SHOULD Christians do MA?

Traymond · Pre-Black Belt

Yes as I said, as christians we must defend ourselves or we are also defying the bible. So we should practice it. I mean in okinawan karate it has alot of shinto practices and buddhist concepts, but the scriptures of god also say to respect all religions and ways of life.
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To fear death is to limit life - Xin Sarith Azuma Phan Wuku

The BB of C · Black Belt

To a degree, yes. We also have to trust ourselves to be strong enough, insightful enough, and smart enough to not cross the boundaries and start practicing two religions at once.
Take extra senses for example. Things like channelling chi and etc. I don't know if anyone reading this post believes in it or not but I have seen enough evidence to support it. Anyway - there are two ways of going about aquiring such abilities. The natural way, though focus and meditation and understanding that it's channelling a natural energy force inside you. Or there's the other ways of going about it like worshiping powers like that or going about it through witchcraft and rituals. I've seen both carried out successfully. The difference is that one is physical ability and the other is exactly what normal Christians should know not to get into and the extremist Christians fear so much that they completely seclude themselves from all physical activity (and from what I've seen - will then adopt complecency and unintentionally live out the phrase 'evil thrives when good men do nothing').

granitemiller · Orange Belt

There is no issue with practicing martial arts.
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"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Confucius

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JusticeZero · Black Belt

So far, I have seen little in the concept of chi that does not translate directly over to christian principles of prayer. The only part I see issue with is the MISunderstanding of Taoist philosophy where the duality concept is used to tie good and evil together - the yin/yang is not applied to good and evil; it is applied to strong/weak, fast/slow, hot/cold, and so on, but not to things so ephemeral and complex as 'good and evil'.

What do we see of chi in technques?
Clear your mind of doubt; anger, pride, and other sinful thoughts distract you from God.
Breaking: Visualize your strike passing through the target, know in your heart that God's will shall be done through you, and strike at the point you have directed in your silent and wordless prayer.
The unbendable arm: Meditate upon the image of God's will working through you, flowing through your body in place of your Earthly, imperfect muscle. Pray silently with the visualization of God's will flowing through your arm into forever. Breathe deeply, clearing yourself of doubt.

I'm sure there is others, but all of what I have seen thus far sounds virtually identical to this:

"Clear your mind of doubt and sin, relax and allow yourself to be a vessel for His power, sink and center yourself in confidence and peace, accepting you imperfection and humbling yourself to allow God to work through you, then visualize the way you need His will to work through you, praying not with words but with understanding and feeling for His strength to work through you."

What is un-Christian about any of that? Most Christians I know even fall short of regularly praying for God to work His will through them, and strengthening themself to be a better and more capable tool for His plan, and here, martial arts seems like a perfect opportunity to bring these into one's daily practice.
It seems more enlightend and Christian than the usual litany of "our holy father, I want this and this and this and this and this, gimme gimme, praise the lord amen"
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"Anything worth doing is worth doing badly." - Baleia

granitemiller · Orange Belt

Well said.
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"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Confucius

http://graniteshotokan.wordpress.com

The BB of C · Black Belt

JusticeZero is now my new best friend

oneheart · White Belt

Not if they have to ask this question, no they shouldn't. It depends upon the Christian and the dojo. I don't want my karate watered down in any way, and the spiritual aspects of it are important to me. I'd rather it not be forced to work with a christian doctrine, whatever that may be as it changes with the individual and the denomination dramatically.

Karate is not a religion, but it is for me personally a part of my religion. I need it for spiritual fulfillment. I don't really think comabt is the issue here, I don't think most christians would have a problem with that. Its eastern religion and philosophy that might grind their gears.

I am of the opinion that its good that there are so many different religions, and I'm all for orthadoxy so long as it doesn't lead to hatred. So if you feel there is a conflict between your religion and your martial art you probably shouldn't study that art. Most cultures have their own martial arts style, if religion and culture are a large factor for you in making that decision, consider looking at a style developed within your culture or religious setting to make you feel more comfortable. Or go to a non-traditional school that doesn't have these features. The only thing about the later though is traditional schools are hard to find, I think for this very reason. I feel very fortunate to have mine which isn't very elaborate in the spiritual aspect but doesn't try to change it eithier. If my school ever closed, a large chunk of my spiritual life would be missing and it would be very sad.

Most people will tell you that it isn't a religion, and thats fine. But for me, if the dojo closed it would feel like my church closed.

Traymond · Pre-Black Belt

What I dont understand about christian lifestyles and martial arts is that Most christians say that combat is against the way of god...but yet they believe that all christians will go to heaven and fight the armies of Satan using their own army and their own battalion...this seems to be a bit far of if they want to avoid war.
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To fear death is to limit life - Xin Sarith Azuma Phan Wuku

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

Fighting and Christianity have gone hand in hand for centuries. That doesn't make it right or wrong, though; its just a fact of life. The Old Testament is rife with tales of combat, and it even has its own strongman story in Sampson. Most cultures have had to deal with combat at some point or another, and most of these cultures have religion that help to set the morals and guidelines of their culture. Fighting just happens, and the culture can reflect what they are willing to fight for.
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