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:
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. Following are some suggested training methods that may help you develop a greater sense of muchimi...
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..
10 Comments
as always you flick the switch tbat turns on the light in my brain Chris Sensei. As the well known saying goes karate without the guidance of a good teacher is like wandering in the dark. Thankyou for the light.
12/10/2014 03:41:02 pm
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Pete Welsby
14/10/2014 06:18:26 am
As always, you flick the switch that turns on the light in my brain Chris Sensei. As the well known saying goes karate without the guidance of a good teacher is like wandering in the dark. Thank you for the light."
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Christopher J Denwood
14/10/2014 06:40:54 am
Thanks for the kind words Pete and happy to hear you enjoyed the article! Best wishes and speak soon, Chris
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Gabriel Tiste
20/10/2014 06:32:40 am
Insightful post, made me think long and hard about my own progress and future development. Thanks for distributing these thoughts!
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Christopher J Denwood
20/10/2014 06:50:03 am
Thanks for the kind words Gabriel - they're much appreciated and great to hear that you found the post useful! Best wishes, Chris.
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Dan Richardson
24/10/2014 05:37:23 am
Nice piece and well explained. Nothing, like this, is easy to get across in text.
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Christopher J Denwood
24/10/2014 06:17:35 am
Thanks for your support Dan and my pleasure - good to hear that you enjoyed the read! Best wishes, Chris.
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Robert Bongiorno
19/12/2014 04:07:14 pm
Hey Chris, awesome website. Enjoyed the article on Muchimi. Do you have any tutorials that show a Kata done using the Muchimi method? I am an older karateka, with a beat up body and using the Muchimi method of doing Kata would be a great help.
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22/9/2018 06:17:26 pm
Very interesting. I share the same feeling that you express in your article. We must look deeper than we can see to really understand the meaning of what we do or try to accomplish...
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Chris Denwood
22/9/2018 06:55:06 pm
Thanks - happy you enjoyed the read!
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