There’s more to martial arts than what we see in competitions, movies, or popular culture. The most visible parts of martial arts are only a tiny part of any combat discipline. This gap between the visible and less visible faces of martial arts leaves plenty of room for misconceptions.
One category of such misconceptions is the role and reality of mysticism in martial arts. Let’s find out if and how martial arts interact with the metaphysical. An excellent place to start is by exploring the core of martial arts mysticism: its culture.
How Martial Arts And Culture Interact
Keep in mind that most of the popular martial arts today come from particular cultures. Muay Thai originated in Thailand, Karate originated in Japan, and Kung Fu is uniquely Chinese. Similarly, different wrestling and boxing disciplines have unique cultural markers from their places of origin. So, what exactly do we mean by cultural markers? Here’s a short list that helps to paint a picture:
- Some martial arts were developed by and for people of certain occupations, like soldiers, guards, and hunters. An example is Shǒubó, an ancient martial art that equipped Chinese soldiers to succeed in close-quarters combat.
- Many societies used (and still use) martial arts for self-improvement. Such societies value pursuits like martial arts as much as other art forms like literature, music, painting, sculpting, calligraphy, or theatre.
- Civilian populations who practiced martial arts also crafted combat disciplines for self-defense. These populations often disguised their respective arts as dance (like Capoeira) or exercise.
- The terminology in different martial arts reflects their cultures of origin. You’ll find that the names of different techniques, weapons, and gear are common words in a particular language.
- Many martial arts also have unique visuals that point to their origins and cultures. One example of such visuals is the unique Gis that the Japanese wear for Judo, Kendo, or Aikido.
- Some martial disciplines are rich in folklore that narrates the deeds of warriors with immense abilities. These legends have been passed down through generations, providing source material for many of the characters we see in Manga and martial arts movies.
- Most martial arts foster philosophies and mindsets that carry over into daily life. At the same time, a martial discipline will often reflect the values and aspirations of its culture of origin.
- Martial arts like Shaolin Kung-Fu developed as part of the religious life of certain groups, like monks. There are also strong Buddhist influences in most Chinese and Japanese martial arts.
The last item on this list shows that spirituality and culture interact. Now, we find out if certain martial arts have elements of religion, spirituality, or mysticism.
Links Between Martial Arts And The Intangible
Combat disciplines are described as ‘martial arts’ in reference to “Mars,” the Roman god of war. This is just one of many examples of spiritual influences on combat disciplines.
A discipline like Tai Chi focuses on harnessing and developing the vital force in the body. This is why you find numerous descriptions of Tai Chi as an internal martial art. It’s worth mentioning that Taoist principles inform many practices in Tai Chi. This is just one of several spiritual aspects of Tai Chi as a martial art. By using Tai Chi as a starting point, let’s go over some practices still found in martial arts that fall into the category of ‘spiritual’:
- Meditation that seeks to achieve balance, stillness, hyper-awareness, and inner peace.
- Drills that teach the control of breathing and relaxation.
- Adoption of values like consistency, discipline, and calmness into daily life.
In some settings, a martial arts competition starts after a prayer and/or other religious ritual. Some videos on the internet show prayer before fights in styles like Muay Thai.
Up to this point, we’ve been discussing the reality of martial arts from cultural, religious, and spiritual angles. Now, we look at the presentation of mysticism in martial arts in popular culture.
Martial Arts Mysticism In Popular Culture
Many people learn about martial arts by watching televised combat sports, watching movies, watching anime or Chinese Wuxia, or reading Manga. This makes mass media the primary channel that presents martial arts to the world, for better or worse.
Here are the most interesting myths that have made their way into popular culture:
- Skillful fighters can subdue an able opponent with a single touch or a few touches.
- Some fighters possess the ability to subdue an opponent without touching them.
- Chi can be harnessed to do mystical things like knock out an enemy or leap from rooftop to rooftop, like a ninja.
These abilities sound impressive, but they’re the result of special effects, choreography, and animation. In reality, regular humans must train long and hard to master a combat discipline. Also, there’s no amount of training that can equip you to do a fraction of what ninjas and Wuxia characters do. It’s doubtful that you could ever run through the branches of a tall fir tree while fighting an opponent without crashing to the ground.
Mysticism Vs Skill: The Reality
Truth is, time, hard work, and consistency will improve your skills—not immediately, but over time.
Time, hard work, and consistency can improve your fighting abilities. The skills you gain from years of training can be awe-inspiring. Watching talented fighters with years of experience can convince your mind that you’re watching mystical combat because of:
- Their speed and precision when striking and evading their opponent.
- A fighter’s ability to anticipate their opponent’s actions can make it seem like they’re moving at super-speed.
- Years of training can condition a fighter’s body to withstand long, demanding bouts. This type of endurance can look like the stuff of legends.
Martial arts train the mind to remain calm while being hyper-aware of every aspect of its environment. Mastering stillness amid high-speed motion allows fighters to achieve feats that seem super-human. Still, no amount of training can give you the superpowers of the last air-bender.
Self-Mastery Is Still A Worthy Goal
Human nature craves the mystical and the supernatural, often in the quest for power. The good news is that you can gain plenty of power over yourself by learning martial arts to discover your strengths, weaknesses, and nature.
Learning about yourself allows you to build on your strengths and work on your weaknesses in ways that work with your personality. With this foundation, you can use martial arts to develop discipline, self-control, calmness, and self-confidence. You also learn to manage challenging situations without panic or rash judgments.
These are internal skills that are useful in all parts of our lives. They form a code of ethics that helps us navigate life’s twists and turns. We can reach this goal by doing the inner work that martial arts require us to do.
Come to one of Evolve MMA’s complimentary martial arts classes to start your journey.
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