Sonkyo
“When two kenshi stand at a distance” kyu ho no maai “(distance of nine steps), the first bow is Otagai no rei (bow to show respect for each other), then they approach each other to bring themselves into sonkyo ( son kyo no rei), which represents a ceremonial greeting (rei), to providence (god, universe), to one’s mind / heart (kokoro) to harmonize with providence and at the same time to concentrate ki in one’s body (yes calls shou ten no ki).
When you do sonkyo correctly, this is the moment of highest dignity and purification of your mind and body. At this very moment there is no longer a distinction between oneself and the opponent, only the two swords exist in the universe. I believe that “shou ten no ki” is the ultimate goal of Kendo practice and the very essence of Kendo.
This is the sensation one can feel and begin to perceive after years of practicing with correct sonkyo. If one fails to perform sonkyo correctly from the earliest times of his practice, he will never be able to feel such a sensation no matter how old he practices. I believe that sonkyo performed correctly is the most beautiful sight in Kendo. Anyone who could express the idea of eliminating sonkyo would denounce their condition of not knowing kendo so well. “
** All credits text: Ebihara sensei
蹲踞 (Sonkyo or Sonko) is a way of sitting by squatting down or kneeling down on the knees to lower the hips.
蹲う (Tsukubau) means bowing to the ground and 踞む (Kogomu) means bending down, sitting down or crouching, and therefore the combination of these two characters can represent the posture of bowing politely with one’s body bended down that is taken to show respect toward any person of high rank passing by.
For more information about this topic you can read this article:
Sonkyo
https://budo-world.taiiku.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/2017/02/11/%E8%B9%B2%E8%B8%9E%EF%BC%88%E3%81%9D%E3%82%93%E3%81%8D%E3%82%87%EF%BC%89/
** Article by Nagao Susumu Kendo Hanshi (Professor, Meiji University)
(Kendo’s Not-so Common-sense, Kendo Nippon, July 2010)
** Translated by Kendo World (Bunkasha International)
Budo World thanks Kendo Nippon Magazine for allowing us to reproduce this article