Why martial arts / self defence? Am I enough?

I was chatting with Tony Terranova posing the question why people are compelled to do martial arts and self defence.

At the time I concluded it was out of internal search to figure out if the individual 'was enough'.

The need to train, to be competant in the application of self defence etc were mere fronts for the deeper reasons for embarking on the journey.

The need to test the question, 'Am I enough' I suspect is one of the fundamental driving factors for taking the journey.

I find this question interesting and would like to get your thoughts. I'm not looking for the stock answers that we all hear on a daily basis but to understand the deeper honesty that is the propellant for the journey.

Regards

Richard.

Whatever reasons people gave I always noticed that they subconsciously thought that there was something missing in their make up. That was always a good driver for martial arts training. Nowadays most people start MA because someone accosts them whilst they are out shopping or knock on their door at home and pressure sell it to them. But those that search out instruction are the ones that stay and we don't have to send them birthday cards, 'we miss you at the Dojo' cards whilst they are on holiday, run 'karate parties' for their kids or keep 'high fiving' them.

Great question Richard.

Speaking personally, for me it's not so much about 'am I enough right now' - and more - ' what can I become'

I started Karate because I wanted to be able to do spinning jumping kicks and the-like.

I stayed in Martial Arts because it became a way of life and perhaps the reason I have never left is because I would worry what I could have become if I hadn't! - amongst lots of other reasons of course.

I wouldn't like to guess at percentages but it would be interesting to know how many people take up a Martial Art only to stop within say the first year. And compare that to lots of other sports, hobbies, etc.

Sorry - probably gone off at a tangent there - and doubt I answered your question
Over to the forum for their thoughts!

I got into martial arts (Wado Ryu initially) because a mate of mine didn't want to go on his own. We were 10 years old and were armed with Henri Plees 'Beginner to Black Belt', and a book by Eric Dominy...Teach Yourself Karate.

Whatever happened to Eric Dominy? Harry Cook would probably know! (Harry was one of my major influences by the way).

Once I had started training I simply loved it. It just seemed to fit. I was 10 at the time and it was 1966 so the martial arts at that time consisted of a couple of karate clubs (Wado & Shotokan) and a judo club in my home town of South Shields. The karate club is still going and the Instructor is still alive!

By the age of 12 I got heavily into Buddhism and this simply fuelled my drive to do martial arts as a spiritual pursuit. I still have a voluminous library of books about Bushido, Hagakure, Zen & Taoism. I almost ordained as a monk with the Kargyupta tradition at the age of 19! Getting married put paid to that idea. Once I entered secondary school I started getting bullied so self protection became the driving force. Then, when I joined the army 10 years later the martial arts became one of the tools for my job. I then adapted it, realising that there was not much 'martial' in the martial arts. That in fact it was a great way of staying fit, supple and slightly eccentric. That suited me fine! It was also through martial arts training that I became involved in NLP. Having those tools made a massive difference in my ability to really understand what stuents wanted from a session and fine tune my communication to enable that to happen.

As you can see from my ramblings above the 'martial arts' have sent me off in many directions and probably shaped the behaviours, beliefs and values I now have...and I am still on the journey...in fact I presume it will never end. The journey is always far more interesting than the destination anyway!

I think the journey is where its at - for me, personally - there is no end! You are constantly striving to look inward. For me, the physical benefits are a by-product of the martial arts, learning how to defend yourself is what I initially started karate for but the knowledge gained, the friendships forged, the skills learned, the memories and good times from training will also have a more lasting impact than what new technique or concept I had learned.

Bruce Lee coined a term (feck, hope he did ) its the art of fighting without fighting and I agree whole heartedly with it.. and you see, read, and hear todays leading realists and the old masters also saying that its about not fighting. In my relatively short journey so far, I have amassed some skills which could help me in a defensive scenario, however, if I can not be in a situation in the first place to need to use those skills then thats the better option for me. However, if you are not abel to aviod a situation its the old pre-emption and then run like a hairy bair

I would also be interested Al in percentages of people who drop out in the first year - think society wants things to quickly, convenience - people don't want to put time and effort into something like a Martial Art, to me anyways, it seems as though people want things yesterday or looking to the end goal e.g. a balck belt when in fact when getting the black belt it shows that you have a grasp of the basics.. the journey is where its at, finding out your own fears, skills, attributes, friendships etc.

Oops - another ramble..

All the best,

Eric

Hi Eric, Bob

I completely agree.

It's all about the journey and not just with Martial Arts, with anything you do.

And yes, people generally want things too quickly these days.
They want to learn how to swim without getting wet.
Martial Arts is a life time journey and perhaps to be continued in our next lives as well!

Hey Guys

Nice post,

Me Personally I had no choice in the matter of starting Martial Arts,
I was 8 years old and my mother got sick of the school doing nothing with the fact I was being bullied almost on a daily basis. So I remember her finding a school in our local area, and taking me a long one evening with my father. An easier way for me to avoid the bullies was just not go to school, however that was not an option apparently ( was a bloody good try thought let me tell you ).

Anyway, First class I was more scared than I could ever remember being in my life. new class, new people, thrown in at the deep end. I done what seemed like 5 hours, realistically I think it was an hour to an hour and a half tops. As the weeks progressed all I was interested in was something which would stop my antogonists in school. Nothing to do with tradition or where it would take me in the long term.

I had been going about 2 weeks and got the chance, I ended up ok and the bully ended up with a bloody nose. I kept going mon, wed, fri for an hour at a time, and sat for 2 hours.

For me now, its all about learning, like Eric has already stated they physical techniques are by product of what I do, sure its great to learn something new. but its also nice to know the control you have inside of your self in day to day matters. Learning the arts is a journey like Al and Bob have said which never stops. we all constantly learn, and if we didnt then half of the guys on this board would not be doing classes, and seminars, because there is always something more to learn, and something more to pass on and teach.

Most people sadly enough just want a Dan grade and think thats it, that is the end of their journey, yet in actual fact for me thats where the fun begins. meeting new people, training with new people. Admitedly I dont have the time and effort to go and do a system full time now, but I have to get cracking on Judo as soon as I can as best I can for the free time that I acquire to get to Dan grade, there are reasons for this. but from what I have learned so far its like starting a new journey all over again. and a very humbling experience to be around people who are more than willing to give their time to help you.

Train Hard, Train Smart, enjoy your training. above all enjoy the journey.
I dont think id be half the man I am today without what I have done, seen and experienced in the arts and the people within them.

Craig

For me my one regret is that I did not start years ago. The essence of the whole thing for me is the way the whole picture fits. You have fitness if you want it, self defence, stress relief, self development and a whole host of other benefits. By far the most tho' is the experience, the journey, the people; oh yes the people; what examples some are of how to live a good and beneficial life. I get the feeling my path thro' life would have been lots more fulfilling had I got into the MA when I was young. Funnily enough being a monk appealed to me too Bob!!!

I think there is very little difference between being a monk or/and a soldier! I mean that quite sincerely.

What do you reckon Alan?

The reason i started was to learn some Self Defence and to get fit. Compared to alot of people these days i started training late, (well i say late 18 years old). Did not really have a lot of knowledge about the martial arts, so i picked up a copy of combat, read through that and then tried out a few different styles until i found a club i was happy with. Once there i was hooked, my instructor was open minded and encouraged us to look around and attend different seminars, natural progression was to move into teaching at the club, this i loved as well as it encouraged me to train harder and look deeper into what i learning in order to understand it more and so become a more proficent instructor.

This is what drives me on even now, to keep learning and developing what little knowledge i have in order to become as good as I can be. I may not be the best out there but if i am growing then i am happy.

[quote="bobspour"]I think there is very little difference between being a monk or/and a soldier!

I agree there Bob. There was something quite spiritual at times going on. You get lots of time to think and reflect on long marches and sitting in trenches at ungodly hours. That allied with the resolve you have to dredge from deep within on a regular basis and the ultra disciplined and fitness oriented lifestyle, (my body is the temple!?), adds an ethereal slant to life. The Legion went one farther in that you were not allowed to leave camp and had nothing other than uniform to wear. It felt like a prison camp. It certainly altered my views on life and eternally changed me from an utter t**sser into a bit less of an utter t**sser!! What is your views on National Service and/or boot camps for the youth of today?

I think national service and boot camps for the youth of today is a good idea.

As for martial arts and me, I've posted on a couple of different threads as to why I started, but what I have noticed as I have progressed in the arts, is my reasons for training have changed. At first I wanted to be like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, a ninja. lol. Then I just wanted to be a good martial artist. Then I got interested in Self protection and since then I have just developed from there into doing things on my martial journey to develop me, be that physically or spiritually. Now I try to make myself a better fighter, martial artist, person or sometimes just decide to develop one element of the arts that I may be interested in. Maybe my reasons change more frequently now I'm older, flowing from one reason to the next and blending the reasons together. Now it's all about the journey. I have met some fantastic people along the way and have started teaching my own class now, which in turn, opens up my path wider as I learn more about myself and the arts that I train. I think to finish, I would say that my reasons for training are various but in the end I love the martial arts and what it entails and it is now as much a part of me as I am of the arts I train.