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I consider myself a theist and a martial artist. In as much as i am a member of my local church, and I have achieved with both Judo, Aikido and Karate in the past. Even if to low levels. i would like to know what do people on this site consider the connections between the martial arts and religion too Both the Japanese religions and the more 'traditional' western ones? All feedback is welcome. Also do we have any other martial arts grades on here?
Go also has the opening, middle, & end game. There are go luminaries spanning many centuries. Even though theory & practice have evolved over millennia, the greats demonstrate keen insight....Shusaku, Go Seigen, Cho Chikun, (Killer) Kato Masao (my favorite). There are many books & tutorials...I'm sure you could find'm on line.I could probably write a book on what chess can and does do to you. I am not sure about the cross over between the games, whether for example in go there is an opening, middle and end game. Or whether there are recognized go grandmasters across the ages, the likes of whom morphy, Nimzovitch, Fischer and Kasparov so amply demonstrate on that oldest of pastimes. Indeed a few months ago i finished downloading a large collection of tutorials on chess. Do they even have these for go, or those other games you mentioned???
From about 5 to 14 (I think) I trained solely in traditional martial arts, then from that time until I was about 20 I trained in both TMA and MMA (the traditional martial arts I trained in were mostly Japanese: Jujitsu, Aikido, Bujinkan Ninpo, Karate (which originally is Okinawan but the styles I trained in were not), and some Judo that was mixed in with MMA classes & training. However, I did have the unbelievable luck to live near the headquarters of YMAA, where one of the foremost experts on Chinese martial arts lived (Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming), and there I trained mostly in White Crane but also Long Fist and Tai Chi, and spent a lot of time working on chin na techniques. There were many times during this period where I tried to connect to spiritual sides of the martial arts (either by choice or because it was expected), but never really found much of it meaningful. For the past 10 years I've trained solely in styles I refer to as combatives (because the first several courses I took were for military and paramilitary personnel, and that's what they were called) and outside of courses at training facilities like Gunsite, Academi/Blackwater, Valhalla, and Sig Sauer's academy I've pretty much done only Krav Maga with some techniques or styles such as Muay Thai, BJJ, etc., that the school I attend bring in either as guest instructors or as part of the regular program. Needless to say, there isn't a great deal of spirituality/religion, excepting those times in which I pray to a god I don't believe in that the pain will stop or that the instructor pick someone else to demonstrate a kimura or similar lock/hold. "Train like you fight" may be the best way to prepare for the real thing, but it sure doesn't feel good.I consider myself a theist and a martial artist. In as much as i am a member of my local church, and I have achieved with both Judo, Aikido and Karate in the past. Even if to low levels. i would like to know what do people on this site consider the connections between the martial arts and religion too Both the Japanese religions and the more 'traditional' western ones? All feedback is welcome. Also do we have any other martial arts grades on here?
Unfortunately my knowledge of Japanese & Chinese languages is basically nil and my studies outside of books by martial artists on the history of martial arts is limited, but what I've read is in complete accord with what you say. In fact, often Japanese and Chinese styles have as their origin legend that of the Indian founder of the Shaolin Temple- Bodhidharma. Also, ki and qi are cognate terms, and much of the small-circle technique in jujitsu & aikido styles seems to have originated in chin na techniques from various Chinese martial arts. I recall being told by Stephen Hayes that ninpo was closer to Chinese martial arts than is Karate or Jujitsu because it is "softer" (I am paraphrasing here, and I only met him once so only heard this once), and in training a lot of aikido technique, orientation, and "essence" (that's not the right word, but is as close as I'm going to get) was quite similar to the "soft" styles of Chinese martial arts. I've always thought of it as the "soft" Japanese martial art, the kind of practice that is effective very quickly in terms of discipline and humility and other things that aid in avoiding conflicts but very, very, very slow when it comes being effective in actual combat/self-defense. However, from what I've seen of those who've dedicated 30+ years to aikido, once it is effective it is VERY effective.my take is aikido, and i read a lot from the aiki (gentle harmony/energy) way of this style. I think softness has a close favour with the chinese martial arts, although i could well be mistaken
Bruce Lee and Jet Li always count! More seriously, I'm not very familiar with the author you mention (he's similar to an ex-teacher of mine and has his detractors as anybody who puts out that amount of literature will) but there are some really good authors who have dedicated much of their study not just to preserving and teaching martial arts but also its history (Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming & Darrell Max Craig spring to mind immediately). Then there are those like Ashida Kim, anything coming out of Paladin Press, and even pretty legitimate practitioners who are more intent on providing themselves with accolades through publishing sensationalist books about the secret power of X style/tradition. Again, having read 1 (maybe 2?) books by Wong Kiew Kit I can't say for certain how great he is at covering the relationships between different styles but he's definitely a master and definitely knows whereof he speaks.seeing as about the only understanding i have of your style comes from a book i have read on c kung fu by wong kiew kit, and some bruce lee films i have seen! Do they count??
It does count. Fencing actually informed a lot of Bruce Lee's technique. Not that it would need to in order to be a martial art in its own right, of course.Before my health tanked, I was learning the German School of Fencing, if that counts.
i think martial arts - like anything - can be a form of askesis: exercise or training or formation of the spirit. but one does not exercise or develop the spirit for its own sake, but for the sake of others and for god. one does not become a self to become a self, for self-ish reasons, one becomes a self to stop being self-ish.
another form of spiritual exercise for me is cooking.