Mind Valid "suggestions" for the martial artist can be found almost everywhere.
In particular the essays presented Japanese food for thought very varied and interesting.
A valuable source of concepts of Zen Buddhism that can be applied verbatim to the arts martial for me recently been the Fushikaden - Treaty on the Noh theater written by the actor and writer Motokiyo Zeami (c. 1363 - c. 1443), established by authoritative sources as "the most significant figure in the history of No ".
Representation " Okina hono " piece that combines a Shinto ritual dances.
The Noh drama is a form of Japanese music popular since the fourteenth century, with roots that sink in as much theater folk, popular, and entertainment (such as Dengaku and sarugaku ) and in those religious (Shinto) and ancestors (such as those from China and India).
speficiche Without going further into this fascinating theatrical form, I was struck by a concept that the author sets out immediately, when it addresses the theme of music in Noh performances: the principle of Jo ( 序 ) - He ( 破 ) - Kyu ( 急 ), later adopted by Japan's many art forms (poetry, music, tea ceremony, martial arts).
Analyzing the three characters, we can draw an explanation as to the meaning of three sentences that distinguish this "rhythm".
Jo (序) - a beginning or introduction, necessarily slow, simple and direct. He
(破) - represents the development of the previous phase, more complex
Kyu (急) - the pace accelerates, until the climax.
What may be of interest to the martial artist is how this rate may be applied in a conflict: an initial study phase of cautious opponents, a development skirmish for further analysis (inward and upward ' external), and a conclusion.
scattered considerations:
- "Thinking with serenità a questo concetto, potrai vedere come ogni fenomeno nelle sue innumerevoli forme - buono o cattivo, grande e piccolo, cosciente e incosciente - sia pervaso dal Jo-Ha-Kyu . Dal cinguettare degli uccelli al frinire degli insetti, ognuno segue questo principio... Questo [ritmo] anima anche la voce del vento e il suono dell'acqua... "* [Zeami, 'Shougyoku tokka' ]
- " La struttura del Nō è concepita musicalmente: possiede un jo , un ha e un kyu , come la musica tradizionale giapponese; il ritmo delle opere Nō ricorda la grande legge occulta dell'universo; si tratta infatti del ritmo universale della vita itself. [Makoto Ueda, 'Literary and Art Theories in Japan' ]
- Zeami himself implies that the jo-ha-kyu is a cosmic concept, applied to the entire movement or even to all forms of change: where there is dynamism, the pace will be that of jo-ha-kyu .
- The players shakuachi (traditional Japanese flute) the approach to the concept of naru - that of "becoming" - which in turn can be applied as a universal constant: an imperceptible change, a hidden dynamics that manifests itself only during its climax during the end of each "cycle" of jo-ha-kyu .
* taken from the translation by William Scott Wilson for the book "
Fushikaden - The Flowering Spirit " published by Kodansha International.
