The true warrior uses everything at his disposal to gain an advantage
Hey ,
The true warrior uses everything at his or her disposal in a life-or-death encounter against an assailant looking to beat, break, or kill you. Anything that could tip the balance in your favor, and increase your advantage is considered by the Ninja.
One of those elements contained within our traditional teachings is that of
metsuke (aka metsuki). The term "metsuke" (目付け) or "metsuki" (目付き), particularly in classical bujutsu, literally translates to "eye focus" or "gaze."
Looking at the kanji characters used to write the word "metsuke", we see:
目 (me): Eye
付け (tsuke): Attachment, focus, or placing
Adding the different ending, we get a slight variation but similar meaning of:
付き(tsuki): Focus, gaze, or
intent
Together, "metsuke" or "metsuki" refers to the act of focusing or fixing one's gaze with intent and concentration. In martial arts contexts, it points to the specific way practitioners direct their eyes or focus their vision during combat or training. It's an essential aspect of awareness, concentration, and readiness in traditional martial arts disciplines.
This this just one aspect of one's kamae, which I'll talk about in
tomorrow's training tip, but it goes much deeper than just "where or how you look at your attacker." In fact, it's one of the things pointed to in the Seigan no Kamae of the Koto school, and something I introduce my newest students to shortly after joining.
It's also just one aspect of the way a warrior can use his or her eyes to do everything from intimidate, to increase their reaction time, and more. This is something I go into in my BUSHI NO ME "Eyes of the
Warrior" Course, that was originally done as a private class with my closest, personal students.
