A personal look at Zen, mushin, meditation, kata, and awareness in Kyokushin. I also included a couple of experiences from my own training that helped shape how I understand mushin in practical terms.
A boxer will always beat a Kyokushin fighter because Kyokushin doesn’t allow punches to the face.
Right?
That claim gets repeated constantly, but it usually says more about the ruleset than the fighter. I take a look at head punches, bare-knuckle striking, boxing gloves, low kicks, bad habits, and what “realistic” training actually means.
I’ve been thinking about giri — duty, obligation, and the responsibility created between teacher and student.
In the dojo, that responsibility is visible in the things we wear: the dojo patch that identifies where we come from, and the Kyokushin kanji that connects us to a much larger tradition.
What do you think we owe to the dojo, our instructors, our students, and the art we represent?