There is a crowd out there that strongly believes that the only purpose for martial arts training is to learn to fight. There are people who look at the “good old days” of how they trained. They glorify the fact that they went home from their kung fu classes with bloody noses and cracked ribs.
There is a crowd out there that believes that the purpose of martial arts training is to win competitions. For some it is point sparring in tournaments, for others it is kickboxing, and for still others it is MMA in a cage. These people train to win competitions. Some of them have great sportsmanship, others much less so. I have personally seen some embarrassing behavior at tournaments. I have seen embarrassing behavior on the parts of competitors, on the parts of their parents, even on the parts of their instructors.
There is a crowd out there that believes that the purpose of a martial arts school is to make lots of money for the owner. They reward their successes with Rolex watches, expensive cars, and homes that could house their family times ten.
I’ve never really been one to follow the crowd. I believe in following an ideal.
There are some martial artists out there following ideals. Personally I look back to the Shaolin or Siu Lum temple and why they started training in martial arts. I look to the ways in which the martial arts can preserve and improve lives.
According to legends the Shaolin monks had beliefs they wanted to spread to the world around them. When they attempted to travel they would be attacked by bandits. They started training in the martial arts. They gained a reputation as the fiercest fighters in the land. As a result of their reputation, they didn’t have to fight. People learned not to mess with those bald headed guys in robes. The original purpose of martial arts was to be able to fight in a world in which its practitioners needed to fight.
Do we need to fight today? Sometimes. There are, however, bigger threats to our health than physical attacks. How can we address the things that assail us in today’s world? I believe that self empowerment, self discipline, and self esteem are some of the best weapons we can develop today. Through these we can improve our physical health, our mental health, and our spiritual health. Improving these can stave off the real threats to us: heart disease, diabetes, depression, addiction. . .
Can we achieve these goals through martial arts training? Yes. Is it the only way? No. It is, however, the vehicle I choose to use to teach self empowerment, self discipline, and self esteem. At the same time, we get to practice an ancient cultural art and learn practical self defense if we are attacked.
