Martial Arts Morality and Ethics

2573 Words6 Pages

As a person attends traditional martial arts classes they are molded into a new being, a being who lives by a moral code of honor. People hear the words “martial arts” and think of the movies with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, but the movie audience fails to see that there is more to traditional martial arts than fighting. The main focus is to better yourself morally, you can go ask any black belt in a traditional martial arts system why they train and most will tell you it’s because of the morals they learn not because of the fighting. My eyes were opened to the morals behind traditional martial arts after starting training in Chayon-Ryu (a traditional martial arts system) six years ago. Traditional martial arts are a way of life, they insure that the cultural values of their area gets past down to a new generation. Training in traditional martial arts can make you a better: spouse, citizen, mother or father, son or daughter, and friend. My dad is a perfect example, before he started training in Chayon-Ryu he became angry very easily and would not listen to reason but now he is calm and listens to others so life at home is much better. Imagine if everyone in today’s society lived by a moral code like traditional martial artists do, everyone would live an honorable and respectful life with very little conflict. Traditional martial arts provides a strong moral guide that today’s society has yet to take advantage of, even though this moral guide could prevent the daily problems that humans face in the flawed society we live in today. The military teaches respect, honor, and control by using strict rules and regulations which is not a bad thing, although I doubt the recruits enjoy the enforcement of all the rules and regulati... ... middle of paper ... ...Chunlei. Martial Arts, Violence, and Public Schools. Vol. 18. Brock University, 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. . "Violent Crime." FBI-Violent Crime. Federal Bureau of Investigation, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. . Gease, Heidi B. "Martial arts used to teach respect for self, others ." Rapid City Journal [Rapid City, SD] 1 Feb. 2012: n. pag. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. le_71202b0c-4c62-11e1-9683-0019bb2963f4.html>. University of Georgia. "Self-control, and lack of self-control, is contagious." ScienceDaily, 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

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