Stillness- why I like Chinese and Japanese martial arts

I realise that there are people like me out there who want to learn martial arts to find inner peace and  balance.

While Cobra Kai fans are yelling "strikefirststrikehardnomercy!" Dragonball Super fans are still posting memes about Goku's Ultra Instinct. 

With the trends I have seen in Karate these days and what we have seen in Cobra Kai and in MMA fights I have begun to think that martial arts enthusiasts are just not interested in that kind of stuff anymore...

I really enjoyed seeing Robbie bringing the whole mushin thing back in the last episode of Cobra Kai.

Over here the loudest voices in the martial arts community are preaching aggression and competitive spirit. What I see in how they practice however does not seem like any martial art that I wish to learn.

Sure- I like punching, kicking and doing damage as much as the next martial arts fanatic, but any outward display of aggression translates to me as a lack of control, lack of skill and a need for a lot more training.

Still- we actually have teachers and coaches encouraging a more aggressive approach to fighting. Further- we see students that embrace it.




Besides- we are in the West. It has to be bigger, badder and dominating. We go big or go home and have to approach everything aggressively to establish ourselves as the alpha males in the room- if you are male...

Well- like it or not- I guess the loud and aggressive approach to martial arts like Karate is here to stay.

Still- many of us remember...

We remember that moment in the Matrix when Neo stood up from being shot and stopping those bullets. We remember how effortlessly he blocked that agent's punches. (I love the gif!)





I remember how Ippon Kumite felt when I began to relax.

I remember how much fun Jiyuu Kumite became when I learned to empty my mind.



It is actually funny to see someone writing with great conviction these days that blocking does not work.

The post actually betrays a lack of experience in an area where people like me have gained quite a lot. People like us can tell you that a person that fights in stillness can easily block attacks.



Such a person can also attack openings in an instant as they begin to appear.

In self defense a person who observes his surroundings in stillness can often sense danger and avoid it without the need to fight. Where fighting becomes necessary such  a person can deploy any chosen martial arts technique with ease.

Cobra Kai knows nothing about striking first. You should see Naka Sensei in action...

The reality of it all is however- to make it work you need not only to have a quiet, empty mind, but your body also has to be trained to act  as one with your mind. There should not be anything like the mind telling the body what to do and then the body does it, but rather the body doing what the mind thinks as it is thinking it. Training like that can take a very long time, but it is worth it.

Still- it may be a long while- if ever- until we see evidence of such training in our competitions and MMA mathches. I admit that I had a chance to try fighting my tournament bouts in stillness and only had very limited success. 

I nonetheless prefer focussing on this aspect of martial arts in sparring because the benefits thereof reach far beyond the dojo floor. It helps us cope with a huge workload, to negotiate heavy traffic while driving and to deal with whatever life throws at us without getting a heart attack.

So- if you are currently with a dojo that does not teach this type of mindset- why don't they teach it?





Yeah. Maybe Coolio has a point there...


If you want to take up martial arts to develop a calm mind and attain inner peace, stay away from MMA. Really...

Martial arts that I recommend for you to study for this purpose are:

1. Aikido (really really awesome!)

2. Taijiquan (Tai Chi) (I prefer a more combat orientated version of Taijiquan, still- you need stillness to make it work.)

3. Xingyiquan- Ehhhhhh... This might be hard to find in your area... Still- I was able to get hold of a book.

Karate should be in this list, but it really depends on the teacher. I am glad to say, however, that dojos in Japan seem to place huge emphasis on the concept of mushin (no mind) in their training. JKS is a good example at the moment.

I don't know martial arts like Capoeira or Silat that come from other countries than China and Japan. How big these arts are on a thing like a calm mind I cannot say.

Still- anyone who does Capoeira or any martial art that I have not yet tried out is welcome to tell me where inner peace and mental calmness feature in their arts. 


Well... whether you enjoy calming down or getting a good emotional outlet with some intense fighting- I hope you train well and have a good week.

Next week I will write more about the concept of stillness and why we see it in Asian martial arts.