Spirituality in martial arts, yes or no?
Published: Tue, 01/06/15
I have been following a discussion thread on a martial arts group I am subscribed to. This particular thread was in response to the question. “Has the West killed the spiritual side of martial arts?” This generated quite a few responses, and most contributors could see no value in a ‘spiritual’ aspect to martial arts and thought that Western Martial artists were better off not bothering with the concept at all.
I did make one post to the discussion suggesting that really it depends upon how you define spirituality, okay it is answering a question with a question but no one else seemed willing to define what it was they actually approved or disapproved of.
I was particularly intrigued by the question because the issue of whether or not Stav has a spiritual aspect certainly comes up quite often. Again it depends upon how you define spirituality. If spirituality means the values and inclinations which go beyond the purely practical and utilitarian then most people have some kind of higher impulse influencing their lives. This may come out in terms of a concern for animal welfare, for the environment or an appreciation of some form of art. Most people find something disturbing in an attitude that making money and/or establishing power over others comes before love, compassion and care for the weak and helpless. Most of us have a sense that there is something more to life than ruthless ambition. This sense becomes part of a culture and it is usually learned and practised quite unconsciously. We only become aware of this sensibility when we are faced with a demonstration of callousness
or even cruelty which offends and upsets us. So any martial art which avoids bullying weaker and less able students, encourages and supports rather than insulting and humiliating is practising a form of positive spirituality which comes from higher cultural norms. It may seem strange to suggest that this would be an expression of spirituality but I would argue that it is, albeit in an unconscious way.
If however you are talking about spiritual practice within a martial art then a conscious decision will need to be made whether or not to include the practice within the training syllabus. Traditional Japanese Budo arts may well include some Zen Buddhist practice. Older Bu Gei training systems may expose the student to Mikkyo teachings and practice, a highly esoteric form of Buddhism. Traditional Chinese arts will incorporate Taoist and Confucian concepts and practices. Practitioners of Indonesian arts are likely to be Muslim and if Filipino then possibly Catholic. Devout Christians in the west sometimes worry about whether or not to avoid martial arts in case they are being exposed to a pagan religion in disguise. Other martial artists with no conscious interest in religion drop any spiritual practices as soon as possible considering them a waste of time. Part of the problem is that western culture is very influenced by
utilitarianism, that is, everything has to be obviously useful and if it isn’t then it should be discarded. The prevailing ‘wisdom’ in the west is that spirituality is optional at best and delusional at worst so should not be included along with the ‘useful’ aspects of martial arts training. Of course all that actually happens is that western martial arts are taught with western cultural spirituality while loudly proclaiming that there is no place for spirituality in martial arts. Unless you are a psychopath with whom no sane person would want to risk training then there will be a spiritual influence on your martial arts practice, it is simply that most spirituality is accepted unconsciously.
So what happens if you do develop a conscious awareness of spirituality? Then you can recognise the spiritual aspect of your own life and see the influence it has had on the development of your martial art. You can make a decision as to the extent to which you are willing to incorporate spiritual culture and practice from another culture and to what extent you would rather ‘westernise’ it.
The issue around spirituality in the martial arts is not whether or not spirituality is or is not an essential aspect of martial arts. The problem is the unconscious way that the subject is approached and the results can be frankly rather absurd. I will explain more over the next few days.
Next training opportunity is in Crewkerne this coming Saturday morning when I will be teaching Stav for practical self-defence http://somersetstav.co.uk/stavcourses.html
Also, looking ahead, I will be teaching in Minneapolis in the USA May 9th and 10th http://iceandfire.us/events/index.html
and there are plans for a seminar in Sweden during the Summer, more on that soon. I will have a more complete programme of courses and events on the website in the next few days.
regards
Graham