The Importance of Hara

The physical; the spiritual; and the martial of the hara. That span of musculature around the midsection of our body that is the center of our power. It is the bodies fulcrum or the center of both the vertical and horizontal axis. It is that space and center that provides a focal point for balance, physical, mental, and somewhat spiritual.

The muscles involved are the transversus abdominis muscle whei is flat and triangular. The fibers run horizontally. Then there are the rectus abdominis and pyramidalis muscles. All these provide us with movement and support of the trunk and assist in the breathing process. They protect the inner organs. When used with the back muscles they provide postural support and define the overall form, i.e. body structure, alignment, etc.

The transverse abdominus muscle is the deepest muscle, therefore, it cannot be touched from the outside. It can greatly affect the body posture. The internal obliques are also deep and also affect body posture. Both of them are involved in rotation and lateral flexion of the spine and are used to bend and support the spine from the front.

The external obliques are more superficial and they are also involved in rotation and lateral flexion of the spine. Also they stabilize the spine when upright.

In a nutshell these groups of muscle are the mainstay for the body, its balance, its structure, and its ability to rotate and bend at the waist. It is also the largest part of the body and because of its structure provides us, the martial artist, the greatest ability to achieve fundamental principle application for our system, i.e. in my case karate.

Is it any wonder why the Japanese refer to this as the hara and thus practice the art of haragei. The Sumo has great girth ... everything originates from the center or hara ... haragei ...