The true science of martial arts means
practicing them in such a way that they
will be useful at any time, and to teach them
in such a way that they will be useful in all things.
Miyamoto Musashi
If you are only training in your martial art to learn to fight or to learn self-defense, you are spending a lot of time learning something that you may never use. This may sound strange coming from a martial artist of 40 years like me, but it is true, nonetheless. That is not a very good return on your time, effort, and money. While it may make you feel good about your self-defense skills, you won’t use those skills 99.9% of the time.
The physical part of your martial arts training, with the exception of staying in shape, is much like buying insurance. You may never have a car wreck or have your house burn down, but it is important to have insurance, just in case. Likewise, the physical aspect of your martial arts training is insurance for that rare occasion when you are forced to use your martial arts skills to defend yourself or someone else.
Don’t get me wrong. It is vitally important that every warrior keeps his martial arts skills sharp. You never know when you will be left with no other choice except to use your martial arts training to defend yourself or someone else. You must stay sharp!
That said, unless you are in the military or work in law enforcement, etc., you will likely not use your martial arts skills much at all outside the dojo or in a tournament. Sure, it helps keep you fit, but shouldn’t your training be helpful in other ways as well?
What about the 99.9% of the rest of your life? Shouldn’t your martial arts training be useful in your everyday life as well? That is where balance is important in your training.
Musashi understood this. He stated that we should practice our martial arts in such a way as they will be useful at any time and in all things. This means that there must be more to your martial arts training than just learning to fight or defend yourself.
This goes along with what I have been teaching for over 20 years now. While the warrior philosophy that I teach definitely espouses learning to defend yourself, it is also about being successful in all areas of your life. That is why over half of my readers are not martial artists; because I teach martial arts and warrior philosophy in such a way that it is beneficial in almost everything you do and for everyone who applies my teachings to his or her life.
After he stopped fighting sword duels to the death, at around 30 years of age, Musashi realized that there was much more to life than fighting. He became a master of the tea ceremony, a master painter, a meditation master, a master teacher, and an amazing author whose works have lasted almost 400 years.
You can bet that he used his martial arts practice in each of those practices. Martial arts, when taught correctly, teach you not only to defend yourself, but to live a life of excellence in every way. It teaches you self-discipline, patience, endurance, self-control, self-confidence, how to read people, and much more. All of which are useful in everyday life.
When someone disagrees with this philosophy, I ask the following questions: How many times have you had to fight for your life in the last week? The last month? The last year? Have you ever had to fight for your life? The vast majority of the time, the answer to each of these questions is almost always, none.
Then I ask, how many times have you had a chance to compromise on your honor or your code of ethics? Of course, we all have opportunities to compromise our honor and integrity daily. We have the opportunity to lose our patience, to lower our standards, to lose our temper, to slack off and be lazy, etc.
What’s the point of those questions? They demonstrate how important the other aspects of our martial arts training are, and how much more we use them as compared to our self-defense skills.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that our self-defense skills are not important. What I am saying is that the other character traits that we should be learning as we train are just as important and will be used much more than our self-defense skills.
If you are teaching martial arts, you should teach your classes in such a way that they will be useful to your students in all things, not just self-defense, exercise, or sports. If you are practicing martial arts, you should practice in such a way that they are useful to you at any time. Make them an integral part of your daily life.
This means that you need to be very selective when choosing a martial arts instructor or a dojo in which to train. Does your instructor teach character traits, honor, integrity, discipline, de-escalation techniques, meditation, endurance, self-control, courtesy, courage, how to read people, how to walk away from an explosive situation before it goes too far, etc.? If not, you are not getting complete training.
Yes, I know that it is hard to fit all of that into an hour of training, but why are most martial arts classes only an hour? The answer is because that is the most convenient and economical way to run a martial arts business. It is about making money.
I have nothing against making money. But if you are not getting more than the physical side of the martial arts, you are missing out on a lot of important aspects of the martial arts.
As a former teacher and instructor, I can tell you that the majority of kids, and many adults today, are unfortunately ignorant when it comes to the philosophical side of martial arts and warrior training.
Teaching these character traits is vital to training a complete, well-rounded martial artist. And, if someone doesn’t have these traits, there is no way that he or she will be able to make their martial arts useful in all things or at any time. The character training and philosophical side of the martial arts is a must!
Many students are not taught these things at home. Even many of the parents were never taught these things. Knowledge of honor, integrity, courage, etc., is becoming more and more rare in today’s world. This is a shame, but it is true, nonetheless.
If you are a martial arts instructor, you have an extremely important role to play in the lives of your students. They look up to you and look to you for guidance, not only in the martial arts, but in life. Don’t let them down by being more concerned with money than with building men and women of character, honor, and integrity.
There’s more to the martial arts than meets the eye, if you are being taught correctly. If you’re not being taught correctly, maybe it is time to find a new instructor. Martial arts classes that do not integrate warrior philosophy are incomplete.
A martial art taught correctly is the perfect combination of the mind, body, and spirit. It is about finding balance in all aspects of your life. As Shoshin Nagamine taught, “Any martial art without proper training of the mind turns into beastly behavior.”
If your instructor doesn’t teach these things, and you can’t find one that does, train yourself. Get good books on martial arts and warrior philosophy. Train smart and make your martial arts training useful in all areas of your life, not just self-defense. Warrior up!
