I agree with Buka about the importance of the spiritual side of martial arts, even for people who may or may not be spiritual in general, I learned alot from my first sensei when I was 5 learning shotokan, I learned the importance of honesty,self control,dedication, and also self esteem. Those lessons stuck with me for life. If you are going to teach how to punch you should also teach how to heal, and how to avoid physical altercations. Tony hit the nail on the head as far as what I was going for "well rounded" and I also agree with king fu wang if you spread your training too thin you will not be great at one thing just mediocre at everything. Most arts are complete anyways I learned grappling when doing kenpo karate and I learned basic striking and striking defense in jiu jitsu. It's the journey that matters most.
Are You a Complete martial artist?
- Thread starter Blitz2.0
- Start date
When I was 7, I had my first Taiji teacher who was a Buddhist monk. When I was 8, I found out that he ate turtle, I lose respect for him (Buddhist monk should be vegetarian). When I was 9, I tried to use Taiji in fighting and lose, I lose faith in that style.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
I am not a spiritual person, and I don’t believe I actually learned anything from my martial arts teachers, on that topic. That wasn’t what they were teaching, it simply wasn’t part of the equation.
We all need a sense of ethics ands moral compass and an ability to recognize right from wrong. Furthermore we need the will behave according to those things and not just give them lip-service.
I’ve never learned these things from martial arts. I learned these things from my upbringing. I understood these things well before my first martial arts lesson.
I get it that people want to tie these things to martial training. Hopefully one who trains in a martial method would have these traits. Perhaps some teachers are able to help instill these values in some students, who never got it from their upbringing. But overall I believe it is a stretch, and in many cases would be a real mistake, to assume or expect a martial arts teacher to take on that role. Adult students will feel condescended to (at least I would) and perhaps for most child students the teacher can simply be a good example. Unless the program is targeting troubled youth who need real guidance, I just don’t see this as the venue for direct instruction in this. And I am not convinced that most martial instructors are automatically qualified to be directly teaching this. Unless they have training as a psychologist or in ethics or some kind of ministry or something, that gives them a background in teaching these issues, I think it can be a hazardous road.
Do your best to be a good example. Unless you are otherwise trained to go beyond that, I think it’s best to leave it there.
We all need a sense of ethics ands moral compass and an ability to recognize right from wrong. Furthermore we need the will behave according to those things and not just give them lip-service.
I’ve never learned these things from martial arts. I learned these things from my upbringing. I understood these things well before my first martial arts lesson.
I get it that people want to tie these things to martial training. Hopefully one who trains in a martial method would have these traits. Perhaps some teachers are able to help instill these values in some students, who never got it from their upbringing. But overall I believe it is a stretch, and in many cases would be a real mistake, to assume or expect a martial arts teacher to take on that role. Adult students will feel condescended to (at least I would) and perhaps for most child students the teacher can simply be a good example. Unless the program is targeting troubled youth who need real guidance, I just don’t see this as the venue for direct instruction in this. And I am not convinced that most martial instructors are automatically qualified to be directly teaching this. Unless they have training as a psychologist or in ethics or some kind of ministry or something, that gives them a background in teaching these issues, I think it can be a hazardous road.
Do your best to be a good example. Unless you are otherwise trained to go beyond that, I think it’s best to leave it there.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
As far as being a complete martial artist, I wouldn’t know how to define that, nor where to draw the boundaries and the minimum “qualifications” to justify the claim. Ive trained in a number of methods in the past nearly forty years. That gives me a somewhat broad range of experiences and perspectives from which to guide how I train and what I feel is important in my training. I train in a method that I find interesting, and have given up on trying to keep everything and continue with all the methods I’ve trained in the past. It’s too easy to become spread too thin, like butter scraped over too much toast, to quote old Mr. Bilbo. So I am confident that there are whole bodies of skillsets that I lack, but I don’t care. Over the years Ive seen people say that you need X skills and Y skills and Z skills or you just have these gaping holes in your training and surely you will be defeated every time. I’ve never bought into that. Others can do what they feel is important, I will make my own decisions on that.
I’ve trained in some archaic martial weaponry so I do feel that I have a distinct advantage when the zombie apocalypse arrives. To quote Max Brooks, “blades don’t need reloading”. That goes for sticks and bludgeons as well. I have some modest skill in archery, and I know that ammunition for a sling-shot is all around us. I am comfortable with firearms, although I haven’t shot in years.
I’ve never served in the military or law enforcement, so I have no training in those tactics and would not know how to lead a squad in combat nor strategy and tactics in a large theater of modern warfare. I don’t know how to operate mechanized weapons of war like tanks and aircraft carriers and jets nor such things as rocket launchers and ICBMs. Are such skills needed to qualify as “complete”? Where do we draw the line?
I don’t worry about it.
I’ve trained in some archaic martial weaponry so I do feel that I have a distinct advantage when the zombie apocalypse arrives. To quote Max Brooks, “blades don’t need reloading”. That goes for sticks and bludgeons as well. I have some modest skill in archery, and I know that ammunition for a sling-shot is all around us. I am comfortable with firearms, although I haven’t shot in years.
I’ve never served in the military or law enforcement, so I have no training in those tactics and would not know how to lead a squad in combat nor strategy and tactics in a large theater of modern warfare. I don’t know how to operate mechanized weapons of war like tanks and aircraft carriers and jets nor such things as rocket launchers and ICBMs. Are such skills needed to qualify as “complete”? Where do we draw the line?
I don’t worry about it.
When you start an argument in a restaurant with someone, your MA teacher puts a steak knife on your table, you know that you will never learn "de-escalation" strategy from him.
KenpoMaster805
2nd Black Belt
No one is a complete Marti artist to be a complete martial artist you have to good at everything. You have to be a Gm to know everything and a complete martial artist
Razznik
Blue Belt
Same, let's say I trained Bajiquan (8 Extremities Fists). I still wouldn't be able to compete with a Takwondo 8th dan in kicking.
If you actually kicked his *ss and perfectly landed the hit, he would probably fly up to 3-4 meters XD
Razznik
Blue Belt
But this is most important XD
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