Bamboo

In many martial arts, and particularly those from East Asia, meditation is an essential aspect of training. Performing meditative exercises allows the practitioner to refresh the mind and transform their mind and attitude into a more suitable one for the martial art in question. As a result, the true purpose of practicing such martial arts is not only to defend the body from an attack. It is also to perceive the world around us in a different light.

Aikido and Meditation

Aikido is a martial art that requires the practitioner to perform meditative exercises. Like its founder, Morihei Ueshiba, the practitioner should make meditation the base of all training. Doing so will remove all negative feelings from the practitioner and allow them to become content. Contentment can only be achieved by appreciating the world around us.

It is believed that Morihei Ueshiba meditated three times a day: in the morning, evening, and just before training. The length of each could last several hours, however a shorter version was practiced just before training.

Chinkon-Kishin

This specific type of meditation was called “chinkon-kishin”, which means “settling the mind and returning to the gods”. It is a primarily a practice based on Shintoism (the ancient folk religion of the Japanese), and targets the mind and soul for purification. It is believed that the only way to truly understand Aikido is by making meditation the core of one’s training.

There are several types of breathing exercises and meditation in Aikido. The principles and movements in combat are derived from those made with samurai swords. Meditation principles are also focused through this and centring the body while reaching out to the universe with ones arms and will.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 11th, 2007 at 2:47 am and is filed under Japanese Martial Arts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.