"It's about honor and discepline". That's what you'll hear when you ask Grand Master "Kim" what the purpose of martial arts is. "It's about respect and humility" he'll say. These are the facets of martial arts that have come to be accepted as part of their long tradition. Many styles emphasise these virtues as if you can't fight without them. But are they really so important to a martial artist? Are these virtues exclusive to combat?
This is quite an interesting question. The modern martial artist who is trained in a classical school -usually styles such as Tae Kwon Do (my first style), Karate, Aikido, and others- knows certain values are to be demonstrated at all times on the mat and in their daily life. A student is taught by his instructors to honor and respect those of authority. The student is to show patience at all times. Humility is the mark of a black belt, some will say. Now, I have no quarel with anyone who wishes to live by these virtues and proclaim their importance. They are the foundations on which we are to build our character. But when someone claims that you cannot be an effective martial artist without such character traits in place, they have made several mistakes.
First, there is no solid definition for "martial artist". Each style, school, teacher, and practitioner has their own take on what this means. Is it about how well you can fight in the street to save your life? Is it about competition? What kind of competition, full contact, submission, point fighting? Is it about kata practice or meditation? Who defines what the word "martial artist" means? One cannot say a martial artist must have specific virtues if one cannot first define what makes a martial artist.
Martial arts were originally invented by soldiers near the Indian/Chinese border and these records are left for us by way of inscriptions on turtle shells (early paper, I guess). After dynasties rose and fell, some historians believe that these warriors fled to China, taking their martial arts with them, and hid in Buddhist temples. Before this time, martial arts were practiced for the sole purpose of increasing a foot soldier's ability to kill his enemy in battle. But true to Chinese philosophy, the monks who harbored these men found meaning in all things and wove their philosophy into the practice of these arts. Soon, the arts had been so infused with Tao philosophies that it became standard practice for Shoalin monks to practice the art. Their new styles included movements based on animals and became what was known as "Wushu" and "Gong Fu". The more recognizable translation is "Kung Fu". From there, martial arts spread across the world to Japan where it became Karate, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-jitsu spread to Brazil where it became Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kung Fu's influence spread to Korea where it became Tae Kwon Do. Martial arts spread to Europe where it became boxing. Karate spread to America and combined with boxing to become kickboxing. These are the means by which martial arts have come to dominate the globe. And each continent, country, civilization, people group, and individual who developes a style of combat does so for a specific purpose, to fill a specific need. Who are we as individuals to define what their martial art must include in the way of virtue?
Let's answer one of our questions: Does a martial artist need virtues such as honor or respect to be a talented fighter? The answer, despite what you may have been taught in class, is "no". Mike Tyson is not an outstanding model of virtue but one cannot argue his effectiveness in the ring. Likewise, UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen would hardly be used as an example of humility but it doesn't stop him from dominating his opponents from bell to bell. Muhammad Ali proudly boasted to be "The Greatest" and was perhaps the greatest fighter the world has ever seen. Although it is nice to see a fighter display the virtues that form the basis of good character, it simply is not necessary for one to develope fighting proficiency. Must one develope humilty to be a good NFL quarter back or Olympic runner? Of course not. Why would anyone assume it's necessary for fighting and what scientific data could support such a claim?
Let's answer another question: Does a martial artist have to demonstrate patience and discipline? The answer is "yes". It's not a rule, just a fact. Developing proficiency in martial arts takes thousands of hours of hard practice and requires many sacrifices. An undisciplined individual must develope this quality as they progress or come into the arts demonstrating it. The better you want to be, the more work and sacrifices will be required of you and that means more disclipline. Patience is also crucial because you don't become world champion over night. Although the harder you work the faster you can progress, it still takes lots of time to develope any skill, especially unarmed combat.
In the end, virtues such as honor and respect are important for all people, regardless of their endeavor. However, it isn't entirely accurite to say that you aren't a martial artist without them. The're are far too many methods and reasons for practicing martial arts to assign identical mandatory rules of conduct and morality to them all. A realistic altercations expert may use these virtues to avoid a fight but doesn't need them for the fight itself. A competitior is only required to follow the code of conduct stipulated by the event's governing body. A traditional practitioner's level of moral conduct will change from one school to another. Let's work on achieving good character as human beings, regardless of our endeavor, before we assign them to someone's fighting style.
This is quite an interesting question. The modern martial artist who is trained in a classical school -usually styles such as Tae Kwon Do (my first style), Karate, Aikido, and others- knows certain values are to be demonstrated at all times on the mat and in their daily life. A student is taught by his instructors to honor and respect those of authority. The student is to show patience at all times. Humility is the mark of a black belt, some will say. Now, I have no quarel with anyone who wishes to live by these virtues and proclaim their importance. They are the foundations on which we are to build our character. But when someone claims that you cannot be an effective martial artist without such character traits in place, they have made several mistakes.
First, there is no solid definition for "martial artist". Each style, school, teacher, and practitioner has their own take on what this means. Is it about how well you can fight in the street to save your life? Is it about competition? What kind of competition, full contact, submission, point fighting? Is it about kata practice or meditation? Who defines what the word "martial artist" means? One cannot say a martial artist must have specific virtues if one cannot first define what makes a martial artist.
Martial arts were originally invented by soldiers near the Indian/Chinese border and these records are left for us by way of inscriptions on turtle shells (early paper, I guess). After dynasties rose and fell, some historians believe that these warriors fled to China, taking their martial arts with them, and hid in Buddhist temples. Before this time, martial arts were practiced for the sole purpose of increasing a foot soldier's ability to kill his enemy in battle. But true to Chinese philosophy, the monks who harbored these men found meaning in all things and wove their philosophy into the practice of these arts. Soon, the arts had been so infused with Tao philosophies that it became standard practice for Shoalin monks to practice the art. Their new styles included movements based on animals and became what was known as "Wushu" and "Gong Fu". The more recognizable translation is "Kung Fu". From there, martial arts spread across the world to Japan where it became Karate, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-jitsu spread to Brazil where it became Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kung Fu's influence spread to Korea where it became Tae Kwon Do. Martial arts spread to Europe where it became boxing. Karate spread to America and combined with boxing to become kickboxing. These are the means by which martial arts have come to dominate the globe. And each continent, country, civilization, people group, and individual who developes a style of combat does so for a specific purpose, to fill a specific need. Who are we as individuals to define what their martial art must include in the way of virtue?
Let's answer one of our questions: Does a martial artist need virtues such as honor or respect to be a talented fighter? The answer, despite what you may have been taught in class, is "no". Mike Tyson is not an outstanding model of virtue but one cannot argue his effectiveness in the ring. Likewise, UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen would hardly be used as an example of humility but it doesn't stop him from dominating his opponents from bell to bell. Muhammad Ali proudly boasted to be "The Greatest" and was perhaps the greatest fighter the world has ever seen. Although it is nice to see a fighter display the virtues that form the basis of good character, it simply is not necessary for one to develope fighting proficiency. Must one develope humilty to be a good NFL quarter back or Olympic runner? Of course not. Why would anyone assume it's necessary for fighting and what scientific data could support such a claim?
Let's answer another question: Does a martial artist have to demonstrate patience and discipline? The answer is "yes". It's not a rule, just a fact. Developing proficiency in martial arts takes thousands of hours of hard practice and requires many sacrifices. An undisciplined individual must develope this quality as they progress or come into the arts demonstrating it. The better you want to be, the more work and sacrifices will be required of you and that means more disclipline. Patience is also crucial because you don't become world champion over night. Although the harder you work the faster you can progress, it still takes lots of time to develope any skill, especially unarmed combat.
In the end, virtues such as honor and respect are important for all people, regardless of their endeavor. However, it isn't entirely accurite to say that you aren't a martial artist without them. The're are far too many methods and reasons for practicing martial arts to assign identical mandatory rules of conduct and morality to them all. A realistic altercations expert may use these virtues to avoid a fight but doesn't need them for the fight itself. A competitior is only required to follow the code of conduct stipulated by the event's governing body. A traditional practitioner's level of moral conduct will change from one school to another. Let's work on achieving good character as human beings, regardless of our endeavor, before we assign them to someone's fighting style.
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