Mushin 無心: The Samurai Approach

The Pen & Sword Journal - Vol 2

“When all psychological blocks are removed ... the swordsman will move without conscious effort.”

- Sword master Muneyoshi Yagyu

My first experience regarding Mushin in Martial Arts

As I was training at the beginning on the path of martial arts, I remember my teacher pointing out frequently that I was tense, rigid and stressed. He often advised me to relax and even smile at times as I was practicing.

At first what he said made no sense, but with time I understood that as a martial artist my performance shouldn’t look mechanical and stiff. It should look like my body is flowing, easy and smooth, like it was the most natural thing in the world to strike, parry, evade throw my opponents down. And in order to do that, I should be relaxed and in a state of flow in my mind first, because our body follows the state of mind we’re in.

This was the first lessons I learned about the concept Known as “Mushin no Shin” known as the state of “The Mind without Mind” or “ No-mindness”.

What is Mushin no Shi…