The Sabaki Revolution

In Japanese, sabaki means “to work with energy efficiently.” It’s a state of being that expresses strength coupled with ease and grace. My father Joko Ninomiya, the founder and grandmaster of enshin karate, created the Sabaki Challenge, a tournament designed to highlight this intelligent system of working with an opponent’s force, which often involves taking advantage of circles and leverage. Sabaki is not a martial art per se; rather, it’s a traditional idea that’s open to evolution and reinterpretation — and that just might precipitate a revolution in the fighting arts.

In this article, I will present four concepts and several related techniques that illustrate this special quality of sabaki. I chose these four because during the pandemic, my father decided to incorporate newaza (ground techniques) into the enshin curriculum. This serves as a bridge to grappling for people who are used to striking and a bridge to striking for grapplers who are used to the ground.

The irony is that when you use sabaki, you’re not fighting your opponent. You’re working with natural geometric shapes