Deadly Serious Martial Arts

You must be deadly
serious in training.
Gichin Funakoshi

The above quote taken from Karate-Do Kyohan by Gichin Funakoshi pretty much says it all, but how many of us actually pay attention to his admonition? You must take your training seriously, or as Master Funakoshi said, “Deadly serious.”

He used the words “deadly serious” for a reason. The reason is, if you ever do have to use your skills in a life-or-death situation, your training was “deadly serious” whether you realized it or not. Your attitude and your attention to your training become extremely important at the time that you actually need to put your martial arts skills to use.

It is all too easy to just go through the motions during your training. There are times when you are not in the mood to train and you may be tempted not to workout at all. Remember, the warrior is not practicing martial arts for sport or for some part-time hobby. This is not some game or a fun activity that you participate in twice a week. Your training is about life and death, and you should take your training deadly serious.

If you read the writings of many of the older martial artists, those in their 70’s or 80’s, they leave no room for doubt that they don’t consider practicing martial arts for sport as the true purpose behind the martial arts.

Of course there is a place for martial arts competition in today’s society, but there is a big difference between sparring for points and the philosophy of “one punch – one kill.” The latter is the one in which the warrior should mainly be concerned with perfecting. He knows that when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, there had better be more to his skills than the ability to win a trophy.

Bohdi Sanders
excerpt from the new book,
BUSHIDO: The Way of the Warrior
available from Amazon at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937884201