Mokuso is the short period of silent meditation at the start and end of a judo class, sitting in seiza with closed eyes until the call mokuso yame. The class sits in seiza, the instructor says mokuso, everyone closes their eyes and breathes quietly for half a minute or so, and the instructor ends it with mokuso yame.
- Japanese name: mokuso, usually translated as quiet contemplation or silent thought.
- When: after lining up in seiza, before the opening bow, and again before the closing bow.
- In BJJ: uncommon; some academies run a quiet moment or a short talk instead.
What does mokuso mean?
Mokuso draws a line between the day and the mat. Whatever you walked in with, the commute, the work, the argument, stays on the other side of that half minute. At the end of class it does the opposite job: it lets the adrenaline settle before you bow out and go home. Many instructors use the moment to ask the class to think about one thing they learned.
This page describes how mokuso is used in judo clubs today and claims nothing about where the practice came from.
How is mokuso done?
- The class kneels in seiza in a line, in grade order, facing the front.
- The instructor or senior student calls mokuso.
- Eyes close, hands rest on the thighs or in the lap, breathing slows.
- After thirty seconds to a minute the instructor calls mokuso yame, stop.
- Eyes open and the class moves straight into the bows: to the front, then to the instructor.
What posture is mokuso done in?
Seiza, which the IJF Sport and Organisation Rules translate as "sitting square, formal sitting".
How do you get something out of mokuso?
The easy version is to sit still and wait for yame. The useful version is to breathe slowly, feel your weight on your heels, and pick one thing to work on in the session ahead. At the end, pick one thing that went well and one that did not. Thirty seconds is enough for that, and it is the habit that gives you a sentence to write in the training journal.
If someone in your club takes the quiet part of judo as seriously as the throws, our judo gifts collection has pieces that will land.
Sources
- IJF Sport and Organisation Rules, International Judo Federation
Related terms
Seiza, Bow, Dojo, Training journal, Kiai.