Character Development and the Martial Arts

[bushido_man96]

I expect those people to be decent people that won't attempt to warp my child in any way. I expect them to reinforce the values I teach my children, but not to do anything otherwise. My kids attend Catholic schools, but in my experience, the teachers there aren't necessarily any different than teachers at the public schools I attended. I had some great teachers there, too. But, anything I learned about the person I was to become came mostly from my parents.

Everyone only knows so many things. One of the things that makes a martial art a "Do" or martial way, rather than just a collection of combative skills, is that it contains principles and methods to discipline your life by. For instance, there is supposedly a Kanji over the door of the Kodokan that, when translated, reads "Never miss practice.". Now on the surface this appears to be a rather simple statement about showing up for Judo, but it can also be used as a basis for integrity and reliability throughout your life. This is a rather oversimplified example, but I believe the same principle applies throughout the martial arts if you have a good grounding in fundamental principles.

All of these "Do's" became "Do's" due to someone who was trained in a fighting style decided to add there own philosophical and ideological lilts to their combat arts training. Then, they proceed to pass their ideologies and philosophies on along with their training, and call it part of the protocol. This appears to be a fairly "Eastern" approach to doing things. Sportsmanship and chivalry are similar "Western" approaches to accomplishing the same goals.

The thing is, there have really been more good people than bad people around for a long time, and societies and families have been doing what they can to raise there kin to be productive and positive members of society for a long time. This happened before "Do's" came into vogue, and I really feel it would continue to be so if "Do's" hadn't come into vogue. You mention the sign on the Kodokan. Notre Dame also has a sign that football players pass as they take the field. It says "Play Like a Champion Today." I think it carries much the same innuendos. But, it hasn't helped Notre Dame football to very many championships lately.

It is not my job as a Karate intstructor to teach your kid how to be a good person, it is my job to enforce Dojo rules and A) Show them how to behave and B) expect that they dont act like animals in the Dojo or they will be dismissed!

I can not make changes in a few short hours a day that parents will A) undo at home or B) counter all together at home. If I expect a child to not hit someone and the father/mother encourages agressive behavior in thier child then I can not expect my hard work to pay off at all....parents have the most influence on children no matter what.

I agree with you completely, especially what I have in bold. We as instructors have so little time with students when you compare with the other people of their lives. I think that its important to have as positive an impact as possible in that short period of time, to be sure. But my first job is to teach TKD. Otherwise, I try to lead by example, and be a positive influence that way.

[MasterPain]

It is not my job as a Karate intstructor to teach your kid how to be a good person, it is my job to enforce Dojo rules and A) Show them how to behave and B) expect that they dont act like animals in the Dojo or they will be dismissed!

I can not make changes in a few short hours a day that parents will A) undo at home or B) counter all together at home. If I expect a child to not hit someone and the father/mother encourages agressive behavior in thier child then I can not expect my hard work to pay off at all....parents have the most influence on children no matter what.

I agree with you completely, especially what I have in bold. We as instructors have so little time with students when you compare with the other people of their lives. I think that its important to have as positive an impact as possible in that short period of time, to be sure. But my first job is to teach TKD. Otherwise, I try to lead by example, and be a positive influence that way.

For the most part, I think this is right. But if a kid spends a few hours a week with the ONLY positive adult role model in their lives, it can make a huge difference. A lot of parents are pretty awful, and any good example can change a kid's life.

[bushido_man96]

Well, we can hope, anyway.

[vantheman]

There was always an old Hindu saying about character: "For the first 30 years of your life, you make your habits. For the last 30 years of your life, your habits make you."

While I would say martial arts does have some effect on character (self confidence/esteem), it is usually not enough to turn someone 180 degrees (by itself anyways).