Has Spirituality Left Martial Arts?

Let’s Start Some Controversy

One of the most controversial subjects that have been around the martial arts community is this theory of spirituality leaving martial arts. One can see this either in a good way or a bad way or in neither way at all and say that the topic is bogus. There is a schism on this subject and it will be interesting to see how it develops.

Many classes have discussed this and there seems to be a split between the traditional martial artists and the cage fighting martial artists. One side sees the other as barbaric and lacks chivalry and spirituality, the other sees it from the view that traditional martial arts are not practical and not necessary.

In nature, the spirituality factor can be considered subjective and be completely different to everyone else. From what we will look at and discuss you can make your own opinion on the matter but we will focus on a couple reasons for this thought. These expressions of thought are out there and should be discussed. The topic is of great interest and there seems to be a bigger split in martial arts then there has been in awhile.

Spirituality and Martial Arts?

First off, what is Spirituality, and what is it doing in Martial Arts? Well…let’s see a definition of spirituality.

Spir-it-u-al-i-ty – noun

1. concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul; “a spiritual approach to life”; “spiritual fulfillment”; “spiritual values”; “unearthly love”
2. “Spiritual matters are thus those matters regarding humankind’s ultimate nature and meaning, not only as material biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is perceived to be beyond the bodily senses, time and the material world.”

Martial Arts is able to do this by giving the practitioner a better look at these thoughts. Not to be confused with religion, spirituality has to deal with anything with the soul, chi, energy etc… Martial Arts has a way of balancing someone and keeping them in a state of calmness. For one, Martial Arts has the use of meditation, whether it is Zazen, or just sitting/laying in a comfortable position and closing your eyes and relaxing and listening to your inner-self. Some classes meditate during class. Some classes meditate before and after a class to free the mind and start and end the class with a clean and calm slate.

You may even say that doing your martial arts forms/katas/pinan’s/hinan’s can be a form of physical meditation and when practicing and doing them, you can be in peace. Of course this is different for everyone and they meditate and relax however sees them fit.  Many Martial Arts masters and sensei’s throughout history have concentrated on the importance of spirituality and answering those universal unknown truths.

Those questions can be about who they are, where did they come from and why are they here? everyone on this planet subconsciously strives to understand who and what they are. The famous saying over the Oracle at Delphi’s cave was “Know Thyself”. To understand yourself and who you are has been an age old question that many philosophers and martial artists have pondered for centuries.

Is MMA The Culprit?

One of the main reasons to why someone can say that spirituality has left martial arts is due to the growth of MMA. By the way when we say MMA there are two types of MMA I think in this world now. One is the U.F.C and Cage Fighting MMA and the other is the more traditional MMA (this will be discussed in a later article to come up). The new MMA gyms and fight gyms seem to concentrate on the more ground and pound theory and do not dive much into the spiritual side of martial arts.

Martial Arts is composed of Mind, Body & Soul. The major factor in MMA is the body and getting in physically in shape and strong. There is a little use of the mind to figure out tactics of your opponent, and hardly and spirituality in it at all. A well rounded warrior is one that has all these in balance. It seems like the cage fighters of today’s times are more concentrated on wining, fame and money rather the inner journey that one takes in martial arts.

When looking at the growth of MMA and “cage fighting” gyms, you can see a mass amount of people entering the martial arts world that are missing a clear link and important tenet in the arts. They are told its all about beating the opponent and putting them on the ground and pounding them to death. They practice constantly on ground training and throws, punches, elbows, submissions, but still miss that influential part of martial arts.

So What?

So as we can see here, this is just one opinion to why the spiritual side of martial arts is going bye bye. Of course this is just one opinion one the issue and there are other reasons and views out there to which someone might be in favor or against the issue. On the contrary an MMA cage fighter might not care for that side of martial arts and think it might not be beneficial or just cares for the cage. There is also the argument that there is spirituality in cage fighting and that the claim is bogus. One thing is for sure, if someone makes that claim. It is definitely not seen at all or at least discussed.

The discussion is still up for debate and the only thing to really understand is that the question is being asked. That means that there is an issue at hand. Is Cage fighting schools and tournaments taking away from the traditional more spiritual martial artists? Are more students leaning towards MMA cage fighting schools and not considering the alternative?

Of course this can be speculated to be true since there is a huge growth and influential power that the U.F.C and other cage fighting matches have. I Have seen multiple times were students will join a karate or TKD or even a traditional MMA class and leave to join a fight club or cage fighting school that concentrates on ground and pound.. Knowing this, it brings up an even more serious question that should be addressed. Is cage fighting destroying traditional martial arts or not?

This is an extensive topic and too much for just one article this topic will be discussed multiple times and go into more depth on each subject and argument. If you are looking for some great Martial Arts Gear make sure you are well equipped!

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Tagged as: Martial Arts, Spirituality