Interestingly enough, when I first heard this from Advincula Sensei in 2003, I told my wife about it. Being Japanese, a martial artist herself and having only a passing knowledge of Nike advertising I thought she may have an opinion.
She said, while ‘no mind’ could be a decent translation of mushin, ‘just do it’ was possibly the best english definition she had ever heard for the cocept.
I also seem to remember reading an article in the early ’80′s by Demura Fumio which basically said the same thing.
I believe the first Nike ad featuring the ‘just do it’ tag was in the late 80′s, maybe 1988?
I had to smile when I read this article…another pathway to the top of the same mountain….great post!
“Just do it!” was one of the things Eiichi Miyazato sensei most often said to those visitors who insisted on asking him question after question – the Okinawan students knew better than to ask.
At first, I thought him unhelpful for taking this approach, but later I came to appriciate his reasoning. Had he said “Just try it!”, he may not have been thought so gruff by those who took his advice to be a sign of indifference.
When I’m helping people with their karate, I provide a few examples of the the technique/idea/statagy they are working on, then I use the term: “Have a play!” At the end of the day, if they can’t develop a good feeling for their karate through practice and perseverence, there’s little else I can do to help.
Many years ago I interiewed Tatsuo Suzuki sensei from Wado-ryu. He told me that his teacher, the styles founder, Hironori Ohtsuka, would encourge students to build “muscle memory” rather than just trying to “remember’ everything. The first, he felt, being more reliable than the second.
It’s interesting….how the learning of karate seems to have drifted away from this kind of thinking; these days being largely based on mimicry rather than self-discovery.
Unfortunately students are only partly to blame as their teachers don’t know or don’t want to give their students time or a platform for exploring technique and building this sort of body/muscle memory.
Ehmm…what kind of a teacher wouldn’t want his/her students to get better then they are? I suppose if you’re locked in to a training/grading schedule…then there is no time to absorb things…only remember stuff.
Firstly, the article link is wrong. I was hoping to read the article.
Anyway, it is just great to read everyone’s thoughts leading up the same mountain as said by Mike. I am thinking that Just Do It, Mayazato sensei’s thoughts, Karada de wakaru, Mike’s Have A Play and Ohtsuka Sensei’s muscle memory idea do not really mean Mushin, but there are all mere prerequisites to achieving it. They all mean to understand and work hard on it, not memorise, mimick or collect just to place on in a show case. With respect to all…
Excellent. When asked Advincula Sensei defines mushin as ‘just do it’
Thanks for this
He must have gotten that Epiphany while watching a Nike commercial. I prefer No Mind…
.
Perhaps it was Nike…
Interestingly enough, when I first heard this from Advincula Sensei in 2003, I told my wife about it. Being Japanese, a martial artist herself and having only a passing knowledge of Nike advertising I thought she may have an opinion.
She said, while ‘no mind’ could be a decent translation of mushin, ‘just do it’ was possibly the best english definition she had ever heard for the cocept.
I also seem to remember reading an article in the early ’80′s by Demura Fumio which basically said the same thing.
I believe the first Nike ad featuring the ‘just do it’ tag was in the late 80′s, maybe 1988?
I had to smile when I read this article…another pathway to the top of the same mountain….great post!
“Just do it!” was one of the things Eiichi Miyazato sensei most often said to those visitors who insisted on asking him question after question – the Okinawan students knew better than to ask.
At first, I thought him unhelpful for taking this approach, but later I came to appriciate his reasoning. Had he said “Just try it!”, he may not have been thought so gruff by those who took his advice to be a sign of indifference.
When I’m helping people with their karate, I provide a few examples of the the technique/idea/statagy they are working on, then I use the term: “Have a play!” At the end of the day, if they can’t develop a good feeling for their karate through practice and perseverence, there’s little else I can do to help.
I think all the “old school” teachers lived by that motto, “Just do it!” A favorite I remember Kanzaki sensei saying was “体で分かる-Karada de wakaru”
My Japanese is no better than my French….so if you wouldn’t mind Mario…….
Mike
Literally, “understand by [your] body”. So don’t think about it, just do it!
Thanks for that Mario.
Many years ago I interiewed Tatsuo Suzuki sensei from Wado-ryu. He told me that his teacher, the styles founder, Hironori Ohtsuka, would encourge students to build “muscle memory” rather than just trying to “remember’ everything. The first, he felt, being more reliable than the second.
It’s interesting….how the learning of karate seems to have drifted away from this kind of thinking; these days being largely based on mimicry rather than self-discovery.
Mike
Unfortunately students are only partly to blame as their teachers don’t know or don’t want to give their students time or a platform for exploring technique and building this sort of body/muscle memory.
Ehmm…what kind of a teacher wouldn’t want his/her students to get better then they are? I suppose if you’re locked in to a training/grading schedule…then there is no time to absorb things…only remember stuff.
Firstly, the article link is wrong. I was hoping to read the article.
Anyway, it is just great to read everyone’s thoughts leading up the same mountain as said by Mike. I am thinking that Just Do It, Mayazato sensei’s thoughts, Karada de wakaru, Mike’s Have A Play and Ohtsuka Sensei’s muscle memory idea do not really mean Mushin, but there are all mere prerequisites to achieving it. They all mean to understand and work hard on it, not memorise, mimick or collect just to place on in a show case. With respect to all…
Strange, the article link appears to be working fine…
Here is the full link again:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/13185266.stm
Sorry to be a pest, but the link leads to an article called Psychology of Choking…
That’s the correct article link.