The Endless Journey to Martial Enlightenment

Power. Fear. Violence. Revenge. What leads people to the martial path and the so-called Way of the Warrior? 

Young. Old. Rich. Poor. Male and female. Black and white. Westerner and Oriental. The common denominator is that people want to learn how to defend themselves. They want to learn quick. They want instant gratification. They want... but are they getting the fix that they need?  

 

You don't have to be a Buddhist monk or a Nobel Prize winning economist to know that human wants have a tendency to outstrip human needs. East may be East and West may be West but martial arts is a thriving mass market of businesses, entrepreneurs, chop shops and shysters. What's out there for Joe Punter? Mucho choice. What's the opportunity cost? Learning the wrong Way from the wrong folks. It's simple economics. 

Now what about MMA? Isn't that the fast track to martial enlightenment? No. It's the dark side of the Way with too much Yang and enough Yin. It's a noisy sideshow. No sportsmen. No martial artists. Just a confederacy of dunces and a cartel of cold-blooded suits making super profits. So avoid the blaring carnival and gaudy lights of its vast human spectacle. The Way lies elsewhere. It always has.

 

Blame the puerile age that we live in. There is no quick fix solution. Kung Fu. Karate. Muay Thai. Jiu Jitsu. Take your pick: the martial path is an endless journey of challenge, self-discovery and possible enlightenment within your own lifetime. It has always been. It always will be. And that will never, ever change for novice, coach or 'master' alike.  

Here's the skinny. To be truly good with the open hand, one must enter into the spirit of study with an open mind and not a closed one. The Way is not a 'hobby'. Nor is it some means to lose weight or stay in shape. To know the Way, you have to be studious and serious. And to really, really learn, you must surrender to the art of choice and believe in it like voodoo to really make it work.  

The ideal? A cultivated fighter. Not a mixed martial artist but someone with a mixed martial philosophy of Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism and Taoism. An educated warrior who lives -or tries to live- by the eight virtues of Bushido. Rectitude. Courage. Benevolence. Politeness. Sincerity. Honor. Loyalty. Self-control. MMA is a sport; mortal combat is not. 

Power. Fear. Violence. Revenge. We struggle. We change. We evolve. We grow. So forget all thought of want or need. The path to martial enlightenment has no journey's end. 

"Use no way as way, have no limitation to limitation." 

Now I know what that means. Kind of. Don't you?