Choshi, Hyoshi and Ma no tori-kata

Now I know the title of this post may look a little weird but I have been recently re-reading the book "The Karate Way" by Dave Lowry. I don't do Karate but if I did I'd probably try to do it a lot like Dave Lowry. I tend to read anything of his at least three times as not only does he know a lot about the afore-mentioned art but he also practices Ken-jutsu, calligraphy, cha-do, sushi and is generally extremely knowledgable about Japanese culture and martial arts. Indeed this blog was inspired by his book "Autumn Lightning; the Education of an American Samurai". I always find reading one of his books an inspiring and relaxing experience, probably akin to what I imagine smoking a favourite pipe would be like, were I to actually be a pipe smoker! Mr Lowry's writings tend to focus on traditional martial arts but are just as applicable to fencing and life in general.*
Anyway to cut to the chase and back to the title, these are three terms that I hadn't really considered on the first reading of the book but struck me this time round. Hyoshi refers to the timing of a technique, the cadence of the attacks and strikes etc. Keeping the beat of the techniques going. (The character for Hysohi is actually representative of a child clapping). Translate this into beats, change beats, engagements, attacks etc in fencing and you can see the correlation. Each one has it's own special timing that needs to be correct to succeed.
Ma No Tori-Kata relates to the utilisation of space during a match or bout (Ma is the term for space , kata is the term for structure). Have you noticed how most really striking pictures have a slightly off center quality of space? Particularly in Japanese art where the composition may only be in one third of the space available, leaving a large amount of area that is empty. This is use of Ma or space. In a fencing match there are a number of flavours of this concept. Using the full length of the piste; using the space between you and the opponent to trigger attacks, parry or negate a technique etc, even moving laterally in the limited space we have can all be constructive use of space. A fencer used to close in work can be flustered by an opening distance. Conversely, a fencer who prefers compound attacks will be stymied if you close on them.
Choshi is slightly more complex and could best be described as the rhythm or pace of the entire encounter. Why does this matter? Well, consider what happens if you come onto the piste in a relaxed fashion... it's possible this will rub off on your opponent as well, perhaps giving you the chance to exploit a quick change of rhythm? Or what about the fencer who gets more and more exasperated as they fall further behind, their very exasperation causing them to get more flustered and deepen the spiral? From then on, their entire day just gets worse. Or the fencer who builds momentum throughout an entire competition, getting better and more effective as they go. All examples of choshi and all within some form of control by you, the fencer.
As usual with something the Japanese Budoka have given a name to, these concepts are well worth considering further.


* Enough of the eulogising; in short, if anything about Japanese martial arts appeals to you, read Dave Lowry!