Warrior of the Light and Morihei Ueshiba

... Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, a well known martial art, used to say, “The search for peace is a way of praying, which ends up generating light and warmth. Forget a little about yourself, know that wisdom and compassion lay in that warmth. As you walk through this planet, seek to notice the true form of the heavens and of the Earth; it is possible if you don’t let yourself be paralyzed by fear and decide that all your gestures and attitudes will correspond to what you think.” Read more ... Warrior of the Light Online.

Martial Arts, Physical Ability ... and so much more!

I agree that physical ability is improved through martial arts training. I think that in this respect alone, martial arts is no different than other sports. For example, as 'Coach Carter' says to his bunch of rude and unfit basketball players 'before you can play, you need to be fit'. Only after 1000's of press-ups and running up and down the gym hall do they learn about co-ordination, team work, speed, etc. If we go beyond that however, the ecuation changes and becomes a bit more complex than flexibility + co-ordination + speed + stamina = martial arts (MAs). During the evidence review which I have carried out (with Ron Roberts) we have found evidence that goes back 30-40 years ago which suggests that MAs training contribute to the development of an entire arsenal of qualities, among them physical and mental health, control of mind and body and self-confidence. You can read more on this in my article which I posted last December (2010) and can be found here: Martial Arts and Mental Health.

Saying that, since I have written that article (2008) I have read, reasearched and learnt a lot more about what MAs can offer (and in my case Okinawan Karate). I have one thought in mind - that was very well expressed by Mike Clarke Sensei in one of his blog posts. It is somehting on the lines 'Karate does not build your character, it reveals it. It reveal who you are.' I am slowly growing into understanding how important Karate is when it comes to revealing one's character. MAs go so much further than just offering physical abilities.

David Lowry's 'Budo and Bach' essay

My Goju Ryu teacher has introduced me to the writings of David Lowry. He writes beautifully in his compilations of Essays on the Japanese Martial Arts and Ways, which I would recommend to anyone who is keen to learn about Budo traditions. In one of his essays in which Lowry explains his position on the challenges Westerners face when trying to understand the Japanese (Okinawan) way culture (and Budo), and conversely the Easterner musicians trying to get the pulse of Bach's music. In short, this is a mamouth task, Lowry says, for both, Westerners and Orientals. Incidently, I made a similar point in my book where I explained the difficulty to study as a researcher Oriental martial arts which are taught in a Western culture. I based my observation on some previous research on this topic, excerpt which I insert below:

Columbus argues that there are two problems that must be faced when conducting any study about an Oriental martial art in a Western situation - understanding the arts as Oriental arts and understanding these arts in a Western context. Based on Fuller‟s review, Columbus noted that research into the benefits of MAs has been carried out using positivist methods of investigation, which he says are less relevant when it comes to understanding Oriental styles of thinking/acting. Heavily influenced as they are by Zen Buddhism and Taoism these concepts are not easily grasped from a positivist perspective.179 In agreement with this, both Adler and Glassford argue that statistics cannot offer insights into the deep meanings of Oriental teachings and that the truth and value of these systems can only be truly realized through experience.

Moreover, Oriental MAs originated in an Eastern context that is conceptually very different from the West and that is where the other problem lies when using positivist methods to capture the complexity and subtlety of the Oriental MAs. Thus, when taken from their original culture, Oriental MAs may change their method, content, and therapeutic value. In other words, the value system changes to reflect the culture where the MA is practiced. Furthermore, in both of his psychological commentaries Jung has highlighted the difficulties encountered by Western scientific minds to understand the differences between the Eastern and the Western thinking. He says that is:
“(…) partly because of the miserable vanité de savants which fears and rejects with horror any sign of living sympathy, and partly because a sympathetic understanding might permit contact with an alien spirit to become a serious experience.”

If you got to read this far, I invite you to read the introductions to each of the chapters of my book, Psyche and Martial Arts. You can find an intro to each of the chapters when you click the buttons below the photo

A journey of Self-realisation

I have created a site called A journey of Self-realisation where I bring together some of my writings, photos and videos as well as news and thoughts on various topics. The new site  is here: A Journey of Self-realisation.
I will continue to post on Psyche and Martial Arts, and very soon I will be writing small introductions for each chapter in my book, Psyche and Martial Arts, which is long overdue.