Immerse Yourself into the Respect of Martial Arts

by
Category : Martial Arts★Respect

Some people do not believe that anything should be taught in martial arts besides defense skills. They are adamant that this is why they go to training; and that any preamble should be left until after class finishes. Others believe that the commence of martial arts training means an entire immersive experience into the practice and discipline of martial arts. These proponents insist that self-defense training innately encompasses lessons regarding respect.

While the detractors might be worried that martial arts will be too muddied by teaching the surrounding culture of these arts; martial arts practice is intrinsically tied to respect. The entire philosophy behind the teaching is that force should only be used when all else fails. And even when all else fails, the person should only fight a worthy opponent.

The idea of a worthy opponent means that the weak should not be exploited. Imagine an adult fighting a child or an adult fighting someone in a wheelchair with martial arts. This seems like it would be straight up wrong. In a life or death situation, a child wielding a machine gun can be a deadly force. However, when the only fighting materials are bodies, then the two opponents are not equally matched. The weaker opponent will be killed through the fighting when it would be more prudent to simply subdue the person and send them on their way.

It is difficult to imagine martial arts fights in a situation where the world has technology such as guns and drones to fight a battle. However, there are instances in non war circumstances where people are still attacked on the street. They are caught off guard and without any weapons on hand. This is where martial arts techniques can help a person in self defense if the situation is fight or be physically beaten down.

However, people are not meant to be weapons. That is why along with the combat techniques, people need to be taught how to maintain their humanity. Humanity is something that people retain even in the darkest situations. In concentration camps, people who maintained some form of their humanity actually survived longer than others and had a better quality of life. Even in those situations, saying a kind word or sharing some bread with someone helped the person maintain their self respect and will to live.

So respect is really a tactic of self defense. It helps a person to survive even in combat situations. It can prevent unnecessary fights and give a person a sense of what is important in life. Is fighting for a wallet more important than ensuring that the person escapes from the situation without knife injuries? When a person has a respect for one’s body they will gauge whether a fight is necessitated or simply a trip to the police station to report the loss of some cards and twenty dollars.

As one can see, the world of combat in real life is complex. Those split second decisions are better made before hand in the classroom to adopt a respectful philosophy of combat than in the heat of the moment when adrenaline is high.

Comments are closed.