definition of a "martial artist"?

[Blade96]

i was wondering about how to define those words. is a MA just someone, anyone, who trains in the martial arts?

I wondered that.

my dad says Nah a MA is someone like a blackbelt or some equivalent of a blackbelt in martial art that dont use blackbelts.

I dont know.

So what is one?

 

[terryl965]

A Martial Artist to me is simple one that has become one with there particular style. It is about being in a life journey and finding that journey to be wholesome.


OK really this is goingto depend on each person take what a MA is truely. Best of luck with getting real answers. Of course mine is real.:asian:

 

[chaos1551]

Someone who practices about the artistic side of war. The words also have a connotation of hand-to-hand combat (or sword-to-sword, so to speak) but I'd consider the argument that guns and missiles could be included in the art.

Essentially, I look at the literal meaning of the words and what they mean to me in the milieu I'm involved in. I don't think there is some list of requirements that make one a martial artist beyond that.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Any discipline will have a coinciding vision of that discipline. Fulfilment of that vision is the artistic side, because you physicly express, in the real world, your vision of the art.
Sean

 

[Nomad]

I don't think the term should apply to anyone who practices a martial art, otherwise you'd have to give it to the kid that comes and tries out a class for a month, and I think that trivializes the term.

I think there's a certain aspect of longevity and understanding that the term conveys; it doesn't have to be black belt level, but the person who adopts it and starts thinking of themselves as a martial artist definitely has these points in mind. It's transcended "hobby" and worked it's way well into obsession to the point where the individual begins shaping their lives around the martial arts to some extent.

For some, this may happen at yellow belt; others may reach higher degree black belts without identifying themselves as a "martial artist". Of course, many others will identify themselves as martial artists at yellow belt, then will fade or lose interest a year or two down the road...

 

[wushuguy]

someone who kicks *** and looks good doing it. :matrix: :cheers:

 

[Xinglu]

What is a martial artist?

Very simple: A martial artist is someone who trains in and practices (not used to practice or used to train)a form or martial art. It doesn't matter their rank or grade in the martial art, or even their skill. They are a martial artist, maybe skilled, maybe unskilled, perhaps experienced; perhaps not.

Which begs the question, what constitutes a martial art? Is it simply a method of combat? Is it more? Once that can be defined then you can easily identify it's practitioners as MAist.

 

[ap Oweyn]

Meh. I don't use the term myself. Precisely because of this push-me, pull-you sort of thing. I just say I'm a martial arts enthusiast or exponent. Or something equally ungraceful. There's just too much needless mystique wrapped up in saying "I'm a martial artist."

 

[pmosiun1]

Most people are influence by media such as Bruce Lee and would see karate, kung fu, judo or any asian martial art as martial art.

 

[stone_dragone]

This is cut and pasted from my blog "Hits from the Hat" , regarding this very topic...

I suppose a good place for me to start on the matter is to discuss what the difference between "an art" and "art" itself is. The premise of defining an "Artist" as "one who creates art" is correct, but incomplete. I would submit that an artist is "one who creates art; one who practices or studies an art."

So what is "an Art" versus "art"? I present that "an art" is a craft or skill honed by its body of practitioners to the point that a person outside of that body of practitioners can recognize that a product of that art is out of the normal scope of daily life and is, in fact, something that transcends the ordinary. That product can be called "art." something lasting that produces an emotional reaction in those who experience it through any combination of the senses. Do martial arts fit that description?

I would also submit that the term "martial art" is somewhat misleading to its purpose - imposing ones will on another or preventing them from imposing theirs on you (really, that's what militaries do). In martial terms, what most of us as "martial artists" study would better be described a craft or skill. When many people conceptualize a "martial art," what actually comes to mind is a physical and mental skill cultivated through training.

By the premise here, a person who can spontaneously produce a technique or combination using a system of physical basics in such a way as to efficiently solve the problem at hand is better described as a craftsman, not an artist. The craftsman enters the realm of artistry when that technique or combination produced is of such unique quality that it leaves a permanent emotional or psychological impression on those who experience it through any combination of the five senses.

All that being said, there are different cultural terms for what I, as an American English speaker, call Martial Arts. In Japanese, we have Bugei, Bujutsu and Budo. All of which begin with "Bu," or War/Military, and follow up with way, skill, etc. None of them mean "Art." In Chinese, we have Kung Fu, Chuan Fa and Wushu - Meaning "Skill","Fist law" and "War Skill." None of them discussing "art" either (my Japanese and Chinese aren't all that good, so forgive me if I got those a little skewed." Most cultural terms for "art" are specifically related to their medium.

The artist and the craftsman are two sides of the same coin. Both are driven by innovation and the need to fill a void with that which they create. They are driven by their own motivations to constantly improve. They both either get better daily or stagnate, depending on whether or not they continue to practice (like medicine).

Admittedly, this definition is incredibly limiting whereas another purpose of "art" is to liberate us from the day to day existence of the mundane. In the end, whether or not you call yourself or someone else a martial artist, a martial craftsman or a marital arts practitioner, know why you are doing it and get the most out of it that you can.

 

[Xinglu]

Most people are influence by media such as Bruce Lee and would see karate, kung fu, judo or any asian martial art as martial art.

"Most people" are generally ignorant about the subject. Just because most people may or may not think something does not make them correct. To say that a martial art is only of asian origin is elitist at best, racist at worst.

For example if Kendo is a martial art, then Fencing in all it's forms must logically fall in line as a martial art. If Judo or BJJ is an MA, then Greco-Roman wrestling is too.

They both are all methods to achieve the same thing. Cultural origin means nothing in defining what makes a martial art.

 

[Blade96]

I don't think the term should apply to anyone who practices a martial art, otherwise you'd have to give it to the kid that comes and tries out a class for a month, and I think that trivializes the term.

I think there's a certain aspect of longevity and understanding that the term conveys; it doesn't have to be black belt level, but the person who adopts it and starts thinking of themselves as a martial artist definitely has these points in mind. It's transcended "hobby" and worked it's way well into obsession to the point where the individual begins shaping their lives around the martial arts to some extent.

For some, this may happen at yellow belt; others may reach higher degree black belts without identifying themselves as a "martial artist". Of course, many others will identify themselves as martial artists at yellow belt, then will fade or lose interest a year or two down the road...

hmmm. if i went by this definition this would have to be me....i'm grading next friday so if i make yellow belt and oh. they said they hold another grading in august, and i absolutely refuse to go anywhere around august for a holiday so i can grade.....and I dont like to make plans with friends when its time for my Karate class.....and....stuff....i guess this could be me.

What is a martial artist?

Very simple: A martial artist is someone who trains in and practices (not used to practice or used to train)a form or martial art. It doesn't matter their rank or grade in the martial art, or even their skill. They are a martial artist, maybe skilled, maybe unskilled, perhaps experienced; perhaps not.

.

would have to be me again....

So I guess I'm a 'martial artist"?

 

[seasoned]

To me personaly it's a life style, but if people asked, I just say "I train". Outword it's no big deal, anyone can bye a black belt, heck they sell them on line. But, inside it is a way of life. I don't do it, I feel it. :asian:

 

[Dave Leverich]

Honestly I think anyone who is training in martial arts (asian, european, whatever) is a student in the martial arts. If they've just begun, well crap awesome, they have yet to experience so many awesome things. If they're someone like myself with 25-30 years of experience, then awesome! They're then finding nuances and paths to explore and things to expand upon... It's a never-ending journey for the true martial artist. Where has yours gone?

I never thought in a million years, that I'd fight in a cage against men half my age. I wonder what the next 25 years will bring? Yeah, I'm a martial artist.

 

[Ken Morgan]

It’s your Dad who was asking, no offence but as he is not “one of us”, who he wishes to classify in X, Y, or Zed categories of being a MAist is irrelevant. He does not have the background or experience to make such a determination.

To me, if one really feels the need to classify or add yet another label to our already label crazy world, its all about how you view yourself and your training. An honest person will know that training once a week at the local Y, only in the summer does not a MA make. The same as someone who dismisses all the traditional trappings of a MA as nonsense, even though they may train three times a week, I would question if they are true MAists.

Some months I don’t miss a practice, some months I miss many, but my MA have become part of who I am, its one of the labels I do put upon myself, its something external that defines me.

Sometimes when I draw my sword for the first time at practice, its like meeting an old friend again, I feel my body and my mind relax, and enter into, well somewhere else.

Only an honest individual can make the determination of whether or not they are a MAist.

 

[Blade96]

It’s your Dad who was asking, no offence but as he is not “one of us”, who he wishes to classify in X, Y, or Zed categories of being a MAist is irrelevant. He does not have the background or experience to make such a determination.

*laughing* True. He is not 'one of us' Actually he cares about ma even less than that to tell the truth. and he has not the slightest interest in the subject and he gets mad at me for 'talking about it too much'

Even though he was happy for me when i won a gold medal in december and he'll be happy for me if i get my yellow belt at my grading in six days.

 

[Draven]

So what is one?

A martial artist is some who dedicates himself to his/her martial art...

Now then the question becomes what is a martial art? Is it a form of exercise, a sport, a traditional art with a historical lineage, a form of self-defense, a combat system, a philosophical tradition or a method of teaching the Way? All that effects the way a person may define a martial artists, including the martial artist themselves...

Personnaly I say why bother with definitions and the limitations that we connect with them.

 

[Xinglu]

Personnaly I say why bother with definitions and the limitations that we connect with them.

Because without definitions language becomes useless as a medium of communication.

 

[ppko]

Great question and one that I asked myself a few years ago before I joined the army. To me I couldnt consider myself a true Martial Arts practitioner especially in todays time without experiencing war first hand. I understand that there is more to Martial Arts than war but there is more to war than blood and death. I aint saying you cant be a Martial Artist without joining the Military or anything that is just how I felt for myself

 

[Balrog]

"Martial" derives from Mars, the Roman god of war, and means anything to do with fighting.

Art is something taken to a higher level.

So one could say that a martial artist is someone who takes combat to a higher level. It's usually associated with long years of training, because it doesn't happen overnight.