On Developing Muchimi

Make your karate more rice cake-like!

The term 'Muchimi' is used in traditional karate and refers to the 'heavy and sticky' feeling sought during the application of certain techniques and is one of a number of a key feelings developed during the practice of kata.

The word ‘Muchimi’ is actually derived from the old Okinawan dialect for rice cakes, which is 'Muchi' (Mochi in Japanese).  So in karate, ‘Muchimi’ literally means to have a 'rice cake-like body'.  If you've ever tried a Japanese rice cake then you'll know exactly what feeling this describes!

The combative application of muchimi can be very effective and traditionally, there are actually two methods of expressing this principle:

• The first relates to the level of contact made with the opponent and how that contact is maintained.  If used correctly, the recipient should feel overwhelmed by pressure and unable to shake it off.  Think about how a boa constrictor progressively squeezes the breath out of it's prey by 'filling in all the gaps' and you'll have some idea of how muchimi may be applied.  This method is generally emphasised in Naha-based styles who focus heavily on close-range grappling and tactile-based applications.

• The second is linked to the progressive and fluid acceleration of technique, similar to a wave crashing on the beach.  The energy (or more actually, pressure) is gradually built up inside the body and then released into the strike.  This 'whip-like' power is very different to that produced by muscular contraction alone, relying more on the potential of stretching muscles and their associated elastic quality.  This method is often favoured by Shorin-based styles, which promote swift and successive percussive impact.
  

Like all other qualities found in karate, there are times to use muchimi and times where other principles are applied to create contrasting feelings   For instance, there are situations where you may want to be heavy and sticky, but then there are other circumstances when you may want to be light and swift.  It is really the experience to know not only how, but WHEN to express these qualities that makes them practical and functional.

Functional Taiji practitioners understand that elastic power can be derived from 'stretching' muscles, which can be up to 10 times stronger than 'contracting' muscles.

Following are some suggested training methods that may help you develop a greater sense of muchimi... 

1. Practice a multitude of sticky-hand drills to get used to flowing with the opponents energy, adding pressure and filling the gaps.  Use these as a common reference for your kata applications and work from various tactile connections.
2. Make full use of gravity to increase the 'heaviness' in your hands.  Excessive contraction literally pushes us away from the Earth.  By learning to relax more, the apparent softness can become a very destructive force.
3. Incorporate traditional body forging techniques (tai-kitae) with a partner.  Not only will these help tremendously towards your level of physical conditioning, but they also get you accustomed to making contact with another human being.  This is a COMPLETELY different feeling to making contact with a heavy bag, focus mitt or makiwara.
4. Learn to transcend from visual aesthetics and search for the correct feeling behind your techniques.  Listen internally and monitor what's going on.  It's ironic that in some ways, the more effective we become, the less visually impressive our technique can look due to lack of excessive physical effort.  However, the results can tell a different story.  Through our culture, we are often conditioned to associate success with 'working hard', rather than 'working smart'.  Thus, development in karate is essentially about dong less to achieve more.  before you can step below the surface of karate you must first rewire certain movement habits and come to terms with the fact that more physical (contractive) effort does not necessarily equal more effective output.
5. When hitting the makiwara, incoporate strikes that stick to the pad rather than swiftly retracting.  The body has to work slightly differently using this method to cope with Newton's laws of motion and the inevitable resultant energy.  Although many karate practitioners consider the 'delivery system' of their strikes, the effective application of muchimi also relies on correct application of the 'reaction system'.
6. Focus on using your body as the 'engine' to drive your hands.  There should be no hand movement that hasn't been first derived from the core and then when you advance further, the floor.  Incorporate the practice of hip shaking drills that originate from pressure changes at the feet and whilst keeping the arms completely relaxed, learn how to project them accurately in various directions.  Think about how you would crack a whip and how you could determine exactly where in space that crack will occur.  Imagine the core of the body as the hand that holds the whip, with your hands being the tip.  This notion is incredibly hard to train (I still have a very long road ahead of me), but even small progressions can have a significant impact.  Remember that karate is about the progressive collaboration of many small adjustments, which integrate to make a massive difference! 
7. Work on the feeling of sequential delay through the body from the floor to fist.  This should feel like a wave travelling upwards from the feet, directed and amplified by the core and then released out from the striking limb. When moving the arms, project from the shoulder first, to the elbow and only then to the hands.  consider a direct relationship between the lower and upper parts of the body i.e. wrist/ankle, knee/elbow and shoulder/hip.  Use tools such as the makiwara, chi-ishi and kettlebell to help develop this fluid-like attribute. 
8. Aim to become more 'circular' in your movements, smoothing out the corners so that no sharp change in angle occurs.  The journey that the limbs take is very important in terms of muchimi and 'square' movements require regeneration of potential (just like setting the pendulum swinging again on a large grandfather clock).  In contrast, smoother angles through the use of curves help perpetuate and amplify energy seamlessly throughout the movement path.  In traditional karate, even movements that seem to look linear may actually be made up of numerous circles and spirals both outside and inside the body. 

Yuchoku Higa Sensei, student of Chosin Chibana, striking the makiwara.

Karate is often regarded by many to be an entirely external art.  For me, this is not true.  Of course, a superficial understanding will only take you so far, but by taking time to look a little deeper and beyond the surface, numerous internal components are revealed that combine with an external expression to create something very different indeed.  Whereas the beginning karate student may only 'see' from the outside and the intermediate karate student aims to 'listen' from the inside, the advanced karate student should aspire to 'feel' the integration of both outside and inside.  The notion of muchimi is therefore merely one principle of this collaborative application of both In (Yin) and Yo (Yang).

Many thanks for taking the time to read this short article and I hope you found the content useful..