Spirituality in the FMA

[Darrin Cook]

I thought I would share this post from my blog BigStickCombat.wordpress.com, which I posted on Christmas Day:

GM Estalilla’s father fought against the Japanese in WWII. His unit had two Bibles with them, one in English and the other in Ilocano. They left the Ilocano Bible untouched because it was their first language, but eventually wound up using pages from the English Bible for cigarette papers.

The elder Estalilla had left for battle an agnostic, but returned as a Christian. He explained, “Son, there are no atheists in the foxholes.”


There is a good reason why there should be a spiritual component to the martial arts, and all of my Filipino teachers are devout Christians. GM Maranga said to me one day after training, “Forget about me, forget everything I’ve taught you, but never forget God.”
GM Drigo Maranga



The spiritual component of the art, rather than draw warriors away from reality, in actuality grounds them in reality –that they are human, and therefore mortal.



Too many martial artists use the arts to fuel fantasies, such as fighting bare handed against six men with swords and emerging unscathed.



The fantasy martial artists imagine that they are the world’s deadliest man. I’m reminded of the psychiatrist who had several patients in a mental hospital, each of whom thought he was Jesus. The psychiatrist had the idea that he would put all three into the same room, and that in time they would realize, “Hey, wait a minute, we can’t all be Jesus, I must be delusional.”


The psychiatrist was disappointed when each man told him, “I’m the real Jesus, those other two guys are imposters.” That’s the situation we have today, with hundreds of fantasy martial artists each claiming to be the world’s deadliest.


Not only does the fantasy martial artist need to delude himself about his invulnerability, but also needs to puff himself up above other “lesser” martial artists. The result is a proliferation of outlandish costumes and ever more grandiose titles.



Acknowledging the debt he owes to his teacher(s) implies that there is someone greater or better than he is, so he is compelled to invent his own style and to pretend that he never had any teachers, or that he has surpassed those who were practicing the art before he was born.


I’m using the occasion of this holy day of Christmas to point out certain spiritual truths:



We are all human, and therefore mortal
We are not superior to anyone else


Regardless of our skill level, life and death (particularly when
weapons are involved), hangs by the most frail thread



Regardless of our skill level, we can learn from anyone, and anyone is capable of defeating us in the right circumstances


Life is a fragile and therefore precious thing


In the light of an all powerful God, we are compelled to be humble and to respect others


God bless you all, and Merry Christmas


Maligayang Pasko (Tagalog)
Naragsak a Paskua (Ilocano)
Maayong Pasko (Bisaya)

 

[girlbug2]

A very nice message, thank you. Those points are all truths that we should keep in mind when we practice.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Two Men Say They're Jesus; One Of Them Must Be Wrong
Band Dire Straits.
Song: Industrial Disease


I am generally against overt spirituality discussions in MA since my background is CMA and things tend to be intrinsic and a lot of people really can really mess up a good MA once you start looking for spirituality as something seperate from said MA. But this is a very good post, thank you for posting it.

 

[Nolerama]

I think spirituality in the MAs is a combination of fear, adrenaline, The Unknown, and Man's need to cope with those stressors, before and after the event (justification, maybe?).

Could it be good for those who have fought battles? Maybe. I haven't fought in one. Is it good for training? I think it's absolutely ridiculous to combine religion with MA training, or use MA training as a medium in which to convey one's religious views.