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of Taisen Deshimaru Roshi

The attitude when standing and running is very important. They are called Kinhin.

The attitude is the following:

Kinhin (Gehen)

経行

Kinhin im

Zendo

Kinhin

at the Kyudojo with Yumi and Ya

 

You stand upright, your spine is straight, your chin is pulled back, your neck is stretched, your gaze is directed downwards three meters in front of your own body, that is to say at the level of the waist of the previous one, when walking in a "goose-march" , In the Zendo, the left fist encloses her thumb and lies on the cartilage plate above the solar plexus. The right hand covers the left fist, and the two are pressed together against each other and against the sternum when exhaling. The elbows are directed outwards, and the forearms are held in the horizontal; the shoulders are loose and thrown backwards.

At the beginning of the exhalation, put the right foot half a step forward and push with the sole of the foot, more precisely with the root of the big toe, powerfully on the ground, as if to leave a trail in the ground. There is a deep relationship between this part of the foot and the brain, and it feels good to feel the contact with the ground.

Now, if the knee is stretched well, the leg and the whole right side of the body from the crest to the tips of the feet is in tension. The other leg and the other side of the body remain loose and relaxed. At the same time you exhale through the nose deep, slowly and as long as possible, but without compulsion and silently. Then you stop for a moment, relax the whole body, and the inhalation happens by itself, automatically and freely.

At the beginning of the next exhalation, the pressure on the left foot is shifted, leaving the right leg loose and the whole process begins again.

Kinhin, like zazen, is a method of deep concentration. The energy is gathered by the pressure of exhaling in the lower abdomen, where it is truly active. This is the exercise of the stability of the energy, the collection and concentration of energy in the hara and thus the basis of the Japanese martial arts (Budo). She is taught both in judo and in karate, aikido, kyudo and so on.

Nowadays, one tends to forget this influence of mental attitude in the practice of martial arts. One wants to gain strength through mere technique. Do, as in Kyudo, means way. The martial arts are neither competition nor martial arts, but a method of achieving mastery over oneself, controlling the energy in the task of the ego, and uniting with the order of the universe. To train the consciousness means: you do not shoot the arrow, but the arrow dissolves in the very moment you are unconsciously ready and freeing yourself.