Kyushindo
Encyclopedia
Kyushindo is a philosophy developed by budo
master Kenshiro Abbe
in the mid-20th century and which became his central statement for his personal approach to Judo.
At its most basic level, kyushindo can be equated with centripetal force
. Tomio Otani defined it as "the accumulation of effort in a steady motion about the radius and centre of gravity". Abbe had discovered the efficiency of using centripetal force to throw much larger opponents while a student at Dai Nippon Butoku Kai
in the 1930s, and it is likely that this discovery led to his further development of kyushindo as a philosophy.
As well as 'Sphere'/'Circle', Kyu can also mean 'Desire', 'Yearn', 'Search' or 'Study'. Likewise, Shin can also mean 'Spirit' or 'Truth'. This ambiguity allows kyushindo to be interpreted on a number of levels, and it can also have the meaning of The Seeker's Way to the Essence of Things, or the Truth.
Because of Abbe's fame as a Budo master people have very naturally assumed Kyushindo to be a theory of martial discipline but in fact martial discipline is only one application of Kyushindo. The very limited field of martial disciplines is too narrow an application to make the principle of Kyushindo clear and can be no more than the means employed to attain a far higher goal. The theory of Kyushindo has application in any study, or activity that can be named simply because it does not deal with the form and technique of anything, but with the fundamental principles which such forms and techniques represent.
The principle may be likened to the hub of a wheel from which an infinite number of spokes or forms radiate. The task of perfecting an art by the laborious process of studying each 'form' is doomed to failure because the possible variations are endless. By discovering the central principle it can then be applied in any direction at will.
Kyushindo states that the accumulation of efforts is a steady motion about the radius and center of gravity and that all things resign to this basic cyclic pattern. The normal perception
and focus of awareness
in the human being, flies along the outer periphery of existence
, events flash past too rapidly for the mind
to grasp. By re-discovering the original center of things, events turn more slowly in perception
and the general scheme is more easily viewed .
Mayo was not in any way connected to Abbe's British Judo Council, but he found Kyu-Shin-Do an appealing concept. Mayo controversially reinvented Kyu-Shin-Do as his own spiritual philosophy and renamed his organisation the Kyushindo International Judo Association. The claim that Abbe was involved in the creation of Mayo's system has been strongly refuted by Abbe's students. The Kyushindo International Judo Association later fragmented, giving rise to various splinter groups including the Zen Judo organisations and the Mayoshindo Karate organisation.
Budo
is a Japanese term describing martial arts. In English, it is used almost exclusively in reference to Japanese martial arts.-Etymology:Budō is a compound of the root bu , meaning war or martial; and dō , meaning path or way. Specifically, dō is derived from the Buddhist Sanskrit mārga...
master Kenshiro Abbe
Kenshiro Abbe
was a prominent Japanese master of judo, aikido, and kendo. He introduced aikido to the United Kingdom in 1955, and founded the Kyushindo system. Abbe was a graduate of the famous Budo Senmon Gakko, having studied judo and kendo there. Following an illustrious early career in the martial arts, he...
in the mid-20th century and which became his central statement for his personal approach to Judo.
Meaning
Several interpretations of the Japanese term kyu shin do have been proposed. Tomio Otani, a long-term student of Abbe, translated it thus:- Kyu: Sphere or Circle
- Shin: Heart or Nexus point
- Do: Way
At its most basic level, kyushindo can be equated with centripetal force
Centripetal force
Centripetal force is a force that makes a body follow a curved path: it is always directed orthogonal to the velocity of the body, toward the instantaneous center of curvature of the path. The mathematical description was derived in 1659 by Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens...
. Tomio Otani defined it as "the accumulation of effort in a steady motion about the radius and centre of gravity". Abbe had discovered the efficiency of using centripetal force to throw much larger opponents while a student at Dai Nippon Butoku Kai
Dai Nippon Butoku Kai
is a Japanese martial arts organization established in 1895 in Kyoto, Japan, under the authority of the Ministry of Education and sanction of the Emperor Meiji. Its purpose, at that time, was to standardize martial disciplines and systems throughout Japan. This was the first official martial arts...
in the 1930s, and it is likely that this discovery led to his further development of kyushindo as a philosophy.
As well as 'Sphere'/'Circle', Kyu can also mean 'Desire', 'Yearn', 'Search' or 'Study'. Likewise, Shin can also mean 'Spirit' or 'Truth'. This ambiguity allows kyushindo to be interpreted on a number of levels, and it can also have the meaning of The Seeker's Way to the Essence of Things, or the Truth.
Philosophy
Kyushindo was the central statement for Abbe's personal approach to martial arts. He felt that there were three fundamental principles within Kyushindo which should be reflected in the Martial arts and in his outside life.- All things in the Universe are in a constant state of motion (Banbutsu Ruten).
- This motion is rhythmic and flowing (Ritsu Do).
- All things work and flow in perfect harmony (Chowa).
Because of Abbe's fame as a Budo master people have very naturally assumed Kyushindo to be a theory of martial discipline but in fact martial discipline is only one application of Kyushindo. The very limited field of martial disciplines is too narrow an application to make the principle of Kyushindo clear and can be no more than the means employed to attain a far higher goal. The theory of Kyushindo has application in any study, or activity that can be named simply because it does not deal with the form and technique of anything, but with the fundamental principles which such forms and techniques represent.
The principle may be likened to the hub of a wheel from which an infinite number of spokes or forms radiate. The task of perfecting an art by the laborious process of studying each 'form' is doomed to failure because the possible variations are endless. By discovering the central principle it can then be applied in any direction at will.
Kyushindo states that the accumulation of efforts is a steady motion about the radius and center of gravity and that all things resign to this basic cyclic pattern. The normal perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
and focus of awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...
in the human being, flies along the outer periphery of existence
Existence
In common usage, existence is the world we are aware of through our senses, and that persists independently without them. In academic philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning, being contrasted with essence, which specifies different forms of existence as well as different identity...
, events flash past too rapidly for the mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
to grasp. By re-discovering the original center of things, events turn more slowly in perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
and the general scheme is more easily viewed .
Today
Today there are a number of organisations throughout the world who claim to teach martial arts based on Abbe's theories of Kyushindo. Several of these can trace their heritage to George Mayo, a French Judoka who had developed his own system of non-competitive judo, which incorporated elements of yoga and which he named Ju-judo (the gentle, gentle way).Mayo was not in any way connected to Abbe's British Judo Council, but he found Kyu-Shin-Do an appealing concept. Mayo controversially reinvented Kyu-Shin-Do as his own spiritual philosophy and renamed his organisation the Kyushindo International Judo Association. The claim that Abbe was involved in the creation of Mayo's system has been strongly refuted by Abbe's students. The Kyushindo International Judo Association later fragmented, giving rise to various splinter groups including the Zen Judo organisations and the Mayoshindo Karate organisation.