Kakusei-mushin: A Research Study on the Ideal Mental State in Martial Arts

Manaka Unsui, after 50 years experience in kobudo (ancient martial arts), wanted to uncover the ultimate secrets of these lineages. The various schools all seemed to speak about the concept of "mushin" as being the essence of martial arts. To get at the heart of this concept and provide scientific evidence as to "why" this mindset is so essential, he became a research student at the University of Tsukuba. This book is his full research project and includes the original Japanese text. The book also takes an extensive look at the literature studied by samurai, and provides the first scientific evidence for the effectiveness of the state of mushin, as taught by ancient masters such as Yagyu Munenori and Miyamoto Musashi. Read more