Christianity and Martial Arts
There are over fifteen hundred styles of martial arts in the world today, all of which have their own expression, history and creativity. No matter what age, gender, culture or religious background, martial arts is a fast growing in our culture. The study and practice of martial arts is the most holistic work out available. Many participate in martial arts for various reasons. Some are attracted because of movie theatrics they have seen, physical or mental conditioning, the camaraderie of a club atmosphere, self-defense, or just to get out of the house. Despite the reasons, there is absolutely nothing as well rounded as martial art training. The core of martial arts is not just training the body for brute strength and flexibility, but rather the careful cultivation of the core values of: honesty, honor, patience, persistence, love, charity, sobriety, courage, self-denial and humility. These core values penetrate all geographical, cultural, and linguistical diversifications.
Consider this: it was a dark night and Maria was getting off her 3 p.m. to midnight nursing shift. She grabbed her coat collar tightly as she stepped around the corner of the hospital building and into a cold gust of wind. Muttering to herself, she ducked her head down and ran to her car in the deserted parking lot. Once at her car, she opened her purse and began fumbling for her keys. Suddenly she felt arms grabbing her from behind and lifting her off the ground. First, her mind went blank with fear at the surprise of being attacked. Then reflexes took over, and she began to scream and kick back towards her attacker. Fortunately, one of her kicks hit her attacker in the groin. As his knees buckled, his grip weakened and Maria bit down on his closest hand. Her attacker grunted with pain and released his hold. Maria dropped her purse and ran back to the hospital, still screaming for help (Leslie M. Graham, Ph.D., Martial Arts Masters, John Soet Steven, Ed. (Burbank, CA: January 1993), 34).
Now Maria is a fictional character, but according to statistical data, there is an average attack every 90 seconds. In addition, the frightening probability of being murdered in the United States is 1 in 133. These statistic include women, men and children. Indeed, the staggering statistic reveal that one out of every 25 males and one out of every 43 females was a victim of some sort of physical assault this past decade. In the United States, one out of every five females will be raped (Graham, Ph.D. 36). Reacting in violence is not the solution to all problems, especially for Christians, but will be advantage for everyone to learn self-defense so that they do not become one of these statistics!
Martial arts is not about violence, it is about protection. The proper use of force, as a martial artist, is to execute the proper and maxim amount of force and technique that eliminate threats with least amount injury both to yourself and those whom you are martially engaged with. People need to be respected. However, we also need to be on guard for those that do not share that same value on human life. We must be ready to respond in the proper manner, including violence when it is absolutely necessary. That may require us to react using the skills of martial arts to defend ourselves and those whom we love and cherish. Over all, a martial artist may choose pacifism but those who are not skilled to defend themselves are condemned to it.
As a true martial artist, all life is valuable, especially a human life. More so if you are a believer in Christ. To take a life with no just cause brings dishonor and shame. But to save a life brings honor and peace. This attitude of love is about protection, self-defense and not antagonistic aggression and is the hallmark of every good martial artist. Charity flows out love for a martial artist. Charity is protecting the weak, helping those who cannot help themselves, and sharing your life and knowledge to those who are willing to learn. Sobriety and courage are a martial characteristic too. For a martial artist, sobriety or not allowing anything that alters your self-control, brings dishonor. Courage is that characteristic which admits omission and wrong doing. The ability to face and accept our responsibilities and consequences for our actions is what martial art courage is all about. Self-denial and humility go hand-in-hand for a true martial artist. Humility is the antithesis of haughtiness, pride and ego. Humility is not thinking lesser of ourselves but it is thinking less about ourselves and more about the needs of other around us. Self-denial is interconnected with humility. It is the next step beyond humility and living a lifestyle of considering other people first. Martial arts teaches that self-denial is not just as an art form, but as a way of life; denial of our self-centeredness and submission to the authorities in our lives, starting with our parents, teacher and instructors etc. Dedication and commitment to a particular art, family and instruction is usually mandatory for all practitioners. Training halfheartedly is usually never acceptable. Each practitioner is obligated to give 110% into their training. Faithfulness and loyalty to the school, family, teachers and to all who are in authority where held in the highest esteemed. Each of these ethics and values from my experience is usually stressed in every class and in every martial art school I ever attended.
A Christians the core values of submission to authority begins with God and then to others in our lives, our pastor[s], our supervisors at work, and within the home structure as it is taught in Scripture. Humility, honesty, humbleness and the value of human life should be the trade mark of every believer. Certainly there are some philosophical eastern mysticism that are taught in some martial art system that need to be avoided at all cost, for they are in direct conflict with Biblical teaching, especially as it relates to exposing children to it. We need to screen any potential martial art school that is being considered. And I’m not saying that core values can’t be learned outside of martial art training, however, good martial art training can reinforce some of the strong Christian more values that personify the Christian lifestyle. There are some good Christian Martial Art organization that I would suggest too all believers who are interested and who teach martial arts.
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