Muchime and cut-up toes

[DieRegteAdriaan]

Hi there, new to the site. I have a question to all other style practitioners. Do you use muchime (not sure about spelling) in your style? And if so is it constant body contact, sticky feet, both, etc? Also what is your idea/or that of your masters on this concept? And last but not least, do you get cut - up toes from sticky feet movement? Mine tends to split on the first lit between foot and big toe.

 

[Brian S]

Could you explain it to those of us not familiar with the terms you use?

What is "muchime" , and what do you mean "sticky feet" ?

 

[Cirdan]

Welcome to MT DieRegteAdriaan! :cheers:

I too have no idea what you are talking about, please explain

 

[DieRegteAdriaan]

I am not exactly sure if it is the correct term, but this is how understand it. Upperbody muchime refers to pro-longed or ongoing contact between two practioners. For example during the chokozen/renzuku bunkai (line application of kata) of geki sai dai ich ( First kata in Goju Ryu where i train), the movements start with the attacker stepping over and punching for the defender (one doing the kata) who does a upward rising block or age uki. Now the defender steps over and punch for the head of the attacker and the attacker blocks with a upward rising block (URB). Muchime or stickiness comes into play during the transition part where the defender attacks the attacker, when chambering the blocking arm in concert with the punch, the defender tries to maintain contact, i.e. he/she drives the attackers punching arm down with his/hers chambering arm until at about the point where the arm goes backwards to the hip. This almost looks like the two practioners are glued together at the arms but what is actually happening is that the defender is sort of closing the gap, eliminating the arm of the attacker from doing another technique ( for example an succesive punch with the same arm).

Lower body muchime or sticky feet refers to not lifting the feet when stepping (be it in short, medium or long walking stance or respectivly sanchin-, zenkusanchin- and zenkutso dachii) but sort of gliding the foot over the floor while keeping contact with the inner half of your feet (from big toe to about second toe). This looks like you are sticking to the ground and delivers a much more stable base than lifting the foot.

 

[Cirdan]

Sounds a bit like a version of pushing hands or pushing blocks we do.
Not too different from this:

We don`t walk like you describe tho, however walking correctly while doing "pushing blocks" is important and half-jokingly called Kung-Fu Walking. We lift the feet, not too much, and transfer the weight along the whole sole of the foot from heel to toe as we walk. No cut up toes here, used to get some cracks in the skin behind the ball of the foot but not anymore. Do you train on a wooden floor too?

 

[hpulley]

I actually find the blue judo 'tatami' mats are the worst for cut up feet but I know what you mean. I train gojuryu and kobudo and I've had to excuse myself to tape up a bloody toe on more than one occasion. Sensei always asks what happened and I'm not sure he believes me when I say it is just rug burn on my feet!

 

[7starmarc]

Sticking is a core principle in Mantis, mostly applied to hands. In this, we like to maintain contact, but it is not (of course) mandatory. We also apply the same concept to the feet, although it is not as constant, for obvious reasons. We do not use sticky feet in the way you describe, although we do tend to have more grounded footwork than many other arts ( in comparison to those that keep their weight on the balls of the feet).

 

[hpulley]

Also forgot to mention the name of the sticky feet in gojuryu at least is takoashi or 'octopus feet'. You are supposed to root yourself, especially in the sanchin stance, using your toes.

 

[DieRegteAdriaan]

We practice on a table - tennis/fencing floor, sometimes on those blue judo mats when we practice in the aikido/tkd hall nextdoor (litteraly next door) or sometimes outside on grass. I find that the concrete type floor is the worst and the grass the easiest on the feet. I dont get cut up that badly as summer progress because I mostly walk bearfooted, except when going to church/clubs/movies, ect for foot conditioning. I find Goju unique because none of the other styles in my town use these things, not to mention double block techniques. I can safely say this because I have trained with Shotokan guys for university team, and visited some other training halls to check it out.

 

[exile]

I understand the notion muchimi a little bit differently. In karate-based MAs, the idea of muchimi is 'continuous contact', but not in a 'sticky limbs' sense; rather, it refers to the conversion of a striking limb into a controlling limb and vice versa. So a hikite movement (conventionally labelled a 'chamber') where one of the attacker's hands is gripped and pulled back toward the defender's body to anchor and control them, while the defender's free arm delivers a pin or a strike, is followed by the striking hand becoming a gripping hand—continuing the control—while the 'chambering' fist now is recruited to deliver a follow-up strike; then it too establishes a grip, and both hands work together with the defender's pivot to throw/take down the attacker... that sort of thing. It's not the classic Taijiquan 'sticky hands' kind of thing, but just the continuous conversion of striking limb into controlling limb into striking limb... repeat as necessary. Abernethy, in his book Bunkai-Jutsu, has a nice discussion of how karate kata assume this kind of alternating use of the defender's limbs in the combat applications they encode as their hidden 'subtext'....