Martial Arts Community Upholds High Ideals
There's a telling scene at the end of the movie
, "The Karate Kid," that illustrates the true heart of martial arts.
As two judges congratulate Daniel and Mr. Miyagi on Daniel's first-place win, the mean sensei, Kreese, breaks through their group to show his contempt. One of the other judges says plainly, "That guy doesn't understand what Karate is really all about."
This sense of deeper understanding resonates with many people who join a martial arts community. Like Daniel's sensei Miyagi-San, they know that martial arts are meant to help people develop physically and mentally, not to intimidate and dominate others through power.
Being part of a martial arts community begins when a students joins a Dojo, or martial arts school. Through diligent practice and careful attention to their teachers, students learn the physical and mental practices that characterize their sport as well as the intent and meaning of the culture or country in which the sport originated.
This deeper meaning expands when martial arts students participate in competitions with other Dojos or with national organizations. True students of martial arts don't focus solely on winning trophies; they pay attention to the other students are as people, not just what they can do as athletes.
For instance, an American soldier stationed in Japan who was studying Aikido once told a story about meeting a renowned Aikido master on a crowded train. Aikido is known as "the way of the open hand," and emphasizes learning how to redirect an attacker's force rather than confronting it head-on. The soldier says that before he and the master could strike up a conversation, a countryman on the train began raving and waving around a large knife, threatening many passengers.
The soldier tensed, wondering if he could remember all the self-defense moves he had learned, but the Aikido master moved toward the raving man and began talking quietly to him about country life. Before long, the man quieted down and allowed the master to take the knife from him, and lead him to a train employee for further care. The Aikido master had redirected the attacker's violent energy using only some friendly words and his own calm demeanor. The humbled soldier ended his story by saying: "That day I understood what 'the way of the open hand' truly meant."
These kinds of cross-cultural experiences and lessons come from being part of a devoted martial arts community. While studying martial arts diligently will convey countless physical and mental benefits, it's the relationships formed in a martial arts community that will take a student beyond the confines of his or her own Dojo. How a martial arts student behaves toward others such as Sensei Kreese's bad manners reflects on the entire martial arts community.
That's why so many martial arts, such as Karate, JuJutsu, Tae Kwan Do, Judo and others, form organizations to regulate how their arts are taught. They certify teachers around the world, set up standards for moving through achievement ranks, and sponsor local, national and international competitions to showcase the skills of top students. A martial arts community rightfully sees itself as both the guardian and the giver of its ancient sport to new generations, and so it works diligently to see that its tradition and ideals are upheld at all times.
by: Vikram Kumar
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