Prologue:

The lines of the ken-po goku-i are set from an atomistic aspect simply because it is the manner in which the brain learns. Its nature is completely holistic and like, the I Ching, must be in a form that promotes learning and understanding so a person can see, hear and grasp the nature of a holistic system. The goku-i is a method to teach us how to be holistic. Its terseness is the best way to convey its holistic meaning.

KOAN-ZEN

The Americans, in the beginning, were first presented with the ken-po goku-i. The presentation was in the form of a silk certificate with the "goku-i" written in Japanese characters (note that Japanese characters are based chiefly on those assimilated from Chinese characters). The English translation, approximate, was presented alongside since most Americans do not know or understand Kanji.

This presentation is reminiscent of a Zen Master presenting a "Koan" to a disciple. Like the Zen Koan the goku-i also is a kind of "story or dialogue," a method of self-questioning, a statement that inspires one to think, consider and contemplate. Like the koan it is not readily or literally understood, it is not considered rational except in its "appearance" or literal meaning.  It is in need of the individual's intuition, the instincts created through study and meditation, both physical and motionless, to find an individual perception and meaning.

The nine lines of the goku-i are a Zen Koan for the martial arts. It is a sagely saying to teach. It was born of the larger and more complex documents, the I Ching and others. It consists of a grouping of words that, underneath the obvious, are perplexing, critical and concise, somewhat poetic but also a commentary on martial systems.

Again, like a Zen Koan, responses to the goku-i will differ with each practitioner. Different systems and Sensei demand different responses as to meaning and application to the system itself as practiced by an individual. It is fluid in nature and presents answers to questions that will vary by the circumstance, person and moment in time.

The idea is not to gain specificity to the goku-i but to look for a state of mind as expressed with each study and finding for the goku-i. There are no traditional answers as will be seen throughout this book. The goku-i is meant to provide a means to display the evidence of the system working by what is grasped by the individual each moment as they follow the path presented, the many paths of a martial system.

The greatest obstacle to Americans who study this simple, concise and complex koan called the goku-i is finding a qualified teacher who can judge the depth and breadth of attainment. The goku-i is a dynamic system to seeking an answer to the goku-i. It is an object that seeks the object with a relentless seeking of itself - man seeking the answer to the self, to break through the obstacles of the mind!

TERSE NINE LINES

The nine lines are terse and of such a nature that a lot of crossover begins when attempting to put a meaning on any one line. As I write this book I find that it is convoluted and that seems to be the nature of a holistic tome (karate koan). As I explain perspectives of each line you will recognize that it bleeds into other lines, parts of lines and other esoteric and holistic rhythms. This is unavoidable and a part of moving from atomistic to holistic.

It is important that the atomistic, the physical teachings of martial systems, be maintained but drawn into and applied in a holistic fashion ergo the goku-i's main function: to provide equilibrium to martial systems whereby we learn an atomistic physical aspect, then supplement it with the holistic, through the teachings of the goku-i for a wholehearted system that becomes oscillistic, a functional holistic-atomistic system.

Be aware of the crossover: learn from the blending of the lines and achieve the oscillistic practice of martial systems. This is the effort and result this book is meant to achieve. It is fluid; it is ever changing and it is not meant to be linear in its path. A single path must branch off into multiple paths that cross over, blend and then move on as threads intertwine to make up a rope: strong, flexible and holistic.

The teachings of the goku-i: a gardener must reach down into the soil to cultivate, feed and protect the individual plants, bushes and flowers. A master gardener will fail if they do not step back and take a complete view of the entire garden. If the focus is so tight that they miss the infestations, the weeds, and the various animals, they miss the opportunity to protect the garden in order to smell and admire the entire space. A master gardener knows the particulars of their craft and has achieved a level of knowledge and experience that allows for the particulars, such as planting a seed, to overseeing and protecting all of the gardens plants, bushes and flowers; to achieve, to blend into a holistic approach to gardening.

The goku-i is a recipe for martial systems. It provides the important ingredients and then helps us mix them into a lovely frosted cake for our enjoyment.

One last point: the nine lines provide an impression of ideologies that are like the nine chapters in this book. There are nine places that present certain perspectives and nine lines that remain fixed, but they should be treated as different each time one experiences them. The perspectives hopefully provide the reader with a fundamental sense of this concept. It is this doorway that leads to the end result. The results are different each time, each moment and only for that present moment.

There is little I can do to help anyone achieve the rhythm and synchrony that is inherent in traditional Asian systems but hopefully this book will open the door and the mind, to allow outside-the-box ideas to enter our culture and our way.

HEAVEN AND EARTH; SUN AND MOON

The I-Ching refers to the four significant symbols - Heaven, Earth, Sun, and Moon, where the same references are made in the Ken-po Goku-i.

In the I-Ching Qian, stands for Heaven, Kun for Earth, Li for Sun, and Kan for moon. Heaven is also used to symbolize "emptiness."

Besides Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon were the two most important symbols to the ancient Chinese. The sun and moon up in the sky were the first two natural objects they noticed that display the principle of yin and yang.

The Sun was a source of heat and light, or most yang, or the hottest, the brightest. The moon itself had neither heat nor light; its light was merely the reflection of the sun, or most yin, or the coldest, the darkest. The waxing and waning of the moon derived the principle of change and also that of the continuity of change.

Heaven, Earth, Sun and Moon were the four deities that the ancient Chinese revered the most. Heaven and Earth, respectively, represent the pure yang and the pure yin (note: In the Looking Glass God by Stiskin, heaven and earth are symbolic of the ultimate polarity of the created world). Sun and Moon represent yin within yang, and yang within yin, respectively. The ancients named these four gua as the symbols of the four cardinal directions - Qian for south, Kun for north, Li for east, and Kan for west.

If we read the words of the goku-i we see the connectedness to this belief system in regards to the references toward direction: hard and soft in extremes as well as the middle ground of hard and soft.

WHY PROLOGUE - PERSPECTIVES

"People have habitual ways of thinking, ways that they continue to use because they have seemed successful in the past." - Richard J. Heuer. This must be avoided to achieve understanding of this book, this ken-po goku-i.

Why a prologue when you have an introduction? I decided that the prologue would provide some important information regarding the natural human traits that would not only govern how one perceives this book but to provide said information that may lead a reader to "open the mind" and allow this to prompt possible change to your beliefs with regard to the practice of martial systems.

This book is not about belief - yours, mine or anyone's. It is about the possibilities that one can gleam from a generic tome to a path in martial practice. It is a collection meant to promote thought. Not my thoughts, yours.

It is not about assumptions or expectations. It is about change of all kinds beginning with a simple discipline that can and does build on a "whole system."

First, it must be understood that humans have limitations. It is the effort of this prologue to provide the reader with some of the human limitations that may or may not affect how the goku-i is perceived, interpreted, and accepted or rejected as to its premise.

All beliefs are derived from individual perceptive processes. They are shaped by personal relationships, societal influences, and educational and spiritual pursuits.

Once a belief is accepted or established, humans tend to challenge any belief outside theirs and will tend to invalidate them even when they see, hear and grasp contradictory evidence. Know this; you will tend to take what is provided; if it goes against your grain, you will want to dismiss or disparage it. If you feel this, stop and take a moment. The intent here is to provide a point to consider with an open mind and without personalization or perception of forced change.

Know that what you may feel is simply human survival instincts. These instincts will tell you that this is an effort to change those beliefs. It says you will use what would be a propensity to reject any and all things that refute or cause you pause in your current belief systems, especially regarding martial arts.

Know this hesitancy is simply human nature; perfectly natural. It is not a matter of the world out there or the world we hold within; it is about knowledge and the possibility of change for the better.

Neurologically speaking, our brains are programmed at a seemingly DNA level to hold prejudice as a part of our nature. It then has a propensity to reject any belief that is not in accord with ones own view, perceptions and beliefs.

I wish you to understand before you begin that human nature speaks to us saying that it does not matter what the facts are, for if they don't support a personal belief, they are dismissed. No matter what we feel, see, hear, think or do, it is all processed by our individual brains and thus builds our reality within, not out there in the real world.

In this, one needs to understand that every person has an innate need to build moral, spiritual, and scientifically-based beliefs that we use to explain our Universe. It is what I perceive from the scientific studies as a fundamental, essential component of the brain.

Beware of how our brains work; it can make the difference as you read this book.

ASSUMPTIONS - PERSPECTIVE

It is also worth remembering that human assumptions are seldom accurate but they reduce through belief our fear and impart certain values that help us achieve group cohesion, which means survival. It is worth remembering that each person has the biological ability to stop detrimental or derogatory beliefs and generate new, more positive ones in this process - this is important to remember.

New ideas, as I propose in this book can assist the open minded into change that literally alters brain circuitry and, by that change, the way we behave and what we believe - to our betterment.

Knowing the brain's propensity to resist change opens us to the ability to change, but in an accepted and conscious manner. This is the hope I have for this book.

GET IT FAST - PERSPECTIVE

It is my hope to circumvent the natural tendency to want quick, efficient solutions that require little effort, they don't exist. There are no quick, efficient solutions to any truly beneficial process.

EXTRAS

We have a propensity to believe that other people's values are misguided.

Prejudice seems to be rooted in human nature. The human brain has a propensity to reject any belief that is not in accord with our own.

New ideas can change the neural paths in the brain. They can change what we believe and thus our behavior - the goal of the goku-i.

We will automatically assume we hear truth when it appeals to our desires and fantasies.

We have a human propensity for effortless, quick and efficient solutions to our goals and strategies.

We are born with a natural tendency to trust what others say, but cannot take the time necessary to question every single piece of information our senses send to our brains.

Anger, bitterness, contempt, hostility and depression are serious compromising emotions detrimental to health and well-being.

RHYTHMS - PERSPECTIVE

There is a rhythmic frequency/wave in all things. The Heavens and Earth along with the second line of the Sun and Moon denote the rhythms of the Universe and thereby all those connections of nature that are also a rhythm. We find that those rhythms in Nature, Earth and humans is once again connected by threads that are frequencies/waves/energies that are either in synchrony or not.

Then we add in time. Not just the literal time we constantly view on the watch we wear but in nature's time. Time to humans is a type of organization and that equates to our human behavior. The goku-i is one method to re-introduce us to natural time over industrial time.

Research results in this area tell us, initially, that the self is deeply ingrained into and part of, rhythmic synchronic processes. Processes such as the person's heart and the blood circulation symbolize the energy of life that is naturally coupled with nature's rhythms and synchronicity. The rhythm that portrays natural organization of life or nature is a basic design function of human beings. This organization with rhythm results in human personalities. Therefore current research says that rhythm is inseparable from process and structure.

Our personality traits may find their foundation on rhythm, nature's rhythm. This rhythm/personality is unique to each human/person. The tenant of martial practice, both classical/traditional with Zen influences, to achieve balance of self and find the human rhythms that originate from our center, "hara", or the center of self. We have to have balance and self-synchrony.

Body movement is precisely synchronized with a four-level hierarchical series of rhythms which are shown in studies through wave analysis that provides intervals/rhythms of 1-3, 4-7, 8-13, 14-24, and 25-40 per second.

CONFUCIUS

Confucius taught that human survival is dependent on social order. It is by the creation and support to the clan, tribe, society that we survive. When humans gather together and create a unified social system this strengthens the individual, one, into a whole of many, still one, that is greater than the sum of all its parts, building a strong whole that gives security, protection and human social connectivity.

The goku-i teaches the martial artist, through the direct influences of the physical. The mental and physical, the spiritual, crates a stronger whole resulting in a wholehearted effort that carries over to society, the group or the dojo for a stronger foundation giving the practitioner and the dojo strength, security and cohesiveness.

Confucius taught that this is achieved by knowledge through people's efforts to become educated. The mind leads the body and in reciprocity the body, through physical effort, teaches the mind. This process teaches flexibility. The need and ability to change. The mind is flexible, as is the body, as is the spirit, allowing change to bring about the one wholehearted human experience promoting life, serenity and enlightenment.

The martial system, in tandem with the goku-i, is the yang-yin whereby individuals learn the lessons of nature, the Universe, to achieve a greater, stronger and more secure whole. That is how life began and how life will continue.