What is "marobashi"

Marobashi or marubashi is a philosophical concept derived from Japanese martial arts, especially kendo. The term can meaning to be "without form" in some contexts, or to follow "the way of nature, freedom and energy in life", and can denotes a state of Zen enlightenment. In many Japanese arts, to achieve marobashi was to have reached the apex of artistic/martial development.

In some ways, marobashi can be related to other similar cultural plateaus such as Enlightenment or Bodhidharma. In traditional cultural reference, the Japanese refer to marobashi as the culmination of training or practice in which the practitioner is able to execute without thought, without kata, upon something even smaller than intuition. In this place, the self ceases to exist, and marobashi takes over.