Comments on: Do All Martial Artists Love Violence?

By: robbydesigns

robbydesigns — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:07:35 +0000

I can't speak for the 'ultimate fighting' people because that's not my bag at all but personally I don't train for the excitement of violence or to be 'hard'.
I started martial arts in 1987 after getting psychologically bullied at school for a couple years, so I began martial arts to not be a wimp, to stand up for myself. I was never attracted to violence then or now.

I train traditional in martial arts which have a lot of 'head work' to teach us to be better people as well as better 'fighters'. If you look at your average martial arts instructor he doesn't walk around acting hard, he's not attracted to violence.

By: robbydesigns

robbydesigns — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:07:35 +0000

By: Karate Is Like Fishing...Or Not | ActionKarateArts.com

Karate Is Like Fishing...Or Not | ActionKarateArts.com — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:31:37 +0000

[...] universal, collective, etc…answer. However, it is a historical fact that in this world violence comes looking for you; often whether you were looking for it or not. And, there is, I believe, a universal right (I [...]

By: My Self-Defense Blog » Blog Archive » Bar Fights; What is the Best Plan?

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:40:27 +0000

[...] the focus of this post along the way. This kind of reminds me of the Ikigai post entitled, “Do all martial artists love violence?” I commented that the younger me only have to believe that I was in the right but the older [...]

By: grafsata

grafsata — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:20:47 +0000

Martial Arts IS the best way to release some of our agression. I always feel so much better after class.

By: Matt__A

Matt__A — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:34:56 +0000

Great input by both Sean's here! Thanks for taking the time to write up your thoughts.

By: Sean C. Ledig

Sean C. Ledig — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:53:00 +0000

A librarian? That's cool. I used to get strange reactions when I told people I was a newspaper reporter and I did martial arts. But being a librarian must be the biggest shock.

Actually, two of my instructors are accountants. One of them, Suthep Theekankul, who taught me Muay Thai, looked the part. Short, slim. Pretty nerdy.

The other one, Anthony Chan, who taught me Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Tribal Arts, is built like a pro-wrestler.

Well Sean, when these people get surprised by your profession, remind them that Morihei Uyeshiba was a mathematician and an accountant. Jigoro Kano had degrees in economics and political science. Gichin Funakoshi taught school at every level from kindergarten through college. Bruce Lee was a philosophy major in college. I recently made the acquaintance of Jun Hwan Park, a veterinarian who holds 9th dan in both tae kwon do and hapkido. Ed Parker had degrees in clinical psychology from BYU.

Be sure to let those skeptics know about these people. It should let them know that despite our "violent" pastime, we are not all a bunch of bruisers.

By: Sean @ Gisoku Budo

Sean @ Gisoku Budo — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:53:34 +0000

Still catching up on your blogs Matt – loved this one too! I'm actually a librarian by trade, so when people I work with find out I do martial arts, they're normally a bit weirded out and say they didn't think I was a violent person! You should have seen the look I got from the people at the sports store when I bought my last punching bag – we were chatting and I mentioned I do martial arts and eventually the person serving me asked what I did for a living, and they thought I was joking when I said I was a librarian!

As a kid I was very angry and got into fights and arguments all the time… by the time I hit my teens, I mellowed out and have been comparatively relaxed since then. It's a relief to know that I'm not the only one out there with similar internal conflicts and questions, and I loved your final point “Train if the thought of violence unsettles you – train harder if it makes you shudder” — very insightful, and something I'll keep in mind.