Martial Arts is a way of life?

by James

I've heard not to treat Martial Arts as a sport, however; how is Martial Arts a way of life?

Answer: This can be a long answer but since there is a limit of the number of words I can write here, I’ll make it short.

Something “do” as in ken-do, ju-do, kyu-do and so on, is “Way” of something. So kendo is the way of the sword, judo is the way of gentleness and kyudo is the way of the bow. We use “do” for non-martial arts, too. Shodo is the way of the writing (calligraphy), sado is the way of the tea (tea ceremony) and kado is the way of the flower (flower arrangement).

Japanese sees these activities as something that we should pursue through our lives. They are not actives for pleasure or entertainment. They have many teachings and methods to deal with ourselves so we can face ourselves and see ourselves objectively in order to improve ourselves as human beings.

That is why we say martial arts are not sports, I think.

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