The Heart of Martial Arts

Martial arts holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. When I was a young boy I grew up watching and seeing some of the most popular fighters. Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, these were all amazing fighters who made a name for themselves in Hollywood. The way they moved and fought in the movies instilled a sense of awe and wonder in how they could accomplish such feats.

Let not forget about the Ninja movies form the 80's at that time we were spellbound at the whistling shuriken, clang of clashing ninja swords and piercing wind sounds as a Ninja would dissapear. In retrospect utterly nonsense but awesome at the same time. I still like old ninja movies, and I love old samurai movies even more.

As a student and teacher who has learned many of the martial ways, those early childhood experiences are what led me down a path of fulfillment. After understanding what was ultimately a lie, it was at that point I could begin to sift through all of the martial arts that are available to a new student. I have had the chance to study, Tae Kwon Do, Shotokan, Shorin Ryus, Aikido, Judo, Bujinkan and YamaMizu Ryu. A few formal sword schools of Muso Shinden Ryu and Katori Shinto Ryu. At some point you begin to lift the veil on your training and seperate fact from fiction. Understand what works and what doesnt. I began to realize for me training is about perfecting what works in a combat situation. I dont train for sport, I dont train for medals or trophies or belts for that matter. Thats for the McDojo's and associations that do it for the money. Some people like it and it fulfills them.

The heart lies in the history and tradition. Bujinkan of all of the arts holds that most closely for me. Many of the schools taughts within the Bujinkan can be dated back for centuries. Few martial arts can claim that fact. Most were created within the last 70 - 80 years. I appreciate that fact, in that it brought many of the arts to the united states. Many of the okinawan and korean arts were a result of this expansion and sport federation between the east and the west.

Martial arts is a lot of things to a lot of people. I know what it is for me and how it has guided my life. Each and every student of budo needs to decide that that is for them. I hope that most choose to find the history and traditon the most important thing but to each their own.