Ken Zen Ichi Nyo

I decided to start another blog on one of my favourite topics; the martial arts. I have titled this blog "Ken Zen Ichi Nyo", after a famous Japanese training maxim, which is loosely translated as "The mind and fist are one." This, I believed would be an apt title since I do not intend to cover the technical aspects of the arts only, I will try to envelope the spiritual/mental portion of the arts as well. Most students and teachers nowadays, I feel, are caught up with winning trophies and advancing their ranks etc. that they tend to lose sight of the other half of what makes up their respective art. I frankly believe that the mental portion is as important if not more so than the physical aspect. We can all mimic the moves after a certain amount of repetition and habitude, it's the neglected portion of exercising the mind that is often left out simply because people have other goals in sight. Winning trophies etc., are fine but they should not be the end in of itself. The martial arts were set out to formulate a code of ethos which practitioners could apply to their day-to-day lives as well. Delve deeper into the history of most traditional arts and you will always come across a set of rules that will dictate how a martial artist is supposed to carry out his daily routines as set out by broad and general dictums. The "Dojo Kun", "Kuen Kuit" are such examples that are used still today in many training halls to fortify the mind and whilst retaining the "martial arts" aspect as well. That being said remember "Ken Zen Ichi Nyo".