The Purpose of Martial Arts
This has been, and will continue to be, a long argument. I think we must concede that in modern times, with modern weapons and threats being what they are, that the role martial arts training used to take - one of self protection, or developing skills of combat - the relevance of this old approach has shifted somewhat over time. I recently saw some old footage of Karate masters demonstrating techniques for self-defence, one involved kicking the gun out of an assailant’s hand. With sixty-year-old guns, maybe that would work? I think that technique relies on the assumption that your assailant is threatening you, but is not seriously intent on killing you. Kicks take a long time to execute, and I am somewhat skeptical of anyone who is promising you effective techniques against someone who has a gun pointed at you.
But military or combat success really is only one aspect of the martial arts. These days - well, I have type one diabetes. And if I’m training, I’m better at metabolising sugar than if I’m not. That’s as good a reason as any for any kind of physical training - exercise makes diabetes easier to live with.
In China, in 1956 the Simplified Tai Chi Method, the 24-Forms was created. I suppose it was a communist idea, but I rather like it. The notion was that for a country to be made strong, the people must be made strong. So Tai Chi was chosen as a kind of national fitness initiative, it builds a strong base while posing very little risk to the practitioner. The simplified method was formalised so that Tai Chi could become more accessible, and more teachable to large groups of people. It's as good a purpose as any for the martial arts: to make the country strong, the people must be made strong. Effective combat skills weren’t even on the table. Just getting people to practice, that was enough.
But the Chinese and Japanese styles of martial arts, in particular, also have a reputation for spirituality and philosophical contemplation. All physical training can be used to educate a person, if you structure it in an appropriate way to achieve this outcome.
In the 70s, when martial arts schools were rare, when you really had to go out of your way to find one, I think they played quite a different role. You’d hear stories of people who were on the wrong path, but they started training, learnt some self-respect, and really turned their lives around. Maybe they were harder times in some way, I don’t know, I was born in 1979, and in my life I’ve been lucky. I haven’t felt like I’ve had to turn my life around. Only, adjust the trajectory a bit from time to time.
I often hear people - adults - say something like oh, martial arts (Karate, Kung Fu, etc), that’s good for kids isn’t it? Teaches them discipline? And there certainly is something in that. But this sort of training is good for everyone who is half-way curious. Discipline, and also patience, improved self-knowledge, the ability to care for your body, a physical understanding of the connection between the body and the mind, improved coordination, strength, flexibility. Peace and confidence.
Who could not benefit from these things? But these benefits are hardly limited to training in the martial arts. Yoga and weightlifting can also deliver.
An old Tai Chi master once said that at any given time in your life, or in your training, your reason for practicing Tai Chi will be different. I have found this to be true. Sometimes I have trained for self-defence, for protection. Other times, for sport, but mostly there has been some thread of self-development running through my training. I’ve always sought to improve in some way, but there were times when this desire for self-improvement came from a less than healthy place. If you believe that you need to be improved in some way, why? Either we are all flawed or all perfect, in the end we’re all in the same boat. Do not be needlessly self-critical.
The few times in my life when I might have needed to use my physical skills in order to defend myself - it doesn’t quite happen in the way you’d think. I’ve never had to fight for my life, my country has not be overrun by invading forces, and Kung Fu is useless against a bomb. So we, in Melbourne, we think of a real fight as being a couple of people brawling outside a pub, or maybe a woman is being sexually assaulted by a man. Knives as well, knives are an issue these days too. But these are still contrived scenarios, we think of them because of our culture. How do you know what to expect? How do you prepare for the unexpected?
These ideas we have - two dudes getting in a fist-fight? More often than not, I think they both need to be willing participants. I used to feel fear quite easily, and it’s less easy to intimidate me now. But the opportunities I’ve had to get into a real fight - I simply didn’t engage. I didn’t participate, and so it went nowhere. And the men who were provoking me - they weren’t looking to assault me, instead they were antagonistic, but I don’t know... maybe for it to go anywhere, they would have needed me to want to engage too? A mugging is different, in which case - that’s not a fight either. And if someone desperate needs my money, maybe I’ll just give it? It’s all hypothetical until it happens.
One thing my training has, I think, helped a great deal with is my ability to listen, and interact with people as if they are real humans. Because they are. When someone seems angry, or antagonistic, if you are overwhelmed by fear, you are incapable of listening to them, of thinking about a situation from someone else’s perspective, of participating and engaging in discussion. You’ll react instinctively, automatically, and it’s easy to get it wrong, so-to-speak. But if you are not overwhelmed by fear, you can actually interact, like a real human. In Kung Fu, there exists monkey style, eagle claw, many famous animal styles, but the irony I think is this - we seek to be able to engage like real humans, to be able to calmly choose not to behave like animals. And any progress I have been able to make in terms of feeling less fear - maybe it’s a false confidence, but I think it’s the real secret benefit of training. A secret that everyone already knows, but somehow it still feels like a secret: it’s a cliche, but if you are unafraid, you are free, and you’re free not to fight. You’re not bound by your nature to overreact. Instead, if you are forced to react, maybe you can react appropriately to extract yourself from whatever situation you happen to be in?
I know my skin is just as easy to penetrate with a knife as anyone else’s, I am just as mortal. Maybe I need one of those CrossFit hoodies that says Harder to Kill... but whether it’s foolish or false, and as much as I’m sure I have the capacity to fail spectacularly at this too, in the past, feeling less fear has enabled me to defuse potentially volatile situations.
But I think I am fortunate again, in that I am not often targeted. If someone is looking to dominate another, they will choose someone they believe to be an easy target. It’s all theoretical from here. What do you do if you’re afraid, and you wish to feel less fear?
If you wish to learn self-defence, pick a martial art and learn it. There are no shortcuts. Choose something that makes sense, and study it. Among other martial arts, Kung Fu and Tai Chi are sometimes considered weak. There is much rivalry, and much misunderstanding. I chose these arts because I am well-suited to them. There are more overtly aggressive martial arts out there, and many combatants who are stronger and more skilled than I. But in those schools I would not have thrived, and then where would that have left me? You must train something you are well-suited to. If you thrive in competitive environments, train in competitive environments.
But I have always been attracted to sports for introverts! Weightlifting, gymnastics, yoga, dance, martial arts. Maybe there’s the irony: these are solo pursuits, and the most interactive of them all - martial arts - that one teaches me to negotiate adversity. I am a social animal in some ways, but in these activities, I never had to be a team player. I like that there are martial arts that exist, that you can simply practice by yourself, and they still teach you something, even if you don’t practice with other people all that much. I like that you don’t need to make yourself not-an-introvert, if you wish to learn martial arts. I think we’re back at that point again - you don’t need to be made different, it’s hard enough to simply know yourself, you don’t need to change yourself. There is something out there that suits you, that you can become really good at if you like.
But military or combat success really is only one aspect of the martial arts. These days - well, I have type one diabetes. And if I’m training, I’m better at metabolising sugar than if I’m not. That’s as good a reason as any for any kind of physical training - exercise makes diabetes easier to live with.
In China, in 1956 the Simplified Tai Chi Method, the 24-Forms was created. I suppose it was a communist idea, but I rather like it. The notion was that for a country to be made strong, the people must be made strong. So Tai Chi was chosen as a kind of national fitness initiative, it builds a strong base while posing very little risk to the practitioner. The simplified method was formalised so that Tai Chi could become more accessible, and more teachable to large groups of people. It's as good a purpose as any for the martial arts: to make the country strong, the people must be made strong. Effective combat skills weren’t even on the table. Just getting people to practice, that was enough.
But the Chinese and Japanese styles of martial arts, in particular, also have a reputation for spirituality and philosophical contemplation. All physical training can be used to educate a person, if you structure it in an appropriate way to achieve this outcome.
In the 70s, when martial arts schools were rare, when you really had to go out of your way to find one, I think they played quite a different role. You’d hear stories of people who were on the wrong path, but they started training, learnt some self-respect, and really turned their lives around. Maybe they were harder times in some way, I don’t know, I was born in 1979, and in my life I’ve been lucky. I haven’t felt like I’ve had to turn my life around. Only, adjust the trajectory a bit from time to time.
I often hear people - adults - say something like oh, martial arts (Karate, Kung Fu, etc), that’s good for kids isn’t it? Teaches them discipline? And there certainly is something in that. But this sort of training is good for everyone who is half-way curious. Discipline, and also patience, improved self-knowledge, the ability to care for your body, a physical understanding of the connection between the body and the mind, improved coordination, strength, flexibility. Peace and confidence.
Who could not benefit from these things? But these benefits are hardly limited to training in the martial arts. Yoga and weightlifting can also deliver.
An old Tai Chi master once said that at any given time in your life, or in your training, your reason for practicing Tai Chi will be different. I have found this to be true. Sometimes I have trained for self-defence, for protection. Other times, for sport, but mostly there has been some thread of self-development running through my training. I’ve always sought to improve in some way, but there were times when this desire for self-improvement came from a less than healthy place. If you believe that you need to be improved in some way, why? Either we are all flawed or all perfect, in the end we’re all in the same boat. Do not be needlessly self-critical.
The few times in my life when I might have needed to use my physical skills in order to defend myself - it doesn’t quite happen in the way you’d think. I’ve never had to fight for my life, my country has not be overrun by invading forces, and Kung Fu is useless against a bomb. So we, in Melbourne, we think of a real fight as being a couple of people brawling outside a pub, or maybe a woman is being sexually assaulted by a man. Knives as well, knives are an issue these days too. But these are still contrived scenarios, we think of them because of our culture. How do you know what to expect? How do you prepare for the unexpected?
These ideas we have - two dudes getting in a fist-fight? More often than not, I think they both need to be willing participants. I used to feel fear quite easily, and it’s less easy to intimidate me now. But the opportunities I’ve had to get into a real fight - I simply didn’t engage. I didn’t participate, and so it went nowhere. And the men who were provoking me - they weren’t looking to assault me, instead they were antagonistic, but I don’t know... maybe for it to go anywhere, they would have needed me to want to engage too? A mugging is different, in which case - that’s not a fight either. And if someone desperate needs my money, maybe I’ll just give it? It’s all hypothetical until it happens.
One thing my training has, I think, helped a great deal with is my ability to listen, and interact with people as if they are real humans. Because they are. When someone seems angry, or antagonistic, if you are overwhelmed by fear, you are incapable of listening to them, of thinking about a situation from someone else’s perspective, of participating and engaging in discussion. You’ll react instinctively, automatically, and it’s easy to get it wrong, so-to-speak. But if you are not overwhelmed by fear, you can actually interact, like a real human. In Kung Fu, there exists monkey style, eagle claw, many famous animal styles, but the irony I think is this - we seek to be able to engage like real humans, to be able to calmly choose not to behave like animals. And any progress I have been able to make in terms of feeling less fear - maybe it’s a false confidence, but I think it’s the real secret benefit of training. A secret that everyone already knows, but somehow it still feels like a secret: it’s a cliche, but if you are unafraid, you are free, and you’re free not to fight. You’re not bound by your nature to overreact. Instead, if you are forced to react, maybe you can react appropriately to extract yourself from whatever situation you happen to be in?
I know my skin is just as easy to penetrate with a knife as anyone else’s, I am just as mortal. Maybe I need one of those CrossFit hoodies that says Harder to Kill... but whether it’s foolish or false, and as much as I’m sure I have the capacity to fail spectacularly at this too, in the past, feeling less fear has enabled me to defuse potentially volatile situations.
But I think I am fortunate again, in that I am not often targeted. If someone is looking to dominate another, they will choose someone they believe to be an easy target. It’s all theoretical from here. What do you do if you’re afraid, and you wish to feel less fear?
If you wish to learn self-defence, pick a martial art and learn it. There are no shortcuts. Choose something that makes sense, and study it. Among other martial arts, Kung Fu and Tai Chi are sometimes considered weak. There is much rivalry, and much misunderstanding. I chose these arts because I am well-suited to them. There are more overtly aggressive martial arts out there, and many combatants who are stronger and more skilled than I. But in those schools I would not have thrived, and then where would that have left me? You must train something you are well-suited to. If you thrive in competitive environments, train in competitive environments.
But I have always been attracted to sports for introverts! Weightlifting, gymnastics, yoga, dance, martial arts. Maybe there’s the irony: these are solo pursuits, and the most interactive of them all - martial arts - that one teaches me to negotiate adversity. I am a social animal in some ways, but in these activities, I never had to be a team player. I like that there are martial arts that exist, that you can simply practice by yourself, and they still teach you something, even if you don’t practice with other people all that much. I like that you don’t need to make yourself not-an-introvert, if you wish to learn martial arts. I think we’re back at that point again - you don’t need to be made different, it’s hard enough to simply know yourself, you don’t need to change yourself. There is something out there that suits you, that you can become really good at if you like.
I think in general, martial artists - those who train for self-defence or combat, not that those are the only reasons for training by any means - they care about protecting that which is weak and vulnerable. This is the essence of self-defence. Although time and effort goes in to preparing yourself for conflict and strengthening the body, the true purpose of combat training is not to become invulnerable, but to learn how to protect your vulnerabilities.
With wisdom comes the knowledge that you cannot protect yourself from all hardships in the world. But with training comes not only the ability to defend yourself, but also the ability to cope with loss and trauma. And perhaps, in the end, this is the more valuable skill.
Because the essence of self-defence is not to become invulnerable, but to understand your vulnerabilities, to learn to protect them and care for them. This is where we discover strength, flexibility and the ability to adapt.
Gone are the days when the sole purpose of martial arts was to excel at combat. These days, we are not warriors (and if you are, then you’re serving in the military and that’s a whole different thing); we have families and loved ones, and there will always be soft places in our hearts, vulnerable areas that we cannot harden. As such, the essence of martial arts is in helping people, and learning to help yourself, but this does not mean simply serving a selfish agenda.
So the idea, for me, is no longer to become impervious to impact, pains and hardships, but to learn how to cope, to deepen my understanding of myself and the world, and to find peace. Is there ever a long way to go! And for the longest time, I did not even think of it – I thought I could keep getting better and better, but instead of that fantasy – you don't need to be the best at technical aspects, or the best fighter. All people can be overcome. Instead, to be able to endure, to be able to cope and continue to live peacefully when things go wrong!
The reality is that there will always be someone stronger, someone better or faster than you. If someone is trying to dominate you, and you beat at their strength with your own strength, you may be overpowered and you may lose. This is why I value Tai Chi. Tai Chi teaches us to be soft; if someone is trying to dominate you, you may not be able to apply more strength and power than them, but you can always be softer. As Bruce Lee said, be like water. You cannot grasp water. You cannot hit it. If you can soften, hollow out, there is nothing to hold, to grab, to strike. But I know it seems a strange concept, nonetheless.
So the pinnacle of martial arts, in a physical context, is to become formless. To be hard when hard is right, to be soft when soft is right, to become fluid and adaptable. The irony is, of course, that we train forms and patterns to become formless. We seek to understand leverage and human movement, so that we can move without inhibition, intuitively and freely, responding truly to what is presented to us. Tension is the enemy of speed and leverage, and while you are afraid, you will always respond with an overabundance of tension.
I always found it strange – in sparring competitions – people would be in the audience, shouting out techniques to use – “do the front kick! Front kick!” – and maybe they see openings you do not, but when you’re there with your opponent – you can’t just create openings that don’t exist. You can force some things, but not all opponents will be weak enough for you to simply dominate, and you must have more strategies than this. If someone is attacking you, it is not because they think you are the better combatant. Strategically, you must learn to perceive openings and opportunities, and so overcome your opponent by exploiting their weakness and the vulnerabilities that they are trying to protect.
And this is possible if you can respond truly, intuitively, and appropriately to the situation – without form or concept.
But these days you see so many things – people advertise martial arts classes for weight loss, but the purpose of martial arts was never to diminish yourself, instead it is the path of self-knowledge. It’s not fitness, it’s to get better at moving, to understand yourself and your body, to develop wisdom and compassion, and to be able to respond truly, with an un-clouded mind. Because it is only when you are confident and clear-headed that you are enabled to protect what you love, to be kind and generous. Selfishness is the mark of insecurity. Kindness is only possible when you have resolved or accepted your fears and you know yourself.
Too much? I don’t know. It is only what you make of it.
So I want to say the purpose is peace and self-knowledge. Investigation through physical training. Self-discipline and fitness are both benefits, but they develop over time, and aren’t really the purpose of training.
But being able to perceive true threats to yourself and take steps to protect your vulnerabilities? That’s gold. And it’s hard. It is many-faceted – it includes honing your ability to say no and resist social pressure and – perhaps ironically – your ability not to bite when people try to exploit your fears. You must learn martial arts! People can hurt you – yes they can. That will always be true. People sell empty promises – learn my style and you will become invulnerable! We teach the best style. We can make you thinner, better, faster. But if you can learn to identify and then protect yourself from exploitation, you might not fall for all the gimicks, the false promises that are rife in this industry.
And in the end, the purpose of your training is yours and yours alone. It is all and only on your terms.
With wisdom comes the knowledge that you cannot protect yourself from all hardships in the world. But with training comes not only the ability to defend yourself, but also the ability to cope with loss and trauma. And perhaps, in the end, this is the more valuable skill.
Because the essence of self-defence is not to become invulnerable, but to understand your vulnerabilities, to learn to protect them and care for them. This is where we discover strength, flexibility and the ability to adapt.
Gone are the days when the sole purpose of martial arts was to excel at combat. These days, we are not warriors (and if you are, then you’re serving in the military and that’s a whole different thing); we have families and loved ones, and there will always be soft places in our hearts, vulnerable areas that we cannot harden. As such, the essence of martial arts is in helping people, and learning to help yourself, but this does not mean simply serving a selfish agenda.
So the idea, for me, is no longer to become impervious to impact, pains and hardships, but to learn how to cope, to deepen my understanding of myself and the world, and to find peace. Is there ever a long way to go! And for the longest time, I did not even think of it – I thought I could keep getting better and better, but instead of that fantasy – you don't need to be the best at technical aspects, or the best fighter. All people can be overcome. Instead, to be able to endure, to be able to cope and continue to live peacefully when things go wrong!
The reality is that there will always be someone stronger, someone better or faster than you. If someone is trying to dominate you, and you beat at their strength with your own strength, you may be overpowered and you may lose. This is why I value Tai Chi. Tai Chi teaches us to be soft; if someone is trying to dominate you, you may not be able to apply more strength and power than them, but you can always be softer. As Bruce Lee said, be like water. You cannot grasp water. You cannot hit it. If you can soften, hollow out, there is nothing to hold, to grab, to strike. But I know it seems a strange concept, nonetheless.
So the pinnacle of martial arts, in a physical context, is to become formless. To be hard when hard is right, to be soft when soft is right, to become fluid and adaptable. The irony is, of course, that we train forms and patterns to become formless. We seek to understand leverage and human movement, so that we can move without inhibition, intuitively and freely, responding truly to what is presented to us. Tension is the enemy of speed and leverage, and while you are afraid, you will always respond with an overabundance of tension.
I always found it strange – in sparring competitions – people would be in the audience, shouting out techniques to use – “do the front kick! Front kick!” – and maybe they see openings you do not, but when you’re there with your opponent – you can’t just create openings that don’t exist. You can force some things, but not all opponents will be weak enough for you to simply dominate, and you must have more strategies than this. If someone is attacking you, it is not because they think you are the better combatant. Strategically, you must learn to perceive openings and opportunities, and so overcome your opponent by exploiting their weakness and the vulnerabilities that they are trying to protect.
And this is possible if you can respond truly, intuitively, and appropriately to the situation – without form or concept.
But these days you see so many things – people advertise martial arts classes for weight loss, but the purpose of martial arts was never to diminish yourself, instead it is the path of self-knowledge. It’s not fitness, it’s to get better at moving, to understand yourself and your body, to develop wisdom and compassion, and to be able to respond truly, with an un-clouded mind. Because it is only when you are confident and clear-headed that you are enabled to protect what you love, to be kind and generous. Selfishness is the mark of insecurity. Kindness is only possible when you have resolved or accepted your fears and you know yourself.
Too much? I don’t know. It is only what you make of it.
So I want to say the purpose is peace and self-knowledge. Investigation through physical training. Self-discipline and fitness are both benefits, but they develop over time, and aren’t really the purpose of training.
But being able to perceive true threats to yourself and take steps to protect your vulnerabilities? That’s gold. And it’s hard. It is many-faceted – it includes honing your ability to say no and resist social pressure and – perhaps ironically – your ability not to bite when people try to exploit your fears. You must learn martial arts! People can hurt you – yes they can. That will always be true. People sell empty promises – learn my style and you will become invulnerable! We teach the best style. We can make you thinner, better, faster. But if you can learn to identify and then protect yourself from exploitation, you might not fall for all the gimicks, the false promises that are rife in this industry.
And in the end, the purpose of your training is yours and yours alone. It is all and only on your terms.