By Ken Ducote

What comes to mind when one speaks of the martial arts?  Hollywood, David Caradine and Kung Fu for us older folks and Jet Li and Jackie Chan and the Matrix for the younger generation.  How about MMA?  Well, sorry to disappoint folks, but true wisdom and philosophy of the arts has nothing to do with all this fan fare.

The martial arts is both science and art.  The true student, is always a student inspite of the color of the “cloth” around his/her uniform.  The trap is that in most dojo/dojang in America, when one reaches first degree black belt, that student often thinks he/she has graduated.  No so!  One has just finished high school–now on to college.  Why do you think there are 9 grades of black belt?  One is “always” a student.

Basic to all traditional teachings in the arts for all styles and systems should be three aspects for the student to work on for personal growth.  They are the body, mind, and spirit.  In my art, Chon Sul Kwan Hapkido, known as Tactical Hapkido, our Alliance patch has symbols relating to this topic.  In training, a healthy body and rigorous training can make the difference between victim and survivor.  The U.S. Navy SEALS have a saying, “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.”  We might not be going into battle, but a healthy body sure is a plus for a healthy mind.  That leads to the Mind.  Mental health and personal balance is sought by martial artists, yoga students, monks both East and West and many others.  It is a proven fact that martial arts help one to center and focus in difficult times as well as enjoy the “moment” when thing are going well.  The third aspect is spirit.  Sometimes as a school owner and instructor I meet resistance when a student or parent questions why we bow to the national flags, when we step on and off the mat and to eachother.  In their minds they think of religion or Buddhism.  Not so.  Spirituality in NOT religion. A spiritual person is one that respects himself, others, and creation.  Hum, St. Francis, Jesus, Buddha and Lao Tzu, just to name a few come to mind.  The Martial Arts help one to appreciate “life.”  That is the spiritual part.  It is true that Eastern monks studied martial arts to protect themselves from robbers, but today, Franciscan priest, Jesuits, Buddhist, Taoist and lay people all practice the arts for many reasons.  Some are for fitness, health, socialization, hobby and yes, a spiritual centering as well as self defense.

My first instructor, Master Yang Moon, a 7th Degree World Taekwondo Master taught us this:

Seek the perfection of character

Live the way of truth

Endeavor

Be fathful

Respect your seniors

Refrain from violent behavior

This is true philosophy of the Martial Arts.  If your instructor or school does not teach this, then you are paying way too much time and money for someone to teach you how to simply punch or roundhouse kick.  90% of what martial artists do is mental and only 10% is physical.  Even a chimp on YouTube can do a jumping spin kick.

The point is that if one is serious about traditional Martial Arts, there is more to learn than sparring.  However, if one is interested only in the sport, there is nothing wrong with that.  There is room for us all.  It comes down to “repspect.”

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Lao Tzu) And true martial artists are always on that journey.  Happy training!