Living The Martial Way

[Tez3]

I am aware of the purpose of bowing in the martial arts. As you said, its a polite gesture nothing more. Bowing is more or less much like a handshake in how it is used. But, there are people who do think its a religious ritual. There are people who think that just about anything foreign or of another culture is religious. I know of a case of an instructor who used to require students to know the Japanese words for the techniques but he stopped doing that because some of the parents of the children who he was teaching were getting concerned in that they thought he was teaching a religion when in fact he wasn't, he was teaching a sport that was from a different culture but since the parents were getting concerned and thought it had religious overtones since he was requiring students to know the Japanese words for the techniques he stopped requiring that.

These will be the same people most likely who stalk me to convert.

I wonder what they think of fencing and dressage riding where a lot of terms are in French lol.

 

[Hyoho]

To me its second nature as Japanese resident for many years. Its mutual respect. I even bow on the phone! It become habitual. So is saying excuse me in Japanese even if they dont mean it.

 

[Tez3]

To me its second nature as Japanese resident for many years. Its mutual respect. I even bow on the phone! It become habitual. So is saying excuse me in Japanese even if they dont mean it.

I like bowing, it's just much more polite and hygienic than shaking hands! I'm used to working with Gurkhas so putting hands together when saying Namaste is now second nature and that's a nice greeting too.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I am aware of the purpose of bowing in the martial arts. As you said, its a polite gesture nothing more. Bowing is more or less much like a handshake in how it is used. But, there are people who do think its a religious ritual. There are people who think that just about anything foreign or of another culture is religious. I know of a case of an instructor who used to require students to know the Japanese words for the techniques but he stopped doing that because some of the parents of the children who he was teaching were getting concerned in that they thought he was teaching a religion when in fact he wasn't, he was teaching a sport that was from a different culture but since the parents were getting concerned and thought it had religious overtones since he was requiring students to know the Japanese words for the techniques he stopped requiring that.

Let me guess - this was in the Southern US, right?

 

[PhotonGuy]

Let me guess - this was in the Southern US, right?

Nope it was in NJ.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Nope it was in NJ.

Wow. I thought we only had that kind of closed-mindedness down here.

 

[Tez3]

I think you have problems when you have people who are in charge of things stating as an argument against abortion that the foetuses come back as ghosts and steal medical equipment which is costing a lot of money. Now surely the abortion debate is or should be a serious one based on more than some weird idea about saving money. When people start inflicting beliefs like that on others you are going to be in trouble so it's no wonder at all that martial arts are seen by these people as a religion or something 'devil sent'.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I think you have problems when you have people who are in charge of things stating as an argument against abortion that the foetuses come back as ghosts and steal medical equipment which is costing a lot of money. Now surely the abortion debate is or should be a serious one based on more than some weird idea about saving money. When people start inflicting beliefs like that on others you are going to be in trouble so it's no wonder at all that martial arts are seen by these people as a religion or something 'devil sent'.

Wait, that doesn't happen???

 

[PhotonGuy]

Wow. I thought we only had that kind of closed-mindedness down here.

I see you're from NC, that is not really deep south.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I see you're from NC, that is not really deep south.

Nobody ever said it was deep south.

 

[PhotonGuy]

Nobody ever said it was deep south.

No but generally speaking its the deep south where theres the religious fanatics who label stuff as being of the devil if they don't understand it.

 

[Steve]

There are religious fanatics everywhere.

 

[Xue Sheng]

No but generally speaking its the deep south where theres the religious fanatics who label stuff as being of the devil if they don't understand it.

Heck, I've seen that in NY....

 

[Gerry Seymour]

No but generally speaking its the deep south where theres the religious fanatics who label stuff as being of the devil if they don't understand it.

No, that's the Bible Belt, and I'm definitely inside that. I've seen stuff like that my whole life. It's more common in Georgia than in the Carolinas, but there's plenty of it here, too.

 

[PhotonGuy]

No, that's the Bible Belt, and I'm definitely inside that. I've seen stuff like that my whole life. It's more common in Georgia than in the Carolinas, but there's plenty of it here, too.

You should see Missouri, they're really crazy there.

 

[wingchun100]

However religion and martial arts are not separated for many people. It doesn't mean that martial arts are a religion but for many their religion is such an integral part of their lives that it touches everything they do and say. The idea that religion is in a separate box brought out for Sundays is a very Western idea, in the East there is much less separation which I think confuses many Westerners. The book is only one man's ideas and thoughts, it doesn't make it the truth.

It doesn't help that many people will defend their martial art as passionately as if it WERE their religion. Much in the way a Christian would get mad if a Muslim said "your religion sucks," some people will get just as worked up if you tell them the style they study is useless.

 

[wingchun100]

To follow up on that, I will say that I don't think I have ever seen a style that I would label "useless." Certainly I have seen some techniques that seemed to not work, but you could also follow THAT statement up by saying, "Maybe the technique just didn't work for the situation to which they were trying to apply it."