Mushin Karate

In Shotokan karate we seek to make karate a spiritual path and a way of transformative living by practicing and understanding the traditional Zen roots of the art. The term "mushin" is employed in the Zen expression, "mushin no shin" meaning "mind of no mind," referring to a mind not fixed or occupied by thought or emotion, thus open to everything. This state of mind is attained by advanced martial artists and is appropriate for a combat, or life-threatening situations because the practitioner is able to act spontaneously and correctly as a situation arises. There is no anger, fear, ego, or logic; only a pure flow of intuition that allows the practitioner to find the path of least resistance and maximum efficiency via the union of intent and action. During class, we strive to achieve mental state through meditation and countless repetition of techniques that demand a concentrated mental focus.

The word "mushin" (or "a-citta" in Sanskrit) comes from the word "mu" which can be loosely translated as "enlightenment." On the stone inscription at Master Funakoshi's grave "mu" is defined as follows:

to purify and make one empty through the transformation from "jutsu," (which refers to mere technical skills) to "do" (a spiritual path and way of life, as in "karate-do")