Martial Arts Values in Everyday Life

I came upon this discussion topic in an unusual setting: a book fair dedicated to hand-made, hand-printed editions. I had not expected martial arts to come up as a topic, but in a conversation with one of the book artists, I learned she had a young nephew back east who was studying martial arts. What she liked best about his dojo, she told me, was that the children were asked to keep a journal in which they were to relate what they learned at the dojo to other parts of their lives, and also keep a record of their acts of community service.

What a great idea (I thought); and it spurs me to ask all of you:

What do you do in your dojo to help students see the connection between martial arts values, good citizenship, and everyday life?

I think we all talk from time to time about these connections, and aim for our students to understand that martial arts is a way of life. But what are some ways to go beyond the occasional lecture? Do you use regular discussions? Homework? Words of the month? Organized community service? Tell us how you approach it at your school.

What are the two most important lessons in karate, kung fu, or taekwondo?

Once again, I’m borrowing material from the excellent long-standing blog over at Mokuren Dojo. In a recent post called “Two most important lessons in judo,” Mokuren cited an essay describing the structure and operation of local judo dojos in Japan. He was impressed with the principles governing them — that they claimed as their main objectives neither training the next Olympian, nor teaching techniques, nor self-defense, but:

According to Wilson, the ethic in these classes is that their most important objectives are twofold:

* to teach students how to fall without injuring themselves (ukemi)
* to teach students how to behave in the dojo (reigi)

Mokuren adds that he has borrowed this idea, and now frequently quizzes his young students during warmups:

Q: What are the two most important things to learn in judo?

A: How to fall properly and how to control yourself (or sometimes I’ll accept “How to fall and how to behave.”)

All of which got me wondering, what are the two most important lessons in karate? – if we had to distill it to two. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Physical fitness
2. Respect

I believe these two principles encompass everything we might want young people (or adults, for that matter) to learn from martial arts.

Our physical training in the techniques of karate and similar arts — stances, kicks, blocks, strikes — brings the kind of health, strength, and physical competence that will allow a person to move confidently through the world, and to take care of him/herself and others.

Our training in respectful behavior — which may begin with certain rituals in the dojo (reigi in Japanese), but surely extends to lessons in self-respect and respect for others in the world at large — helps forge young people who are able to make good decisions, avoid trouble, and handle trouble wisely when it cannot be avoided.

What do you think, readers? What would you say are the two most important lessons in your martial art?

Martial Arts Attitude for Kids

Here’s a book that’s in print, available, and affordable: Kris Wilder’s The Way of Martial Arts for Kids: Getting the Most Out of Your Training. The cover says “78 tips on being a better martial artist,” and that’s pretty much what it is. The “tips” are brief, easy-to-read treatments of training-related topics, most of them less than a page long. They’re written in plain language and first-person terms that a young reader can appreciate. Some are personal stories from the writer’s life that work their way back to martial arts values. Some are practical, some philosophical, many are funny—covering everything from keeping one’s feet clean and nails trimmed, to maintaining the right attitude and mindset both in and out of the dojo.

What I like best about this book is that it addresses all the pet peeves of an instructor who works with kids. My associates and I had many laughs recognizing our own students’ foibles and excuses. Mr. Wilder clearly speaks from experience, not just theory. In the tip called “Pay attention or miss out,” he calculates how much training is lost by making faces in the mirror for one minute per class over the course of a year, or spending three minutes in the restroom every class. I read this to a group of my students; the kids all laughed, and one of them resolved not to go to the restroom during class anymore.

It’s a good book and I’d say, when you go to buy my book😉 if you can afford a little extra, put this one in the cart, too!

Here’s a link to Kris Wilder’s blog, where he writes similar brief, often humorous musings on martial arts-related topics–but keep in mind the blog is for adults, not kids.