Hi-
Some good points there.
Yes, I will agree that martial arts are about learning the skills to defend oneself but the development of those skills to the point of high refinement involves the connectivity of spirit, mind and body.
By doing so, or undertaking practices to do so will by nature quell the violent desires that otherwise are present.
If you divorce the philosophical and spiritual aspects from martial art then what you are left with is simple street fighting.
Simple street fighting cannot overshadow the skills acquired with training in the fullness of martial art that includes a code of virtue and teaches a path of righteousness to the practitioner. This path is taught with the inclusion of philosophy and techniques that teach the student to unite all the aspects of their individual being.
At the higher levels of these teachings is where a student learns about the frailities of the human condition and how to exploit those frailities if need be. Through application of techniques such as dim mak and other teachings.
It is what gives value to the science of martial arts. this is quite evident by the training given to various military organizations. This training is drawn from a variety of martial arts and what is involved goes way beyond typical physical training in the martial area.
Kicking, punching, wrestling, grappling are fully developed in the practitioner who has learned to look inward and discover the true self. If these aspects are only developed superficially then they cannot be considered “full”.
With the discovery of the true self in the practitioner it is natural to become aware of truths that are evident in all our fellow beings, this in turn leads to an amount of respect for our fellow humans and killing or the felling of the need to kill is dispelled.
It is interesting that the topic of yoga came up (on a side note) yogic practice is a longstanding practice that will indeed enhance and improve ones martial ability greatly. Just as visualization and meditation will improve ones ability to “sense the next move”.
Over milleneum the martial arts have developed and grown and the highly effective systems included a rather large amount of esoteric practice with goal of enhancing basic technique. And, it works for most who do it with diligence and the correct frame of mind according to teh standards laid out by the system.
In the shows that highlight martial arts such as ufc, boxing, wrestling matches and so on there has been a minimum of fatalities, but when martial arts are taken on to the battlefield a different story takes place entirely.
great boxers have great technique and much training but very few have ever killed from a wayward blow. Yet, training in the augmentation exercises found within systems of martial arts can give the practitioner the ability to kill with very few blows in some cases only one. You will not see these types of martial artists in competition because in order to achieve what they have become able to do, they have cast off the desires to win or kill. This is by nature.
As far as breaking a human spine, well, this is pretty much impossible without deep knowledge and near incredible power development. That kind of power is never studied or developed in the superficial sporting martial arts.
I’m sure there are more contributions to this thread to come.
Peace
Kung Lek
I have been shown half a dozen, and only after many years of study…they were just taught to me one day. My Sifu said “unless many people try to hurt badly, no good!”.