I was speaking to a female friend the other day and was speaking (of course) excitedly about karate and attempting to encourage her to come out to my karate school. She responded that she really doesn't care for "that MMA stuff." Now, MMA (aka, Mixed Martial Arts), is neither "mixed" nor an "art." It is mixed in the sense that a competitor has to be well versed in wrestling, ju-jitsu, striking, kicking and take downs. And granted, one must be good at all of these things. For me, however, a mixed art would have the kicks of tae kwon do, the angled counters of wado ryu karate, the gracefulness of kung fu, and the power and evasion skills of aikido. This is not an exhaustive list of my personal criteria, but I think the name of the current hottest sport is misleading. As difficult as it was for me to keep my sometimes opinionated mouth shut, I did not try to convince my friend that MMA is NOT what we teach at my school. I had once again encountered the "iron curtain" of gender assumptions in the martial arts.
One of the most difficult things I deal with seemingly daily (aside from my tendency to talk a lot about things I am passionate about!) is the attitude of many women about martial arts. Women, understandably, picture brutish, bloody contests in which people purposefully attempt to harm one another and will consider taking martial arts, or self defense classes, only for protection. While this is an admirable goal, the martial arts is a lifelong, multi-layered activity encompassing the physical, the mental, and even the spiritual. As for why I believe women should take up the martial arts, I have yammered on about that subject in a previous post.
The physical part of martial arts is self evident, particularly in an activity that works the entire body. Honestly, I can't count the number of times I have worked on a new technique or refined an old one and come home later and realized that I had one of those aches in muscles I forgot I had.
The mental aspect of martial arts is embodied most often in the opening and closing of formal classes in which the instructor leads the class in mukuso in which everyone sits in seiza (kneeling position) and prepares the mind for training or afterward, reflects on what has been learned. In addition, the dojo kun (or dojo principles) are recited and thought on. The instructor will often ask students what they feel a particular principle means or how they can apply those principles outside the dojo. The closing portion involves humbly and respectfully bowing to one another and paying homage to those instructors who have come before.
Finally, the spiritual aspect is important, but is not, as is sometimes assumed, a religious activity. Instead, it is a continuation of the mental exercise combined with the physical. For example, hearing stories of people who get a "runner's high" in which everything seems to be going great, the body is doing what it is supposed to be doing and the runner feels as if that workout is the most perfect one in which everything just...gels, is often how I think of the spiritual aspect of the martial arts. This is often where a practitioner begins to understand that violence is actually NOT a part of karate, that the practice of karate itself is all encompassing and means much more than just getting in a good workout. Unfortunately, there are many who practice martial arts who never really understand this and while this may be an extreme example, think of the Cobra Kai in the Karate Kid movie (the FIRST one!). This attitude is the "win at all costs no matter who you hurt" mentality. Those who think this way are missing an integral part of the martial arts. One of our school's training mottos is "Not to conquer others, but to conquer the weakness within oneself."
So, if I (or another martial arts practitioner) invites you to a karate class, don't think UFC mixed martial arts mayhem. Think about how you can participate in something that will impact three distinct areas of your life and maybe, just maybe, consider taking the plunge!
Well said
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