Sunday, November 30, 2008

martial art

From time to time, I'll probably write about various styles of martial arts and things related to the subject. For now, here's the simplest way I can put my thoughts:


Martial art is one of the greatest ways for one to express their abilities and self-attained skills.

The abilities that one attains through martial arts practice are ultimately attained only through individual training, and thus martial ability is an expression of the self -- the drive and ambition that one possesses.

Martial arts are not for everyone -- they are not for the lazy. Dedication is of absolute necessity. Beyond that, anyone can do it, and everyone should.

Beyond any of the supposed spiritual aspects of the martial arts, self-defense and fighting ability are of utmost importance. It is necessary for a true martial art to not only be a fun activity or spiritual/mental exercise, but first and foremost a physical/fighting exercise, leading to the goals of ultimate self-expression and efficiency in combat.

3 comments:

Mohit Parikh said...

I am very keen on learning Martial Arts but I am waiting for some good teacher or school. Right thing to do?
I want to learn for spiritual reasons plus I want something that is fast. Where more than power and strength, ur spped and instincts matter(for i am skinny :) ). So what kind of martial arts shld i look forward to?

M.C. Elroy said...

You should definitely look for the right teacher, however, waiting too long with your standards too high could be detrimental.

For spiritual reasons, I would suggest tai chi, qi gong, or aikido. Really, most Asian martial arts (with the proper teacher) will focus a great deal on spirituality (i.e. humility, strength of character, morality, etc.), but those three stand out to me.

As for speed and technique over strength, most arts are based on the idea that a skilled person of lesser size could defend himself against an unskilled hulk. However, no matter what art you study, the person with equal skill and speed but greater strength will probably win in a fight.
So, really, any art would be beneficial.

That said, you may prefer to study wing chun (though it is often lacking in the spiritual aspect), Brazilian jiu-jitsu (also often lacking in the spiritual aspect, but just a great art to learn/practice), or Tae Kwon Do (though often a purely commercial art, I found it quite beneficial to my personal betterment).

Hope this helps.
Good luck finding the right art and the right teacher!

Mohit Parikh said...

thanx a lot for the advice.
as such Tai Chi is quite popular in India so i may get good teacher, for other arts I may have fly to China :)
thanx a lot again.