Wiccan Beliefs and Practices

When I think of martial arts, I think about the first time I saw my first Bruce Lee movie. With all the fast movements of Karate or Tae Kwon Do, it seems as though every movie they put out about martial arts in the beginning you would have the teacher training the student and then the student taking on the teacher and once he demonstrates that he can beat the teacher or he is proficient at whatever task the teacher has assigned then he can move on to the next journey or stage. Each stage of martial arts is practiced, and each student must learn concentration.

In this paper I will show you the comparison between martial arts in the United States and other countries of origin. The only reason martial arts are so great is because it strengthens each of these aspects of body and mind to make a beautiful display of movement. Martial arts are commonly associated with East Asian cultures, but are by no means unique to Asia. Throughout Europe there was an extensive system of combat martial arts, collectively referred to as Historical European martial arts, until modern times and now they are being reconstructed by several organizations.

Native Americans have a tradition of open-handed martial arts, that includes wrestling and Hawaiian’s have historically practiced martial arts featuring small and large joints manipulation, it’s a mix of origins that occur in the athletic movements of Capoeira that was created in Brazil by Slaves, based on skills brought with them from Africa. Also, there is an early legend in martial 3 Comparing the teachings of martial arts in the US and Asia arts that tells the tale of an Indian monk Bodhi dharma (also called Daruma), believed to have lived around 550 A. D. He is credited with founding the meditative philosophy of “Zen Buddhism” and with influencing the unarmed combat arts of the Shaolin temple in China. The martial virtues of discipline, humility, restraint and respect are attributed to this philosophy. The teaching of martial arts in Asia has historically followed the cultural traditions of teacher-disciple apprenticeship. Students are trained in a strictly hierarchical system by a master instructor: Sifu in Cantonese or Shifu in Mandarin; Sensei in Japanese; Sa Bum Nim in Korean.

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The native peoples of North America and South America had their own martial training which began in childhood. Some First Nations men and more rarely, some women were called warriors only after they had proved themselves in battle. Most groups selected individuals for training in the use bows, knives, blowguns, spears, and war clubs in early adolescence. War clubs were the preferred martial weapon because Native American warriors could raise their social status by killing enemies in single combat face to face.

Warriors honed their weapons skills and stalking techniques through lifelong training. Martial arts in the United States have evolved into everything from simple to complex system of fighting. The truth of the matter is all martial arts are similar, they teach similar principles but in different ways. It’s like religion, there are many different 4 Comparing the teachings of martial arts in the US and Asia religions but they all have something in common, they worship some form of deity. The one thing they have in common is they promote self-defense.

Some martial arts are linked to spiritual or religious beliefs, philosophies such as Daoism, Shinto or Buddhism and other have their own spiritual code of honor. Martial arts are another way of saying the “art of combat” or it is a weapon used to survive. Kill or be killed. It is a set of movements used for offensive or defensive purposes (called Kata’s or forms). It can also be a set of movements used to promote health, it has structure and every movement has a meaning. It has been said that the late Bruce Lee taught that one should take the best from all arts and adapt them to whatever situation one finds oneself in.

No matter where you look, or where you are in the world, you will see different kinds of martial arts dojo and training centers. Martial arts have also evolved to accommodate the needs of different ages, from kids and toddlers to grownups. For example, a dojo that offers karate can teach different classes for male and female from varying age levels. What martial arts have expanded beyond their countries of origin and become popular in the US and why? Martial arts like karate, taekwondo, judo and other oriental styles may have come from Asia.

There are other forms of martial arts that originated from countries like Europe and South America. Each style has a unique facet that 5 Comparing the teachings of martial arts in the US and Asia makes them different from other martial arts, methods of training vary and may include sparring or forms (kata), which are sets or routines of techniques that are performed alone or sometimes with a partner. The Western interest in East Asian Martial arts dates back to the late 19th century, due to the increase in trade between America with China and Japan.

Relatively few Westerners actually practiced the arts, and considering it to be mere performance. Exposure to martial arts during the Korean War was also significant and as Western influence grew in East Asia a large number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan, and Korea. In the late 1970s and 1980s there was an increase interest in martial arts thanks to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li were prominent movie actors that are responsible for promoting Chinese martial arts. In Europe, with the rise of firearms, martial arts declined.

As a result, martial arts with historical roots in Europe do not exist today, to the same extent as in Asia, since the traditional martial arts either died out or developed into sports. Swordsmanship developed into fencing. Boxing as well as forms of wrestling have endured. European martial arts have mostly adapted to changing technology so that while some traditional martial arts still exist, military personnel are trained in skills like bayonet combat and marksmanship. Some European weapon systems have also survived as for sports and as self-defense methods. 6 Comparing the teachings of martial arts in the US and Asia

In conclusion when comparing Eastern religions and martial arts in the US and in Asia, how martial arts are taught and practiced differently I found that all martial arts are similar, they teach similar principles but in different ways. In order to learn martial arts you must have self- discipline. The martial virtues of discipline, humility, restraint and respect are attributed to the Zen philosophy. The teaching of martial arts in Asia has historically followed the cultural traditions of teacher-disciple apprenticeship; however in the US the teachings are more along the lines of self-defense and competition styles.

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