Health in the Martial Art World
Martial arts, as a whole, is a very deep and amazing practice. For us to continue our beloved art to the next generation, we must know its past, present, and future. The past is full of war, philosophy, duels, religion, and spirituality. Current martial arts still have these traditional elements, but now it also includes health, business, televised events, etc… The future holds all of these and unforeseen more. If the art is pure, or not, is inconsequential. Change is natural. It depends on your outlook, goal, and open-mindedness to societal needs and changes. Self-defense/fighting in martial arts is only one element. Self-defense changes over time, and the attacker isn’t the same as before.
If You Haven’t Health, You Haven’t Anything
The enemy is not the tyrannical emperor of old kung fu movies. It is “modern diseases”; the extreme rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, autoimmune diseases (the largest disease in the world because it includes 100s of illnesses from lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, IBS…), and cancer among others. We need modern heroes to protect the innocent. Bruce Lee’s advocation of Chinese Martial Arts is more powerful than his punch. We still see his power of influence for ourselves and for generations to come. How do we fight these diseases? By getting people healthy. We need martial art masters as motivational speakers to promote our art as well as teaching proper techniques and structure. There’s no enemy soldier to punch or kick. The enemy is our own laziness and addiction to our bad habits (sugar, processed foods, TV and internet).
Our amazing technological advances have taken away our basic health. Mass production of processed food is tasteless without sugar. Food won’t last long unless it has lots of preservatives. Our sedentary lifestyle, even for those who work on their feet, has become more common as we become more advanced. The internet, cable tv, fast food/processed food, lack of variety of food, driving cars to the store or the gym that’s just around the corner are a few examples. Cell phones that keep us connected, to other people who we don’t even know, keeps us glued to the computer/smartphone. (Yes, I see the irony of writing on a computer and you reading this probably on a phone). Our general overall health has declined dramatically and too fast; the public does not realize that the reasons are staring us in the face.
Modern society needs to be serious about health, not just an exercise fad. Martial arts are easy to learn compared to before. However, modern life is different than before. We are not farmers and we don’t walk. People are lucky to get a little exercise during any given week. I’m not interested in making lots of masters, just healthy people. (The right person will take it all the way to be a master. Nothing to worry about.)
How Can We Help
Compassion is an unseen trait of martial artists. The state of the world’s health is in need of our compassion and discipline. We need to tell the public we care about their lives, and we need to tell them to get up and move. We don’t care what exercise, as long as they get their health in order. While discussing the health problem with the public, we can promote our arts.
Martial arts are one of the best exercises a person can do. Traditional martial arts include everything from exercises such as sparring and forms, as well as inner mindfulness in meditation. It is a never-ending study. Its inclusion of philosophy, medicine, and science within its self-defense training give us so much to enrich our lives and society. Modern martial arts of BJJ or krav maga is more focused on fighting. It is more appropriate for the tough guys. But it also has so much to give the traditional arts such as ‘keeping it real’. They really get the body moving with more focus on self-defense. Some people will be attracted to traditional martial arts and others will be going to the MMA or BJJ gym. As a whole, we literally have a martial art “option” for any personality and age.
Martial arts and health lie within daily practice. Many problems of modern society exist because we are ignoring values of martial arts; discipline, knowledge, self-discovery, calmness in adversity, determination, etc.… Martial arts are a multi-cultured practice from every corner of the globe, not just of East Asia. We, as martial artists, need to rally together, allowing each style of teaching to have their place. Honestly, there is more at stake than our personal beliefs and ego. (Bad teachers or fakers are another issue. I’m writing about honest teachers.)
Forms And Meditation
Learning forms literally hardwire the brain and nervous system for mind and body awareness. It is very important for mental health, memory, and coordination. Martial art movements are so varied that we move every muscle in the body; the variety of kicks and punches move the body in all directions. Movements allow energy or qi (chi or ki) to flow (qi is the flow or movement of life). If you do not like the term energy, then bioelectricity, blood, muscle, tendon and ligament tissues, and bones all get strengthened.
Although meditation can be seen as spiritual (not essential to fighting) or a waste of time, it gives a distracted mind a chance to be focused, and for the mind and body to heal. Many hipsters took it and sometimes misrepresented it to the world. For example, Buddhists use it, but it isn’t Buddhist. Every culture has it in some form unique to its culture, environment, and understanding of the mind. It is literally the most challenging practice. Meditation can be done sitting, standing, laying down, or even in movement. There is no one way to practice it. The scientific evidence is getting stronger and stronger on its importance. Even MMA champions (and the military) are starting to practice it.
Diet
Although eating habits are not seen as part of the martial artist’s training, it is definitely in the best interest of martial artists. Many serious martial artists pay great attention to the energy that goes into their mouths. Some are stricter than others. Our strength of mind and body is directly influenced by our diet. Someone who eats healthy will naturally have more energy, not bursts of sugar rush or caffeine energy that go up and down. Therefore, nutrition is an essential part of our lives. We need to understand it and teach it to others.
Going Forward
There are so many benefits that anyone can gain from studying martial arts. The marketing of martial arts in our new world is too narrow. This is the problem. We can change the way people see martial artists. Some are the fighters, some are the masters, some are the intellectuals, some are the healers. All can be legitimate martial artists.
Bruce Lee once spoke of a couple of his students, saying Steve McQueen was the fighter because of his toughness, but James Colburn was mellow and “appreciated the philosophy so he has a deeper understanding than Steve”. Bruce Lee continued with, “It depends on what you see in it.” This is what we need: the toughness of fighters, the wisdom of sages, the healing of doctors, and the ones who can combine them all. Let’s be the positive influence for the world. Let our training help those in need of our way of life.
What do you think about health in martial arts? Do you think it is important? Let me know in the comments section below.
I recently finished writing my book on virtue. Please go to my Facebook page of Virtues Path and follow for more essays on virtue. Also, please visit my website thevirtuespath.wordpress.com
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“There’s no enemy soldier to punch or kick. The enemy is our own laziness and addiction to our bad habits (sugar, processed foods, TV and internet).” I couldn’t agree more. Very inspiring article! Thanks for posting this.
Thanks man. ??
I went totally vegan 6 years ago and dropped 20+ pounds of weight. Now, I refer to myself as a pescatarian, including fish, seafood and eggs. I work part-time in a high-energy job and have been practicing Tang Soo Do for a little over a year. Now, 70 years of age, I enjoy good health with few of the age-related problems of my peers.
In our media centered world, I find meditation to be an elusive skill, because my mind is always filled with the mental debris of my society. When I do take time, it helps me focus on the important and shed the trivial.