Below is a 1 page paper I was asked to write for a class of mine, the theme is a brief description of the Martial Arts as a whole and addresses more of the spirit that unifies them than any individual themes.
~Sol
Sword Fighting & the Martial Arts
The Martial arts have the grace of dancing, the reflective and meditative qualities of prayer and the physical and co-operational growth of sports. I started my path within them at the approximate age of four years. And in that time they have shown me how to temper myself, find harmony in Chaos, and learn contemplative reflection to always in peace ask myself the question “Why” about any action I may take. To know that all life is interwoven and that if we make our choices blind and without consistent honest reflection and consideration of all ideas (especially those which may cause us some discomfort) then we are likely to do harm we may not even know through either carelessness or simple ignorance.
Often when someone is new to a martial arts class of any discipline they enter with the glow of Hollywood cinema in their eyes and believe that it’s all about hitting someone really really hard. The truth of the matter is that even the styles that are traditionally Hard Form hold a great deal of grace and are focused on preempting or preventing fights more than on attacking. This is exemplified by a statement a Sensi of mine made while we were learning to defend a punch, he said “the most effective way to block a punch is to not be there when it lands”. This theme of grace over brute force is repeated throughout the Martial Arts. The epitome of this is when two masters train together, seeing them move so fast you almost can’t follow it while appearing to be moving in slow motion for all of the apparent effort they display.
When you enter the Martial Arts and remain for any time your perspective starts to shift. Your fear recedes to a lower volume, you panic is muted if not wiped away and you learn to cast your mind outwards towards possible horizons to see what might be if you are to make the choices in front of you. After spending a few hours teaching a friend of mine some of the basics of sword fighting he exuberantly asked me why the Nipponese were so polite. He expounded saying that he didn’t understand why people who were so capable of fighting would be so courteous to one and other. I answered his question with one of my own, “if you were surrounded on all sides, every day, by people who wore on their hips five foot long razor blades, would you too not be polite?” This statement is an oversimplification to be sure but it highlights an important aspect about the Martial Arts; their traditions are founded on respect, and courtesy. They are about self awareness and self discipline. They teach you to surpass yourself and to master yourself. And show you that once you have done so there is little need to fear or obey anyone outside of yourself any longer. And if you need not fear, and there is no reason for you to obey, then there is almost never a reason why you would need to harm another living creature. The Ultimate lesson of the Martial Arts is one of Paradox and Truth, when you know enough about being a Warrior you find Peace to be the natural state within yourself.
