Mushin, Level 4, Blackbelt Leadership
You all know that the first Blackbelt Superpower is Focus. And you may know that, at its most basic level, Focus is the ability to block out distractions and concentrate on what’s important. It’s a skill, but it’s also a discipline—and, like any discipline, it can be trained, strengthened, and mastered.
You may even know that, as students progress, we move into Level Two: Focusing Input.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.” It’s true for computers—and even more true for the human mind.
And you may have even heard that at level three we teach students to Focus their energy in the direction of the goals that they want, because energy flows where Focus goes.
Today I am going to share with you a Blackbelt Focusing skill called Mushin.
Mushin (無心) is a Japanese martial arts concept meaning “no mind,” or a mental state of being “free from the burden of conscious thought” or self-attachment. It involves an empty, clear, and spontaneous mind that allows for intuitive, optimal, and professional action without ego-driven analysis, fear, or hesitation. This state of “no mind” is not about total thoughtlessness but rather a release from being “stuck in thought,” leading to a state of flow and peak performance.
It’s what you witness when you see our KMMA Blackbelts negotiating stress drills. Though facing a barrage of seemingly impossible situations and worse case scenarios, the Blackbelt moves about and defends with ease. This is mushin.
But like everything we teach, Mushin isn’t only for the dojo nor only for self defense.
It’s for life. It’s one of the ways that we prepare you to “survive and thrive in any situation”, rather that be physical, mental or emotional and at school, work or home.
Mushin is one of our Blackbelt Leadership success skills for life.
Prepare To Live; Empower To Lead!
Grand Master Stephen J Del Castillo
8th Degree Blackbelt, Author, MBA, Founding Master Instructor, KMMA
TampaKravMaga.com – StephenDelCastillo.com
Author of Developing Your Superpowers
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