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IBUKI   BREATHING

• "Sanchin-dachi is the basis of the fighting posture."
• Q: I would like to know a few things about IBUKI.Nishida:
• IBUKI is actually tanden-breathing, which is carried out by abdominal pressure. During normal breathing, the abdomen swells after inhalation and sinks in with expiration. Tanden-breathing works on the contrary: as we inhale, the abdomen sinks in and it swells with expiration. Beyond lungs-breathing, in order to control the rise of cerebral pressure, we strain the abdomen and display the pressure there. this is IBUKI.
• Q: Then, if I see your point right, in the case of IBUKI the abdomen swells with expiration?
• Nishida: Yes, that's right. This is a very strong abdominal straining method, therefore in the beginning is difficult and may also be dangerous, that's why it must be trained in the right way. Besides this method, you can also reach the state of maximum possible exertion by the AUN- breathing.
• · Q: What does AUN mean?
• Nishida: The "A" of AUN means the state, when the air (breath) comes out, "UN" means the state, when we stop and hold our breath, but it is different from the state of exertion, where it make intensive efforts. We know the sculptures of the two Deva kings, the guardian deities at the gateway to a Buddhist temple. The form of their mouths and the position of their hands are different, but this is not by chance. These two sculptures, the positions of their mouths and hands express the "aun"-breathing, which makes possible an enormous exertion. If we look at the position of their hands, we can see that it depicts a movement of great strength; if we examine the muscles of the sculptures closely it is easier to understand. When we hit with our fist, the most powerful state is when we exhale the air and hold it back. Therefore we practice this kind of breathing regularly at the trainings. IBUK! Is a very powerful way breathing, therefore it is very important to do it the correct way. We stand in sanchin-dachi, with shoulders hanging down loosely. The abdomen is strained; we press it an also strain our bottom, which will thus rise a bit, and we practice breathing in this posture. This state is the most powerful position of our body, both from the point of internal and external power.
• · Q: What is the meaning of "sanchin-dachi"?
• Nishida: If we look at the characters, then it means "three fight (attack)", that is posture against opponents from three directions (frontal, left and right). In this posture armpits are strained, the fists are grasped tightly and the sympathetic nerve system is sharpened; thus an "emergency-situation" attitude is formed: the fighting posture.
• · Q: Thus the basis of fighting posture is the sanchin-dachi?
• Nishida: Yes, it is. That is why I think we could say, when we stand this position (standing=RITSU) and meditate (Zen); it is RITSUZEN, or standing meditation. We do not meditate while moving, hence it is no DOZEN (DO movement, ZEN meditation), at the same time we do not meditate while sitting, hence it is ZAZEN (ZA=sit, ZEN meditation). And if we are able to accomplish breathing in this posture, the next step will be become able to do the same while moving. In sanchin kata we do hit and cover (defend) while we expire, but the essence of this kata is that we should do the movements slowly. Training is the way of making us able to do these movements quickly in fighting."Ultimate purpose (goal) is to raise from the kata up to the mind of the master, who created the kata."
• · Q: Hearing this I think that in the practice of kata its goal and its importance is different.
• Nishida: Yes. For example there are the TAIKYOKU kata. As kata, they are basic drills in kihon. But the meaning of TAIKYOKU comes from the world of eastern philosophy. This is return in the EKIKEI (scroll teaching about the science of fortune-telling), TAIKYOKU (the combination of Ying and Yang) is the root the basic idea of Chinese world system (universe), which says that TAIKYOKU is divided in to two poles (Ying and Yang); Ying and Yang are divided into four forms (SHISHO) and from this originate HAKKE, the eight forms of fortune-telling. According to these ideas, TAIKYOKU is the essence of the world and everything is born and created from that. In the case of kata's the TAIKYOKU kata's are the most basic ones, all the other kata's are derived from those. The next step is PINAN.
• · Q: It seems to me that the word PINAN also has an interpretation.
• Nishida: Yes, that's true. My interpretation is the following. In the TA1KYOKU kata there are four directions of movement: forwards, backwards, to the left and to the right. In the PINAN kata the diagonal directions are also added to the former ones, thus four directions are extended to eight. I think this can be connected to HAKKE, the eight of fortune telling.
• · Q: Then if we practice these kata, we defended against attacks from any directions. These kata came from the Chinese Kempo, didn't they? If I am not mistaken, the word PINAN is also of Chinese origin...Nishida: Not quite so. The PINAN kata were created in Japan, but the KARA element of the word karate comes originally from the character' '(KARA which was sign for China at the end of 7th at the beginning of 8th century). It was carried over from China to Okinawa in this period. There it was said and written already as KARATE (Chinese hand), become filled by the Japanese with philosophical content, that is how it has change to KARATE (empty hand). Furthermore, the words KARATE and DO (way) were melted together and the whole meaning was raised to a higher level.
• · Q: Then, although the source was China, KARATE became immersed in Japan. But this not about it. The real strength of the Japanese lies in the way they changed it to a "way".
• Nishida: Yes, I think that Japanese is a nation that especially respect spirituality.
• · Q: As for the kata, it seems from outside that people memorise the sequence of the movements, almost copy the kata and then mechanically perform it. But if we inquire the practice of kata closely, an interesting world opens for us.
• Nishida: Yes it is. Developing of train of through started at the beginning of the article, the kata is actually "DOZEN" (meditation while moving). If we repeat the given kata several thousand times and again, we can reach the mind of the creator of the kata this way.
  Q: After all, karate is a world surpassing the level of competition, with spiritual depths, isn't it?
• Nishida: Yes, that's right. The present shibucho (club leaders) are 40-50 years old and their chances for competition are quite limited. But! Just right from this age on comes the next step of training and practice. More than 30 years ago we were also young, when Oyama's karate started its way. Those youngsters became middle age by now and gathered many experiences. They have reached the point where they have to re-think karate from a different point of view again, and exactly because they have reached this state, they should not forget about examining the depths of karate.
• · Q: Yes, but how can we really be conscious of these things?
• Nishida: if we try to practice, for instance, the ibuki-breathing, then we have a chance to become aware of these parts. Breathing is independent from our will, we do it unconsciously. But if we do concentrate on breathing, if we make it conscious, I think we will be able to control it. In brief we may also control the autonomic nerve system. The practice of breathing methods is the key/gate to it.
• · Q: To raise our spirit and mind to a higher level, a breathing method that could be earned out easily, would be more practical, wouldn't it?
• Nishida: The lower grade animals do not have brains and cerebral functions that are performed by the autonomous nerves and the spinal column. In the humans information is transmitted from the autonomous nerves through the spinal column and the hindbrain, mid along the same way conversely in the case of information coming from the brain. During the training of this autonomous nerve system, I think the train of a system connected to the brain is realised, and the way to reach the gate to the brain is the way of breathing. The tanden-breathing is way of that.
  Q: Well, this doesn't seem easy at all.
• Nishida: in short, breathing is a basic, everyday thing, but in spite of its importance is much greater than we would think of. Although said it's a basic and everyday phenomenon, it requires quite a lot of time until we learn to carry it out correctly. This is not level of weight training, where the effects can already be seen in a months. It requires a great amount of patience, hut it makes possible control up the level of the internal organs even down to hormone secretion, and (helps) the recovery of our body. If we become able to do this, then we realise the true art of self-defence.
• · Q: The art of self-defence?
• Nishida: Yes. First of all we have to defend our body against diseases and have to keep it healthy. This is the primary self-defence. I think that BUDO is about a particular self-defence. It is primary to defend our body from inside, and only the next step is the defence against attacks from the outside. From the KARATEDO, KARA (empty) means the heart, or spirit; TE (hand) means the technical and formal part, DO (way) means the connecting movement between the way. Therefore KARATEDO expresses all the things we have to practice during the training. It is the relationship of body and spirit, inside and outside, like the structure of the atom and the universe is parallel with the micro - and macro-world. The body and the spirit that is KARA and TE, connected or linked by DO, which is KARATEDO.
  Q: Formerly we have talked about the "sweep of the pendulum", the problem that the material civilisation has come to a deadlock; and the solutions to that could be eastern philosophy. Is it likely, that within this, karate contains elements that could mean a solution to this problem?
• Nishida: We have to strive to do it the way it could be so. But the system of karate is not yet accomplished, or finished, I think therefore it has to be improved. We just live this very period now. It is not the question of whether we are able to do it or not, but it is the point of going forward and doing it. "If we practice the ways of breathing, we can use our energy skilfully."
• · Q: it is an interesting thought, that we do not have to look for a thing made perfect, but our task is to improve it continuously.
• Nishida: Yes, and I think that this is an important matter/subject for our organisation. Let me return to the problem of breathing for a while. In the Edo-era lived a man called Hakuin, who was the devotee of the Buddhist sect Rinzai. As he understood the tanden-breathing, he created the following concept: open your soul, let it be wide like the sea, so peaceful and quite; mind the front part of your body; let the power raise from your toes, from your legs, through your hip to the tanden, and let it sink from your heart to the tanden, This is the ultimate goal, that is, the tanden-breathing.With this statement he verified that it is important to concentrate on the legs and the heart during training. I have already spoken about the lower part of the body (from the waist downwards), that it is more important than the upper part.
• · Actually, you have to make the upper part empty and loose and keep the power in the lower part; let it be the essential one. According to the Taoist thinking, the dwarf breathes with its mouth, but the man, who opens his soul, breathes from his heels, of course, he thinks of a long, deep breathing here, as if we would inhale the air through our heels and thus we would raise it upwards. In IBUKI we expire a lot of air and the empty space will fill up with the new inhalation.This is real breathing: we do not inhale and then expire, but first expire and then inhale. The inhalation-expiration form of breathing is a way one. By deep breathing (shinkokyu) the general capacity of the lungs can be even tripled. There is one more significant fact of the breathing-methods.
• · They give us energy and 1 think if we practice the ways of breathing, we can use our energy much better. Besides, these methods can easily practice by women and middle-aged persons as well.Many thanks to Andrea Takacs Hungarian Shodan and translator who provided me with this gem of info from Nishida Shihan.

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