Shuhari

In the beginning of a martial artist’s path to mastery there is shu.  The student drills on basics in an exacting fashion, building a solid foundation for future learning.  During this first stage of mastery the student follows the teacher’s movements to the letter, striving to match the defined standard.  The desired goal of shu (守) is uniformity.  Shu is similar to kaisho, the first level of shodō, in the rigid emphasis on accuracy and detail. 

The relationship between a martial arts student and teacher in the student’s early stages can be likened to the relationship of a parent and child.  The student should be eager to learn and willing to accept correction and constructive criticism.  The teacher must nurture and encourage the student’s progress, much as a parent guides a child through its growing years.

The kanji for shu has the dual meaning of “to abide by” and “to protect.”  The student must abide by the instruction offered by the teacher, but the teacher has a duty to protect both the student’s learning process and the art itself, the legitimacy of the training being offered.

In karate and kobudō we use the Japanese word kata to refer to the defined series of blocks and counterattacks that make up an imaginary battle.  Kata actually has a narrower definition in the manual arts meaning the standard way of doing something.  That something could be how to prepare tea, how to draw a sword or how to fight an imaginary battle.  The traditional kanji for the word kata is 型, meaning mold or template. 

In the shu phase of mastery kata are executed as a specified series of moves, including stepping and turning, while attempting to maintain perfect form.  The goal of this rigid emphasis on accuracy and detail is to produce “perfect patterns of performance.”  There is no room for individuality. 

Kinjō Kaichō compares students in the shu phase of mastery to mass-produced dolls rolling off an assembly line. However, students are not pressed from molds or formed by templates.  Personality, body structure, age, and ability all vary widely from student to student.  Kinjō Kaichō prefers a different kanji for kata (形) meaning form or style.  He likens this to the creation of handmade dolls.  Each doll is different, with a distinct personality and flair of its own but remains obviously a doll.  This kanji for kata describes the goal of the second phase of martial arts mastery, ha.

The kanji for ha has the meaning of “to break.”  When this kanji is used in a verb, it takes on the added meaning of “to break through.”  It is this meaning that best applies to the second stage of martial arts mastery.  The student will break through the rigid fundamentals and begin to apply the principles that were acquired through diligent practice of the basics.

The second stage of martial arts mastery, ha, is to internalize and apply.  To internalize, the student must first train until his body remembers.  Only then can he or she actually apply the techniques.  To internalize, of course, means lots of repetition, but not just the repetition of the fundamentals learned in the shu phase of mastery.  The student must also apply the principles that he or she has been taught. 

Kinjō Kaichō encourages us to practice lots of bunkai.  Over the years he has demonstrated multiple bunkai for taisabaki waza, all of the karate kata and most kobudō kata.  Practicing these bunkai is a starting point.   Bunkai means analysis.  The student must reflect on the meaning and purpose of what he or she has learned in order to come to a deeper understanding of the art.  The student must discover what works best for his or her own body type.  Therefore, ha (破) becomes a journey of self-discovery.  The student’s individuality begins to emerge.

Like the gyōsho calligrapher, the student in the ha stage of martial arts mastery will no longer perform each block and attack of a kata as a separate move.  With greater understanding, the moves of the kata have become grouped into combinations of defense and counter.  The student is mentally responding to a series of attacks.  For example, Kanshiwa in the shu stage is performed as 27 separate blocks and attacks.  In the ha stage the student has grouped the moves into 13 combinations.  Each kata combination is like a single kanji written in the gyōsho style with a movement and meaning of its own. 

The relationship between a martial arts student and his or her teacher in the student’s ha stage can be likened to the relationship of a parent to a teen-aged child.  The wise parent will step back and allow the child to discover his or her own way, while remaining alert to the need for guidance.  A student’s journey of discovery should evoke many questions beginning with “why…”  Indeed, Kinjō Kaichō asked why so often that he was told by his sensei to stop asking.  In truth, the sensei probably did not have the answers, but like a wise parent, encouraged Kinjō Kaichō to discover the answers on his own.

The kanji for ri has the meaning of “to separate.”  When this kanji is used in a verb, it takes on the added meaning of “to set free.”  The student is now fully independent, having absorbed all that he or she can from the teacher.  The teacher must set the student free to progress through self-discovery.  The student’s techniques bear the imprint of his or her own personality and character.

Like a sōsho calligrapher, the martial artist performing a kata in the ri stage of mastery frees his mind from distractions.  It is this state of “no mind” (mushin ) that the ri martial artist strives to achieve.  There is no room for hesitation or thought or do-overs.  He or she has trained until the body remembers.  All of the practice and effort that led up to the performance culminates in a kata that flows and appears effortless.  The performance itself speaks volumes about the performer’s personality, character and mood.  No two performances will be exactly alike.