Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
A little play on another tech oriented term, IoT or Internet of Things. What I do is research by traveling around the Internet as well as viewing video’s, reading articles, reading books, listening to talks/seminars and other such things to see and then analyze things about karate and martial arts with an agenda, yes I do have a bias and agenda in this effort, to analyze everything so I can determine for me what is true, what is relevant, what is most efficient and most of all ACCURACY as best as humans can achieve.
It can be historical or modern, sport or self-defense or any other form including the more philosophical ways of training, practice and applications. My purpose it to gain knowledge and understanding so when I write, teach or demonstrate I can feel relatively comfortable what I pass along is either spot on, accurate or close to accurate as humanly possible.
In a recent overview of a posting out there on Facebook, a page dedicated to karate, one member asked the age old question you can read in the following and just one individuals answer to that question. If I were the person asking because I wanted to learn and currently had no understanding of the term, its concepts and practices the answer, given after the question below, would have left a lot more questions in my mind than it provides answers.
One of the reasons why such terms are so difficult is because they don’t provide answers to such questions so they remain mysterious and often are topics of heated discussions, no one can say adamantly, truthfully and with verifiable facts and research what the answer is and that may be because it defies explanation. At least defying explanation and only learned out on the dojo floor is one of those canned answers some sensei provide because, … wait for it …, they don’t really know. Here is the question and answer given followed by a list of questions I would have followed up with if my sensei gave me the answer below.
Q: What is Chinkuchi?
A: “It is the proper application of muscle tension, posture, timing, and intent to maximize the efficiency of a technique in the martial arts. It works both offensively and defensively. Very few people practice long enough to develop this to a level where it applies to self-defense. Doing it right is extremely subtle and complex.” - Ken Marrow
I have some questions that would need more information to make sure this statement is well understood:
- Who decides what is proper or not as to the application of:
- Muscle tension?
- Posture?
- Timing?
- and Intent?
- What criteria does one use to know that one is maximizing efficiency in a technique?
- What and who decides what criteria makes the technique efficient and under what circumstances, i.e., in a social fight; in asocial self-fense; in a sport competition?
- How does one connect and relate self defense both offense and defense from the practice of chinkuchi?
- How can it work both offensively and defensively in sport, combat, social fights or asocial self-fense?
- At what level, explain the various levels of chinkuchi, does it suddenly become applicable to self-defense and what type of self-defense?
- Explain what it is about chinkuchi regarding its traits of subtly and complexity?
- What criteria is used and who validates its validity so one is “Doing it right?”
Now, I have done as much research and analysis as I can possible do on this subject, chinkuchi, and discovered in the process what I believe the term and meaning, mean. It is along explanation and when you add it to your practice and spend some considerable time contemplating it, my definition and add in all the other definitions given from a myriad of sources all experts you begin to see the connections and patterns that support my definition or at a minimum a synthesized answer that meets and exceeds your understanding.
Read also:
Chinkuchi - The Definitive Answer (especially this one, it is my “final answer ;-)”
p.s. consider this, I have, all answers are right, it is a matter of collectively studying all of them to come up with a personal consensus that makes the term work for you in your practice, training and applications regardless of which application you live.
Bibliography (Click the link)
“In order for any life to matter, we all have to matter.” - Marcus Luttrell, Navy Seal (ret)
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