. When a person is following wu-wei, they're acting and reacting spontaneously and effectively without effort or
clever strategies to affect the outcome.
It's called “no action” not because
you don't take actions, but because all actions taken are with the flow of
events, rather than against them or in spite of them. It's the metaphor of
swimming along with the current, not against it but also not floating along
blindly.
Mubudo:
The “Mu” from ‘Mushin’ and the “Wu” from ‘Wu-wei’ are the
same character 無. The former being the Japanese pronunciation and the
latter being the Chinese. Both have the same meaning “no...” or “non...”
Budo 武道 , as you probably know, means “the martial way.” It is
the Japanese term for martial arts.
Applying the concept of wu-wei to budo, we get "non-martial way" or "no budo." The Japanese for this would be "Mubudo" 無武道.
Mubudo should be the ultimate goal of any Budoka. A practitioner who has mastered their art, that has reached
the ‘Ri’ level of Shuhari, is a practitioner of Mubudo.
Having done many years of constant training, the techniques
become second nature, extraneous effort is no longer required. When applying the
skills (either in training or in self-defence) the budoka can go “in the zone” and
the techniques almost happen on their own.
Mubudo is a difficult thing to achieve.
In truth, most martial artists don't achieve it.
You can't find it by following the instruction
of others, but neither can you find it without guidance.
It won't happen automatically through
mere thoughtless repetition, but the more you analyse it, the further from it
you will be.
It's the most difficult thing to make
happen, yet we do it every day without realising. For example, most of us can
walk without thought or effort. The second you think about how to walk, the
task becomes less efficient and more difficult.
You can't ‘try’ to do something
spontaneously.
How do you put effort into something that
requires effortlessness?