Is there any Spiritual implication of MA?

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by runcai, Jun 26, 2014.

  1. runcai

    runcai Valued Member

    I look up "spiritual implication of Martial Arts" with quotes in Google and there is no result, maybe members of this forums can give me some thoughts or experiences on the subject.
     
  2. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Define "spiritual inclination".

    If you mean finding God, not unless you train in a church.
     
  3. Dean Winchester

    Dean Winchester Valued Member

    Culturally then possibly yes, depending on the system's origin. The cultural context tends to be what lends it any elements of spirituality.

    However you can still take out those elements and have the system remain compatibly viable, assuming it was in the first place. As part of a whole tradition then it gets a little trickier as certain things are passed on as a complete package.

    Martial arts though do not necessarily impart spirituality any more so than any other activity that requires one's dedication and hard work.
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2014
  4. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    Not unless you send away for my free DVD and $250 special martial artist's robe. I will show you the true ways of spirituality and punching people and punching people spiritually. Then you can wear the robe so everyone knows you know it.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    Can you explain to us what you mean? What would a spiritual implication be?
     
  6. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    There is no more spiritulaity in Martial Arts than in any other endeavour - there is however a fetishization of spirituality in martial arts
     
  7. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    I've never felt a "spiritual inclination" in any martial art.

    I have in weight lifting or intense exercise. Pushing through the burn and finishing always makes me feel like I just gained repentance from my sins. :p
     
  8. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    There aren't enough reps in the world to absolve you from your sins!
     
  9. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    I know! That's why you have to keep training till' you're dead! You can at least keep the ration of sins:redemption somewhat equal! I tend to increase the frequency of workouts when I start seeing horns develop on my head.
     
  10. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    I think the spiritual implications of martial arts became much more ritualized (and even fetishized, as Hannibal suggests) when martial arts stopped being battlefield state of the art. (Read: A very long time ago) When "martial artists" were actual soldiers, they had plenty of cause to contemplate life and death, develop ways to reconcile themselves to the potential loss of their own lives or taking of others' lives, etc.

    Most of those conditions don't exist for most martial artists these days. So, while I still believe that martial arts CAN be a vehicle for some sort of spiritual experience, it seldom takes the form or the intensity that we like to advertise.
     
  11. runcai

    runcai Valued Member

    Thanks guys, I think I am on the right track and let me try again:

    Martial arts have resolved some of the health issues for practitioners of spirituality but that is not spiritual implication. The practices of martial arts do involve some forms of extreme performances but that is not spirituality. But there are people like ap Oweyn do believe that "that martial arts CAN be a vehicle for some sort of spiritual experience".

    Can martial arts provide some sort of answers to spiritual questions on fear, death, consciousness, and supernatural power, etc.?
     
  12. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

  13. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Yes, probably not, yes, and absolutely not. In that order.
     
  14. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    [​IMG]

    :D
     
  15. m1k3jobs

    m1k3jobs Dudeist Priest

    If you want spirituality go to a Sangha not a dojo or gym. As ap Oweyn said some of this was in place because on the battlefield you really don't want your solders thinking about the morality of what they are doing.

    BTW a Sangha is a buddhist community/temple.
     
  16. runcai

    runcai Valued Member

    Thanks, but fear and consciousness can be classified as cognitions and have nothing to do with spirituality. A Buddhist monk can learn martial art for his spiritual development but just learning martial will not turn anyone into a Buddhist monk.

    There are arguments on the similarity between cognitive development and spiritual development but I don't see a connection at this moment.
     
  17. 47MartialMan

    47MartialMan Valued Member

    Does a Buddhist monk truly need a martial art for their spiritual development ?
     
  18. gapjumper

    gapjumper Intentionally left blank

    All experiences have the potential of spiritual enrichment.

    Including MA.
     
  19. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    I don't think there's any difference. With some chemicals or electrodes in the right place you've got yourself a bonafide spiritual experience.
     
  20. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    Personally I wouldn't be too sure on that.

    No but in theory, if you train hard and honestly, keep pushing your limits and so forth when you train, then it may help "polish your spirit" (to coin a phrase from one of the random books I own).

    In reality though, most MAists who talk about "spirituality" are about as spiritual as soggy toilet paper in a public cubicle.
     

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