The way stars move around the Milky Way galaxy in long spiral arms is a beautiful display of orbital dynamics. The interstellar traffic jams speed up and slow down on their orbit around the center of a large, dense mass. It is impossible to explain, given humanity’s current understanding of gravity, unless there’s a heck of a lot more stuff there than we can see. Dark stuff. Dark matter.
How was this deduced? Think of the diagram of gravity distorting space. Any mass “presses down” on the fabric of space creating a depression that causes other matter to “fall in” or at least come closer. The more mass the deeper this gravitational well. When you have mass going at some speed as it goes by other mass it will curve its trajectory accordingly, even to the point of impact. The science nerds can do the math and calculate how deep the well is for any given mass – because of this they can know how fast something has to be going in order for that curve to become a stable orbit, where the objects end up spinning around each other instead of going their separate ways. Here’s the fun bit: there’s not enough mass in all of the stars, nebulae, interstellar dust, exoplanets, asteroids, comets and black holes in the Milky Way for the well to be deep enough for the stars to move the way they do. There must be more stuff making the well deep enough. Stuff we can’t see.
Juijitsu: Dark Matter of Karate
Even while invisible and unexplained, dark matter affects the way stars move. It is there, and has been there from the start and will be there for as long as there is anything anywhere. It informs our understanding of every motion, action and reaction in the galaxy. So too is the dark matter of jiujitsu’s affect on karate movements. It is there and has been there from the start and will be there for as long as there are martial artists. It informs our understanding of every motion, action and reaction in karate.
Karate is younger than jiujitsu by centuries. It was part of the fabric of martial arts that existed when Gichin Funakoshi was born. When his grandparents were born. There is no escaping the gravitational well of it when creating a new art in that environment. No more than the Sun can escape the Milky Way. When we move through a kata and think about application, the first instinct, the old teachings, the textbooks, they tell us that a downwards parry is a way not to get kicked in the abdomen. This is not incorrect but it is also not complete. Gedan barai is the motion itself, which can be used for both defense and offense. “But sensei, is this a throw?” It could be. More and more I am discovering that any time I pivot my hip and move my arms I could very well be throwing an opponent. The grappling has always been there, unexamined and possibly willfully ignored, but there nonetheless.
If we deepen our understanding of the context of art we can appreciate it all the more. This is as true of martial arts as any other. So once you learn your basics and know them well, look beyond, look behind, look underneath. Find the dark matter that makes them go the way that they do. Keep an open mind and add to the toolbox.
Thank you
Francisco Berro
Francisco is a regular contributor to the KSKD Blog. For more of his thoughts, follow the link: Francisco’s Blogs.