Gokui-Zen-Koan?

In the beginning the Americans were presented with the ken-po goku-i. The presentation was in the form of a silk certificate with the "gokui" written in Japanese characters (note that Japanese characters are based chiefly on those assimilated from Chinese characters). The English translation, approximate, was presented along side since 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 gokui 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.

The nine lines of the gokui are a Zen Koan for the martial arts. It is a sagely sayings 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 that are perplexing, critical and concise words somewhat poetic but also a commentary on martial systems.

Again, like a Zen Koan, responses to the gokui 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 gokui but to look for a state of mind as expressed with each study and finding for the gokui. There are no traditional answers as will be seen throughout this book. It is meant to provide the practitioner a means to display the evidence of the systems working by what is grasped each moment by the disciple 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 gokui as to a qualified teacher of the gokui who can judge the depth and breadth of attainment. The gokui is a dynamic system to seeking an answer to the gokui. 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!

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