The Importance Of Nagare - The Flow State

When training in martial arts, initially it can feel a bit clunky and robotic when you move but this is largely down to the fact that you are just starting to learn where to position your body, we can this Shu (Learning The Mechanics). At this initial stage you haven't drilled it enough for it to be a natural movement yet which is why daily practice is important as in time those clunky movements will start to become easier and more natural (Ha - Embodying The Technique). Then the final stage is Ri (When The Technique Becomes Subconscious Reaction). 

We illustrate this to students by teaching them the Kihon Koshi Sanpo No Kata (3 Fundamental Kata) and the Sanshin No Kata (5 Elemental Forms). In the initial stages these Kata feel a bit robotic and restrictive as you have to do every move in sequence a bit like a robot. Then with practice you will find that certain movements that would be 1-2 are now done as one, so you start to understand the intermediate level of the Kata. Then when you have really drilled the Kata they feel so natural that you do them all as pretty much one seemless movement in any number of ways. We call this Shizen Gyoun Ryusui (To Move Naturally Like Flowing Water). 

Now this flow state (Nagare) is extremely important! As Bruce Lee used to say "You have to be like water, you put water in the cup, it becomes the cup, be like water my friend" and your Kata have to flow naturally. Even in combat if you are fluid you can grasp more advanced concepts like playing with Kukan (Empty Space) and make minor adjustments to draw the opponent into thinking they landed a hit before realising they missed and just lost. 

Whenever you are fighting you have to be smart and adapt to the situation and learn to flow with your strikes and chain your locks together in sequence. If you focus on just doing one technique when fighting you will miss out on the opportunity to do any number of others as you are too focused on one thing. You have to flow and adapt and see the openings in the opponents guard as they present themselves. 

Even when training in the Buki Waza (Warrior Weapons Forms) see how your body moves, what is and isn't physically possible. The Kamae (Stances), Kihon (Fundamentals), Kiri or Uchi (Cutting Or Striking) and Waza (Forms) teach you the concepts and how to use the weapon but true mastery of the weapon lies in testing your limits and seeing what's possible. One of the amazing things about being human is our inherent ability to be creative. To provide an example I could tell an AI how to do a technique but it's a set of prompts so it will replicate them like a robot. Humans can take that information, process it and see numerous variations off of the core material because we have creative minds and think what if? So don't be a robot, I think it's Murpheys Law Of Combat states "If and idea is stupid but it works, It wasn't stupid". 

Obviously with the caveat of don't juggle chainsaws or swing a huge sharp broadsword about like Conan The Barbarian (Michael Crane.....). 

Good martial artists understand that Kotsu (Essence), Ritsudo (Rhythm) and Nagare (Flow) are core to being a good fighter. You should do everything like you mean it with full intention (Kotsu), Switch up your timing and not be readable (Ritsudo) and flow naturally and strike naturally to devastating effect to vulnerable areas (Nagare). These concepts are absolutely fundamental to any martial artist and there is no wrong if what you are doing works so don't be a Kata collector and be constrained by your own knowledge. As Soke Hatsumi says 'Understand, Good! Play! ".