Martial arts and philosophy

                              By Adel Ather

          Often Martial arts masters have claimed martial arts as a way of life.  What could the possible relationship be with fighting and philosophy?  In the east, martial arts were a means to gain spiritual enlightenment.  While in the West, martial arts have become a means to connect with oneself emotionally.  The ultimate goal of a martial artist is to transcend ordinary life and gain philosophical enlightenment.

In the beginning

            The marriage between fighting and philosophy began with the emergence of a sect of Buddhism known as Zen(Chan in Chinese). 

Zen was a combination of traditional Buddhism and Chinese Taoism.  The goal of a Zen Buddhist was to become a Buddha(a perfected being) and realize Nirvana.  Nirvana was defined as a state in which no material things were needed for happiness.  According to Buddhist doctrine, human nature sought material objects in order to enhance life.  However, eternal joy lay in life’s simplicity.  Nirvana was achieved by understanding that life was already in a state of perfection and needed no enhancement. 

          Revering Nature was one of the means to achieve Nirvana.  The Zen Buddhist believed that all life was connected and intertwined.  Even all human minds were believed to have connected at a Universal Mind called the Buddha(Tao in Taoism).  Even though reality was connected, our individual minds created an illusion of separateness.  It accomplished this by separating reality into opposites(Yin and the Yang).  Through opposites, the mind could understand and grasp ideas.  Without an understanding of high, the mind could not have a understanding of low.  Other opposites are subject and object, good and evil, male and female .  However, these concepts were merely ways for the human mind to grasp reality even though the actual nature of reality remained whole.

            Nevertheless, since the true nature of reality could not be grasped by the logical human mind, it had to be transcended.  Therefore, the Buddhist sought Nirvana through the non-rational mind.  From the non-rational mind stemmed the emotions and intuitions.  The non-rational mind could also be referred to as the Buddha.  In order to find spiritual truth the Buddhist began to exercise the non-rational mind through art, riddles(Koans) and discussions which emphasized quick thinking(mondos).

Art emphasized the use of feelings such as the emotions and intuitions rather than logical thought.  By learning to express the non-rational through art, the Buddhist cultivated the state of mind required to reach Nirvana.

        The fighting arts were one of the arts developed to cultivate the Zen state of mind.  Hence, the fighting styles of Shaolin gung-fu(written as Kung-Fu in the west) were born.  Shaolin gung-fu imitated animals such as the snake, leopard and praying mantis.  Because the Tao/Universal Mind/Buddha resided in all things, the Buddhist sought to find the universal mind in combative expression by studying other animals and their fighting styles.

         However, the marriage between martial arts and philosophy was strongest with the emergence of the Japanese knight, the Samurai.  Samurai literally meant ‘to serve’.  Samurai’s served their lords through combat and wished to complete their lives by dying on the battlefield.

        In an effort to enhance their skill, the Samurais began to visit the Zen monastery.  Zen Buddhism’s non-attached state of mind brought not only an indifference to material objects, but an indifference to life and death.  The Zen mind transcended the ordinary mind where there was no separation between life and death.  This allowed the samurai to fight in battles with tremendous courage with no fear of death.  Other Zen principles such as no-mindedness/empty mind became tools to enhance the Samurai’s fighting skill.  Through no-mindedness the Samurai could develop his fighting skills to the level of psychic anticipation of his opponents next move.  With the empty-mind the Samurai could transcend the limits of the ordinary mind to that of the Universal Mind.  In the Universal Mind their was no separation between present and future. 

The Modern Day

            In the 20^th century, the medieval systems of combat(Jui-Jutsu, Kenjutsu, Karate, Aikijutsu, etc.)  became obsolete for warfare purposes.  The fighting systems developed into Do’s,(Judo, Kendo, Karate-do, Aikido).  Do meant the way of the Buddha.  The reason for this transition was martial arts primarily became tools for spiritual development.

         However, although the techniques of the ancient Japanese martial arts transferred into the Western culture its’ philosophy did not.  Zen’s non-rational philosophy was antithetical to the scientific, logical philosophy of the West.  The result was that martial arts in the West were rarely taught in conjunction with the Zen philosophy.

            Still, a compromise of Western philosophy and Eastern philosophy was created with Carl Jung’s system of psychology.

            Jung defined the human personality into parts(subconscious, conscious, collective conscious, persona and shadow).  Although all these parts acted as one, the human conscious was unaware of it.  As a result, the conscious mind(rational) and the subconscious(non-rational) often were in conflict with each other.  Therefore the individual’s consciousness was not always aware his/her true feelings.

            However, according to Jung, throughout a person’s lifetime the gap between an individual’s Subconscious and Conscious was reduced.  The Subconscious would begin to become conscious.  An individual would no longer be working in contrast with him/herself.  This would allow the individual to be aware of his/her whole personality.  Jung named this process Individuation. 

            To aid in the process of Individuation, especially in a time of crisis, Jung stressed honesty with oneself, dream analysis and art.  With art, an individual could express himself/herself and build faith in his/her feelings.  This would allow the gap between the conscious and subconscious to be removed.

In the everyday

            Martial arts are a way of life which stress honesty with oneself and self discovery.  This helps to remove the conflict between the Conscious and the Subconscious mind.  Martial arts require a split second response which allows you little time for rational thought.  Stop to think and you may be kicked or punched.  One simply flows with instinct.  Martial arts are a tool for individuation by developing faith with ones feelings.  This allows the subconscious and conscious to become one.

        Martial arts are also a means to develop the virtue of humility.  As a student begins his/her martial arts training he/she strives for the image of a martial artist.  The image of a martial artist is that of invincibility and strength through physical prowess.  Months and years pass by, as the individual strives to feel secure with him/herself through physical training.  Each accomplished goal only provides temporary satisfaction as the student seeks to renew his/her sense of self worth and sets out new goals.  The endless process makes the student realize what they are seeking is an illusion.  Since the mind grasp ideas on the basis of opposites, the student begins to have a clearer idea of his/her true self.  The individual begins to realize that they are not truly invincible and strong, rather they are the opposite, weak and venerable.  The individual begins to realize that subconsciously his/her appeal for the martial arts were to mask a part of his/her personality which he/she has rejected.  This process allows the individual to accept himself/herself as a human being rather than a label which served as means to believe one is greater than others.  The student begins to genuinely honor humility since it is truth and reflects the true nature of the individual.

Conclusion

            While the philosophy of martial arts are not always discussed, it does exist.  Martial arts and Zen have shared a close partnership, especially during the times of medieval Japan.  However in the West, the Zen philosophy conflicts with Western beliefs.  However, Carl Jung’s system of psychology created a pleasing blend of Eastern and Western Philosophy.  The results are that martial arts are a means to become aware of one’s whole personality.  This is accomplished by reducing the gap between the conscious and subconscious.  Therefore, this enables the individual to become one with himself/herself.