Health Benefits of Karate Do Training (Continued) 脇閉め (Waki Shime)

I ended the last post rather abruptly after a very brief introduction to a term that really deserves its own blog post, 脇閉め Waki Shime, the closing or contracting of specific muscles on the side of the body located around the armpit and shoulder region. This term is often used in Karate Do training. If you come to Japan and train for any length of time I am sure you will hear Sensei yell this to their students reminding them to focus on this throughout whatever movements they are performing whether it be during 形 Kata Practice or 組手 Kumite Practice, Waki Shime is a very important part of Karate Do technique. So, let me pick up from where we left off, below is the information that I gave you at the end of my last post regarding the radicals of the Kanji:

脇閉め Waki Shime

I would like to take a quick look at the term Waki Shime as it is a very important aspect of Karate Do training and often a central point of advice given by many Senseii all  over the world. Let's start by taking a closer look at the kanji and break it down in order to build our deeper understanding of the components of Waki I am of the opinion that it means a lot more than just armpit. If we look at the radicals of this Kanji separately we can see it in a new light. Below is a short definition taken from:

http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa070101a.htm

that you can find online with a simple search.

Radicals in Kanji

A radical (bushu) is a common sub-element found in different kanji characters. Every kanji has a radical or a radical itself can be a kanji. Radicals express the general nature of the kanji characters. A radical is the part of the kanji character that gives you a clue to its origin, group, meaning or pronunciation. Many kanji dictionaries organize characters by their radicals. There are 214 radicals. (About.com, Japanese Language)

 

There is a great website that lists all of these radicals and their meanings, please check out http://kanjialive.com/214-traditional-kanji-radicals/ if you are interested in learning more. It may also be a good idea to reference this site and compare the Kanji that you are stuying in order to deconstruct them and learn more about their complex meaning. Below are the general groups of radicals and where they are located within the Kanji character:

Radicals are roughly divided into seven groups (hen, tsukuri, kanmuri, ashi, tare, nyou, and kamae) by their positions.

hen tsukuri kanmuri ashi

tare nyou kamae

                                                                                                            (About.com, Japanese Language)

In the case of 脇 Waki, we can see there is the radical of 月 located in the region of the 扁 Hen area of the Character located on the left hand side of the character and three 力 grouped together in the 旁 Tsukuri area which is also referred to as "the body" of the Character.

Taking a Closer look 

At first glance one may assume that the 月扁 Tsuki Hen, in Waki is Moon or Month but, in fact this radical has ties to Meat and Flesh and isn't even Tsuki Hen at all but rather 肉月(にくづき) Niku-tsuki this radical can be found in many Kanji dealing with or related to the body and parts of the body such as 肩 Kata, Shoulder, 腰 Koshi, Waist, 腹 Hara, Abdomen, etc. The 旁 Tsukuri portion of this kanji is fairly straight forward, it means a collection of power; individual areas of power on the human body brought together to create a unified power, in this case for the purpose of striking. The use of three individual characters brought together to form one Kanji can also be seen in the examples of 森 Mori, three trees brought together to represent a Forest. or 口 Kuchi, Mouth brought together to represent an Article or Goods. So, we can see that by deconstructing the Kanji and looking at the radicals individually, we can see the picture more clearly. Please do this in your own research when you come across the various Kanji of importance.

Now, getting back to Waki Shime and the message therein. Developing true power through combining specific areas of strength through natural body movement facilitated by healthy contracting and extending of muscle groups in sequence creating a wave of power that runs through the body and can be delivered in a strike of the hands or feet that all depends upon the quality of our Waki Shime and our understanding of our own bodies.