What's the philosophy behind MA?!

[Spartacus Maximus]

Most martial arts have some sort of philosophy about how a person should use their skills. I like to call it nobility of mind and character.

The basic idea shared by nearly all martial arts is these:

1.Training is a personal journey.

2. Increased skills mean increased responsibility and judgment in the justifiable use of these.

3. Humble heart always seeking improvement with constant effort.

4. Avoid using martial skills for trivial issues

5. Defense and survival are the primary goals in confrontations.

Lastly an old saying that sums up my thought on this: Make savage the body, civilize the mind and make the heart shine.

 

I believe the ideal of the noble minded martial artist is universal. It is found In all martial Arts from Asia to Europe to America. Even boxing was called the gentleman's sport/art. Without moral guidance it is but violence and thuggery

[Harkon72]

Don't get Hit! Do unto others before the do unto you! Bless them and run away! Keep your weight forward! Keep your feet! Move Forward even as you Retreat! Look to the Far Mountain! Always Look Eye! Don't think Feel! If all else fails; kick it hard!!! Osu!!

[Archimoto]

The answers will vary from MAist to MAist as well as from style to style, and so on and so forth. A general answer, imho, will not suffice, we can only speak for ourselves.

Solid post !!!

[vaporman]

To protect...Yourself, Your family, Friends, Your village, Your country...

[bushido_man96]

To train hard, to discover yourself.

[Kusotare]

If you lived in the Sengoku period od Japan, your reasons for learning martial ways had a somewhat different focus.

If however (like most) we study Gendai Budo then I think the Kendo -Kun is a pretty good explanation as to why...

"To mold the mind and body.

To cultivate a vigorous spirit,

And through correct and rigid training,

To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo.

To hold in esteem human courtesy and honor.

To associate with others with sincerity.

And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself.

Thus will one be able:To love ones country and society.

To contribute to the development of culture

And to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples."

K.

[Davis]

Impossible to do it justice here. Its not that random, not as individual as folks here have suggested.

There is a formal religious history to martial arts in China and Japan. Specific historical steps, definitive treatises on the subject. Taoism and Buddhism are central to its development.

The West has obliterated martial arts and turned them into a parlor game. There are very few dojos where the spiritual history of the arts is discussed or elaborated on. Sensei Richard Kim, RIP, was one proponent of this kind of history.

Nowawdays its more of a contest to see who can beat who. It took what was sacred in MA and made it profane.

If you want to study this aspect of martial arts D. Suzuki's work on Zen and Japanese culture is a definitive text. Its very difficult to find much work on this subject. Most of the folks who study it don't participate in forums and social media.