JUKOZO

 by Phillip Starr

*Excerpted from the book, “REFINING JIN” by the author.

Japan is a beautiful island nation that is plagued with frequent earthquakes, some almost imperceptible, and some that are terribly destructive. Yet, many (if not most) of their ancient temples have withstood this terrible force of nature and remain standing after more than a thousand years. Why is this? What is their secret and what does it have to do with the practice of martial arts?

The world-renowned sensei, Akira Hino, has spoken appreciably on this subject. He emphasizes “jukozo” (flexible structure) as being the primary underlying reason for this phenomenon. The terribly destructive force of earthquakes has led to the developments of new forms of architecture in areas frequented by this force of nature. Even newer cars feature vibration-resistant construction to alleviate the shock of a collision. However, this type of special construction existed in Japan long ago and is truly representative of Japanese culture and mindset.

The ancient architects determined that rather than constructing buildings that would attempt to resist nature's power, they would design buildings that would be able to adapt to nature. The joints in the buildings were not permanently fixed; pillars and columns were/are constructed by the complex art of wood joining. This allowed for some play in the joints, which could absorb the shock of an earthquake. Coexistence with nature was preferred over (the Western notion of) trying to control nature or fight against it directly. This was the development of jukozo (the “ju” of jukozo is the same “ju” used in “judo.”). How these ancient builders knew exactly how much play would exist in their structures is unknown; wood takes about 200 years to settle...

The human body exists because of this same principle. Living on this planet means that we must endure the force of gravity all the time. Were it not for the cartilaginous tissues that act as cushions between our joints, we would not be able to move and survive for long. The principle of jukozo is of the important elements that supports life on earth. And it (should be) properly applied to our practice of martial arts.

When we receive an attack it is better to absorb or re-direct its force rather than oppose it. Consider the act of catching and then immediately throwing a baseball. When the ball is caught, the body (joints) are not tensed so as to oppose its force. Rather, we learn the absorb its force by allowing the jukozo of our bodies to receive and absorb its energy. Then we can learn to “return” its energy as we immediately (and without stopping our movement) throw the ball back. A baseball coach often reminds his players to “relax” when they do this, which is essential in maintaining one smooth movement from start (catching the ball) to finish (throwing the ball). However, what he really means is that the players must maintain “song” (a Chinese word that I translate roughly as, “using no more muscular force than is absolutely required”). The players must learn to utilize the principle of jukozo in their actions.

And so it is in martial arts. Imagine stiffening up when catching the ball and then tightening the muscles when returning it! Yet, this is (figuratively) what many martial artists do when they receive an attack.

Receiving an attack is called “uke” in Japanese and “shou” in Chinese. To properly receive an attack, the amount of jukozo must be just so, not too much nor too little. Too much play is as bad as no play at all but many internal kung-fu stylists (particularly taijiquan practitioners) do it much of the time. They completely “give in” to the force of an attack, causing them to become similar to lifeless, air-filled bags and when the incoming force disperses most of the air, they collapse. Jukozo means to be flexible, not empty. It is essential to learn to use our God-given flexible structures to our best advantage. That's going to take some considerable practice.