Any Catholic Martial Artists?

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I studied Tae Kwon Do for awhile when I was considerably younger. It was a lot of fun but was a tremendous amount of hard physical work. My instructor was a gifted Korean that took the art very seriously. He got more out of me than I thought was there.

I really enjoyed sparring but ocassionally took some heavy shots from my opponents. At those times you begin to wonder why you’re there. It must be the warrior within us, because most of us just kept going back for more. I’m not a fan of sport karate and the competitions. It certainly has it’s place but it wasn’t my thing. Martial arts are great for instilling discipline and confidence.
I would recommend martial arts as a good family activity. Most children benefit tremendously if they are in solid school.
 
I am a fencer, which I guess is technically a martial art, but probably not really what this thread is about. :hmmm:
 
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NM2:
I am a fencer, which I guess is technically a martial art, but probably not really what this thread is about. :hmmm:
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Actually, the Samurai, were primarily fencers…although maybe not the kind of fencer you are. They practiced Kendo (Way of the Sword), and it is very much a martial art. In fact, the Samurai believed the sword to be an extention of their soul. It was THE thing to study. Unarmed combat and most other things were secondary.

The english term “martial art” is translated from the Japanese word “bujutsu.” Bujutsu encompassed a very wide variety of things, not just unarmed combat. The Samurai even developed a martial art that focused on learning to swim with their armor on (suiei-jutsu).

The term “bujutsu” breaks down into two parts: “bu” meaning military or martial, and “jutsu” meaning art, method, or technique. Thus, Bujutsu, in the traditional Japanese sense, means military arts. Thus, anything having to do with war or military is considered Bujutsu…fortification techniques, military tactics, troop maneuvering tactics, preparing and training naval crews, etc.
 
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Monicathree:
I have studied Kung fu for 10 yrs. and am a practicing Catholic. My husband and I actually met training. We train the fourth internal style called Liu Ho Ba Fa, also Tibetan Lama, Hsiny-Yi, Ba-Gua and Chin-na. We have a very small group that we teach from our garage, we decided not to go the commercial route.)
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I’ve been practicing kung fu (including tai chi, pakua, and chi’ na) for the last 3 years (11 years of shotokan before that, with some dabbling in judo, isshinryu, aidkido, and kendo). I’ve been recently learned of a liuhebafa instructor (Paul Dillon) in our area and have been thinking of looking into it. I find MA practice conducive to faith, as long as one isn’t practicing an art merely for its spiritual associations. If you go looking for Zen in kendo, you’ll find it. But you’d also find Shintoism. In Chinese MA, you’ll find Buddhism, but you’ll also find Taoism. But those elements are in the foundations. You can practce and never come in contact with the foundations (be that good or bad).

The discussion of chi is interesting. From my recollection, Jimmy Akin spoke about the external manifestation of chi in such “theories” such as feng shui. In our lineage, we talk about chi as physical energy that moves through the body. Period.You can affect how it moves by certain actions, but you can’t transmit it from one body to another or project it. In that light, I don’t see it as anything more than physics at work.

Most importantly in this discussion is whether or not our practice draws us away from our beliefs. If we see MA as away to gain some kind of mystical power that otherwise isn’t available through our faith, then we’re on the wrong path. If we look at our practice as a means of fitness, self-preservation, and discipline and link that to our Catholic faith, I think it can be nothing but beneficial.

Billicus
 
I have a question about bowing before entering each class and bowing to the instructor before and after class. My son is required to do this and he has no problem with it. I think that bowing before anything should be reserved for the altar. Any comments???
 
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Zel1983:
I have a question about bowing before entering each class and bowing to the instructor before and after class. My son is required to do this and he has no problem with it. I think that bowing before anything should be reserved for the altar. Any comments???
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Ask the Instructor what the meaning is behind it. It’s his answer that you should be most concerned with.

In the East bowing is akin to hand shaking. In our school we reserve this show of respect for persons. The Student bows to the Instructor and the Instructor bows to the Student. Many schools bow in and out.

If your unsatisfied with his answer find a new school.
 
Billicus,

Yes, yes, and yes…very well said.

As far as Paul Dillon, I know of him and have seen his movement, and just want you to be aware that he is not teaching the true form with the true principles of our style, Liu Ho Pa Fa. I guess a good analogy for it, since you are a Catholic, he is a splinter off group who really is teaching his own thing yet calling it by our style. I, however, do not want to discourage you, nor interfere with the man’s livelihood… but, out of respect I just want you to know 🙂
If you would like to learn some invaluable info. on LHPF, go to the root. Here is the link of the true lineage holder Grandmaster Wai Lun Choi:
liuhopafa.com
there are some really good articles and lineage history and all that. Gotta go class get ready for class 👍
God bless and peace to you always
 
Well, to respond to one of you, here is at least one M.A. sister, and often I am the only woman too.

Re bowing: I had the same thought myself especially since we kneel to put our belts on. I asked my priest if I was committing a sacrilege and he said no, as long as I am not worshiping the belt or the system… Yes we bow too, but the stated purpose is to show respect. ( I find myself wanting to bow to priests, too!) The stated purpose of meditating is to “clear your mind before class so you can concentrate and to remember what you have been taught at the end of class” No mumbo jumbo there. In fact now that I teach, I often tell new students that I felt uncomfortable meditating when I began, so I then and now I take the opportunity to pray and invite them to do the same.

I can’t say that it has helped my faith really, but it has helped to keep me in shape, which is important. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and deserve to treated well and maintained.

I should caution you that there are some who delve into the spiritual aspects of karate, though. I would not touchthat with a ten foot pole. Chi is one of the required vocabulary terms in our system and not too much more than that.
 
This all sounds great; discipline, obedience, physical fitness, etc…
What most of us could use these days, especially our children, but I keep reading in these replies a caution about the spiritual side.*“Martial Arts, aside from the spiritual aspect, is a good thing to get into. And as long as you are strong in your faith and aren’t liable to get caught up in the whole spiritual side of it, you’ll be just fine.” *
I’m not sure the temperal benifits to my children offset spiritual risks…

Regards,
Dren
 
Regarding spiritual risks of martial arts. . . it depends on where you go. Investigate schools you’re interested in. All 3 of our kids are black belts in tae kwon do. By the grace of God, we found a school run by a wonderful, Catholic family. The main instructor is the (homeschooling!) father of 6; his sister also teaches at the school (she became my daughter’s Confirmation sponsor). They have a brother who is an awesome diocesan priest. Sure there are probably schools out there that aren’t great, but don’t write off martial arts all together w/o looking into it. And yes, I believe my kids have developed discipline, perseverence and fortitude w/ the help of tae kwon do. --KCT
 
I will have to agree with KCT. That type of logic is what turns a lot of atheists, non believers, or agnostics away from religion because of the many false or separated religions that do not truly teach and encompass the real faith. And so it is with martial arts, there are, unfortunately other schools of thought involved that get away from the good teachings and mislead people. So, just like religion, the overall true teachings are good, but due to other people twisting it or getting caught up in weird things, it can lead people astray. Dren, you wouldn’t discourage people from our faith because of this…so it is with Martial Arts…

Peace be with you all 😃
 
A lot of martial arts schools will have a place for non-students to view the training sessions. If you’re really worried about negative spiritual influences being taught, go to a session or two before enrolling your kids to check it out.

I took Tae Kwan Do for six years and had a brief stint in Youn Wha Ryu last summer, and neither of them ever talked about anything that could be spiritually harmful.

Peace
 
Hi All -

I’m a litte late to this discussion, but like NM2, I want to put in a plug for a martial art that doesn’t come burdened with oriental mysticism: FENCING. I picked up fencing in college after trying tai kwan do and karate, and found a sport more closely tied to western civilization than anything else. Foil, epee or sabre will offer you the same challenges of fitness and mental discipline without the quesitionable “eastern religious” philosophical burden.

To get started, look for a fencing school or “sala” in your local yellow pages. Reading The Count of Monte Christo and The Three Musketeers is optional.

En Garde!

SanClemente
 
What a great topic! I have trained in Kempo Karate in two different styles for 12 years prior to seriously practicing my faith. Also, I even dabbled in Arnis, Kun Tao Silat, Tai Chi and Iaijitsu. I am thinking about going back after seven years to Goju Ryu Karate to get into shape. Though, I have trouble with a couple of things that may not be compatible with the Catholic faith.
Accupressure/puncture, required learning by most schools for self-defense and healing. In my training I have learned that form training is centered around this idea “pressure points”. How can you practice forms when the end goal is based this eastern thought system. I heard on EWTN an exorcist priest say we should avoid accupuncture for healing since its base on a eastern thought system. He seemed to imlpy that it was a false healing to pull you away from your faith. BTW, I could wrong about forms training being centered around “pressure points”. When I trained, I saw a lot of religion, eastern healing, and sometimes new age mingled into training so I very cautious now.
Another thing is bowing and meditation. Most schools I have been in all require that you bow and meditate before class. Somtimes I think this is being unfaithful but I could wrong.
 
BryanW said:
I know your out there. I’m interested in hearing how you feel the Art has made you a better Catholic, or maybe you feel it doesn’t.

I feel that the Martial Arts is mostly about the human virtues. A firm and habitual disposition to do good.

I also feel that the MA is one of the few things left in this secular society that recognizes that we are a composite of Body and Soul, the Physical and Spiritual.
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Three of my children practice Tae Kwon Do with a practicing catholic Grand Master. He teaches loyalty and self control. He is all about personal responsibility and is very demanding. My oldest son is training for his third degree black belt and two of my daughters are working towards their blackbelts. There has never been a hint of anti christian values. Only reinforcement of duty to family and country.
 
The term “bujutsu” breaks down into two parts: “bu” meaning military or martial, and “jutsu” meaning art, method, or technique. Thus, Bujutsu, in the traditional Japanese sense, means military arts. Thus, anything having to do with war or military is considered Bujutsu…fortification techniques, military tactics, troop maneuvering tactics, preparing and training naval crews, etc.
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I will break this down for you even further - the budo arts or combat arts budo is made from two characters - one is “to prevent” and the other is “conflict.” You learn combat arts to prevent conflict - this is peace at any cost.

This is how the meditation has been explained to me - my dh is also Catholic, and is a Soke who has founded a recoginized budo art. That being said the meditation has very little to do with religion. It is based on some buddhist priniciples - the main one being that we are all tied in by a universal energy that we can use to better understand ourselves.

Now, there are probably many of you hemming and hawing right now but another master I once heard speak on this said very simply that energy can have name applied to it. For instance isn’t the Holy Spirit really a Universal Energy which as part of the Holy Trinity allows us to differentiate between right and wrong and guides us. That does not sound so different. It is very simply a way to be quiet and find your way through life using the Holy Spirit. It is a different form of prayer.

Yes, you may hear this described by many different people many different ways because our PERSONAL relationships with God are not 100% the same and therefore our relating of that will not be. Yet, for me personally the arts have made me stronger spiritually as well as strengthened our marriage.

God bless,
 
I’ve had a year of T’ai Ch’i Ch’uan training, mostly for stress relief, with a sprinkling of some of the self-defense aspects. I’m just trying to find a budget-priced dojo close by so I can continue it: I don’t think there’s a better way to re-balance one’s mind and body.
 
I practiced martial arts for twenty years, all the while thinking that it was good and wholesome activity. I still think it was, however, the leader of our school was anything BUT good and wholesome. He was a charismatic energizer bunny of a guy who actually did do some amazing things with his “CHI POWER”. A “healing touch” practitioner came along and together they claimed to heal people by channeling their CHI. I had them “work” on me several times and felt a physical warmth pulsing through my body that seemed to flow along. I have actually felt the “Chi Melon” that they talk about - it feels like a light balloon between your hands that you can actually detect and you can push into. So there is definitely something to Chi - I believe that it is a physical or energy field around our bodies. That said, I found that the charisma of this instructor was also attractive and people would cluster around him hanging onto his every word. That was the bad part as he used his attractiveness to boost up his ego and the whole use of the martial art was twisted and warped in that school because of that. So its not the martial art itself, or even the Eastern philosophies that are so wrong - as with anything, its the misuse of them due to our insidious ego needs - that can guide a person down the wrong path. I’d like to say that now I feel the “Chi power” in Church during Communion and during Eucharistic Adoration and, while it feels similar, it has so much more meaning because it is the true grace of the Holy Spirit. I no longer practice martial arts because I choose to spend that time in prayer and adoration and service to others - its much more exhilarating!
 
pathtech said:
I practiced martial arts for twenty years, all the while thinking that it was good and wholesome activity. I still think it was, however, the leader of our school was anything BUT good and wholesome. He was a charismatic energizer bunny of a guy who actually did do some amazing things with his “CHI POWER”. A “healing touch” practitioner came along and together they claimed to heal people by channeling their CHI. I had them “work” on me several times and felt a physical warmth pulsing through my body that seemed to flow along. I have actually felt the “Chi Melon” that they talk about - it feels like a light balloon between your hands that you can actually detect and you can push into. So there is definitely something to Chi - I believe that it is a physical or energy field around our bodies. That said, I found that the charisma of this instructor was also attractive and people would cluster around him hanging onto his every word. That was the bad part as he used his attractiveness to boost up his ego and the whole use of the martial art was twisted and warped in that school because of that. So its not the martial art itself, or even the Eastern philosophies that are so wrong - as with anything, its the misuse of them due to our insidious ego needs - that can guide a person down the wrong path. I’d like to say that now I feel the “Chi power” in Church during Communion and during Eucharistic Adoration and, while it feels similar, it has so much more meaning because it is the true grace of the Holy Spirit. I no longer practice martial arts because I choose to spend that time in prayer and adoration and service to others - its much more exhilarating!
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I can understand what you mean by saying that the fact this instructor had people around him in adoration and used this to focus his ego are bad; however is the ability to heal incorrect. I don’t feel that it is. I believe if we can heal using things that are not of medical understanding - i.e. meditation, prayer, sacrament, etc. then that is good. My dh had a terminal prognosis removed after meditation and the healing sacrament. God healed him when he gave God an opening to do that through belief. As I believe I read in your post above it is not the practices themselves that are bad it is the intention behind them. My dh himself has said people get themselves into the worst trouble when they start believing that they themselves have the power to do these things and not God. On the other token when we spoke to a priest about this we were told that to do this was a gift and not to use this gift correctly was a sin. We have spent time teaching others how to do this correctly with the correct intention when nothing else has worked. And it has worked for some of these people. Not suprising to anyone on this forum it seems to really work for only those with a strong belief in God.

God bless,
 
Joan of Arc,

Are you referring to the Healing touch that I mentioned?

I agree that when it was done with loving intention it was wonderful and made me feel light and happy. It never did do anything for my headaches or backaches though and once I developed pneumonia right after a healing touch practitioner “drained my sinuses”. As you said, the most important thing is the intention and whether the person is truly close to God and has done a thorough examination of conscience.

I do think however that it could really help people with depression or addiction or people that just need some loving attention. I think it should be in all hospitals, nursing homes etc. I’m currently a Hospice volunteer and all I do is sit with my clients and just that appears to provide a wonderful lift to their spirits. So yes, if channeling ‘chi’ or God’s love or grace, whatever, cures an illness we need to learn all we can about that so that we can be HIS hands!
 
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