Читать книгу Empty Hand. The Essence of Budo Karate онлайн

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Of course the physical condition affects the general development of a person. It could be said that people who are lacking physical self-confidence are apt to mental and psychological weakness. Because karate practice develops the whole body, even people who begin in a rather weak condition can gain strong physical confidence after a short time, building the basis for mental and psychological strength.

However timid and weak a person might have been, by regularly and seriously practicing karate – even if the practice is not very intense – one can experience how the body gradually fills with energy, how self-confidence grows from the ground of the abdomen and calmness installs in a quite natural way in the whole body. This is a particularity of karate.

Especially the breathing techniques (kisoku hō) of the Naha-te are a good example to explain how karate strengthens the spiritual and mental unity.11 It goes without saying that breathing is important for all kinds of martial arts but its deliberate and systematic training is a special aspect of karate. Breathing, and in particular inhaling (iki o suru), is closely connected with life. The Japanese verb meaning “to live” (iki ru) is said to be derived form the expression “to take breath”. People can live without food for about a month. But as is well known, it is hard to survive without breathing.