To me martial arts is what i believe to be life itself. A true martial artist seeks to improve himself beyond limits, not for power, but to challenge his potential. To me i see no boundries in the way of martial arts, if that is, you follow your own way. "No way as way"-Bruce lee I consider my life to be an opportunity to improve, trancend, and learn. I think Martial arts is the way. What do you think? /Xio
To be honest, I find this question impossible to answer. What do you mean by the phrase, "martial art"? There are at least four Japanese words I can think of, all of which are translated as "martial art": Budo, bujutsu, bugei, and kakutogi, all of which mean distinctly different things in Japanese. Bujutsu is the art of bu, on which I shall write more below. It is straightforwardly arts of combat (within the meaning of bu), and is probably the closest to the words "martial art" in the popular Western conception; i.e., learning how to kick ****. Budo is bujutsu + philosophy, often involving some ethical code by which to apply one's learning of techniques, particularly how they relate to bu. (That's not to say that bujutsuka are unethical, only that unlike bujutsu, budo explicates the ethical/moral dimension of bu. Which brings me to the explanation of bu itself. The Chinese character "bu" comprises three elements: the number two, representing two people, a spear representing violence, and the verb, "to stop". Budo is therefore "the way in which two people stop fighting". Note that this may mean you don't fight to start with; you simply choose to walk away. The distinction between do and jutsu is crucial, because the use of do implies a process of self-improvement, which is lacking from jutsu. (Uncharitably, one might suggest that bujutsu means to put down the opponent as fast as possible, and budo means to put down the opponent as fast as possible, and then to analyse what you did philosophically afterwards. ) The point is that budo requires practitioners to think about the consequences of using their art, which bujutsu does not. Bugei is the closest literal translation to "martial art", but is not what Westerners associate with the phrase "martial art" in their mind's eye, which as I have said, is more akin to bujutsu. In fact, bugei means "bu art" in the sense of a performance, and in Japanese, applies to those people who would perform feats of spear-bending, brick breaking, and other "martial skills" in the market square, and then pass round the hat after their performance. Finally, kakutogi refers to combat sports such as K1 and ordinary Western boxing. As K1 and budo share mutually exclusive ethoses, to translate them both as "martial art" is self-defeating. The problem is, we may all be practicing "martial atrs" (sic), but we're nto all speaking the same language. So, I ask again, what do you mean by "martial art"? TIA,
You R On The Right Track Bro Im A Soke(founder Of System-grandmaster) And My Style I Created Is (shinobi-jutsu) And Its As Free As The Student Wants It Even Though It Has Like 14 Styles In It And Then Some Its All Free No Set Limitations Martial Art Is The Practicioner You Are The Art Yo;u Are What You Make It Thank About It I Been Waiting For Someone Esle To See It The Way I Do
Nice philosophy, Xio. An embodiment of budo perhaps? Kata to become an expression of enlightenment, form and grace. A representation of ancient masters of old whom lived and died upon the medieval battlefield. I find it a tool. Less that I am about martial arts than it is of me. Above all, excellence in all things.
Bigd - your keyboard seems to be malfunctioning - It seems to be putting capital letters for every word!
Punctuation I can tollerate to a degree. Not every Martial Arts forum member is highly educated or has swallowed a Thesaurus. A certain level of acceptance is needed. Poor punctuation is one thing - but wen dey r 2 lazy 2 try 2 do it rite or 3v3n us3 g33k sp34k - THAT winds up old Yoda
To me, sloppy punctuation is a sign of a disordered mind. Besides, it is only courtesy to those whom you wish to read your posts that you make them as legible as possible. I don't mind the occasional typo, but repeated misspellings are guaranteed to wind me up. BTW, Yoda, a Thesaurus is a dictionary of synonyms, and has nothing to do with punctuation. Yours ex verbilibro,
Agreed. But please understand that people with disordered minds are welcome here too. If we guide them gently they may even benefit from their time here. I don't remember saying it was *Coughs up thesaurus and swallows "The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation" instead.
Fair enough. Try "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk, Jr., or "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynn Truss. In Lynn we trust... BTW, where in the NW are you?
Well, I'm actually in Osaka, but should I return to the UK, it would be to Liverpool, which ain't so far away.
Funny you should say that... if everything goes according to plan, I might well be returning in the new year (2005) to start the first Shorinji Kempo branch in the northwest...
