Be or not to be....Martial artist or sport martial artist?

[pakua]

Today many martial arts teach to get in to a competition, to get results, medals...but where is the real meaning of practicing martial art?. I mean, the real idea of practice martial art, if you will use in a real situation, is just for one reason: survive.

But today is not what we see....The simple practice for the "art" or to find the meaning of practice being a better human being, growth in a physical and spiritual way...where is all this today?.

Training to be the best in a competition is great, nothing against that, but you are not doing Martial Art, you are just practicing Sports....like anyone that practice football, cricket or archery.

[Jeffrey]

I think it is up the individual to decide what is best for them. For some it is a sport and some of us it is a way of life. It can both.

On a side note … archery in my book is a martial art.

[pakua]

Oh yes, of course, it all depends of how the student get in to the training....BUT...is the teacher/master that follow the way to follow, he can very easily influence the student...

[Jeffrey]

Of course a student will be influenced by the teacher. Children are the best case for this. Every child views the teacher as a mentor and most want to please these mentors. If the school is into the sport/competitive side of martial arts then the students will follow. Adults will be a bit wiser IMO (not all, but most). Some children grow out of this stage once older and they begin to see a different value from all those years training. Some go off to start their own Cobra Kai type school (reference to Karate Kid 1).

Everyone will be different. I believe that both values have some kind of reward if mixed well.

[Martialart]

If martial arts are going to be relevant across a lifespan, then there has to be room for competitions. Young people want to use their skills to compete--and they might as well. I mean, really, who wants a 19-year-old sitting in meditation all day? Who wants a 25-year-old so fixated on traditional rituals that the martial arts becomes a tomb for them?

By the same token, it must be understood that there are deeper reasons for practicing martial arts that are revealed across the lifespan. When I'm sixty-five, I may be more concerned with teaching and with the survival of the Taekwondo association I belong to, so I may pursue that. When I'm seventy, I may be very concerned with tradition and prayer as I prepare for my departure from this world. If I am in poor health, I may find that I am happy the spiritual aspects of Taekwondo are there for me to participate in.

So, we should keep in mind the developmental stages of life, and ask whether our martial art fits that procession.

[pakua]

OK...that is another truth, each age group can practice for different reasons... But again, competitions it's a fantasy, is not a real fight, you need to follow rules all the time, and today you feel good then you fight well and wins, tomorrow you feel a little down and the other won.

I mean, it's all a fantasy in competition you will never be the best, always someone will come and become a better fighter. For that I said that martial arts is much more that just competitions.

But of course, I'm not saying be a monk, in the different types of monks. Learn martial art doesn't mean that we will never receive a good punch or kick in the face.

[Toptomcat]

Attending competitions and getting medals does not necessarily prevent physical or spiritual growth- and can in fact promote it- so long as you keep it in perspective. Take competition as an end in itself and yes, then you have a problem- but the same could be said about any aspect of martial arts, from kihon to kata to meditation.

Even, say, football could be effective and worthwhile training for martial arts if approached with the proper mindset- the situational awareness of the other team's defenders that it demands makes for a good asset in a multiple-opponents situation, the physical demands it makes can forge a stronger and more excellent body, the pushing and shoving of the line of scrimmage can teach lessons relevant to grappling, the tight coordination with your team required to play the game well can produce a mentally and spiritually enriching appreciation of the value of teamwork, and the game's culture of persevering through pain and difficulty can hone a fighting spirit.

As for competition being a 'fantasy'- well, if you're talking about stop-and-start point karate you're largely correct, but there are other kinds of sportive martial competition that are better able to teach martially relevant skills while retaining an acceptable level of safety for their practitioners: knockdown karate and continuous point come to mind.

[pakua]

Toptocat...

Anything that anyone does, if you look for the right angle, always you can find something to learn and growth. You can walk in the street and learn and growth physical and spiritual. But I think that's not the point...

I think competition have a lot of ego...then you are saying, from my point of view, that you can learn and growth using ego. That of course is something that everybody need to have but need to control, need to practice to not let the ego growth....not the contrary.

[Jeffrey]

If martial arts are going to be relevant across a lifespan, then there has to be room for competitions. Young people want to use their skills to compete--and they might as well. I mean, really, who wants a 19-year-old sitting in meditation all day? Who wants a 25-year-old so fixated on traditional rituals that the martial arts becomes a tomb for them?

By the same token, it must be understood that there are deeper reasons for practicing martial arts that are revealed across the lifespan. When I'm sixty-five, I may be more concerned with teaching and with the survival of the Taekwondo association I belong to, so I may pursue that. When I'm seventy, I may be very concerned with tradition and prayer as I prepare for my departure from this world. If I am in poor health, I may find that I am happy the spiritual aspects of Taekwondo are there for me to participate in.

So, we should keep in mind the developmental stages of life, and ask whether our martial art fits that procession.

I really like this approach. Well said.

[Toptomcat]

On the contrary: good competition promotes humility. Only spar within your own ranks, your own school or federation, and you can very easily get an inflated sense of your own abilities. Compete with the world, seek out venues with really skilled people, and it gives you a proper perspective on how much you've accomplished, shows you that there's always someone faster and stronger.