Martial Arts Training

[Melvin]

I know this issue has been discussed before, but I am most interested in the Church’s official position on this topic.

I have been practicing martial arts off and on since the '70’s; I quit practicing once because of the non-Christian philosophy inherent in the art I was studying at the time, but now study an art that actually has a Christian (although not Catholic) foundation. Its focus is self-defense (the first defense is always to walk away and/or try to be reconciled to the opponent) and is actually designed to expose the student to a Christian world-view. I feel this is especially important in the age of terrorism in which we now find ourselves…I am now in the instructor apprenticeship program…which means that I will be responsible for teaching others…

I am also (glory be to God!) coming into the Church this Easter after many years of rebellion and sin. The Lord and His Church are what is most important to me. My instructor, who is the founder of the art, has known me for ten years and knew me when I was a protestant and anti-Catholic, and living a sinful life, contrary to Christ.

He is a lay protestant apologist who has taught protestant apologetics. This causes me some concern. I know why I am Catholic and I will not teach anything against the Church, but he is always dropping little “hints” regarding his view of salvation as separate from baptism, etc…

I suppose there is the possibility that one day we might have to part company…for instance, if my instructor forbade me to share the Catholic faith in discussion with other students…he has never actually done so, although he has “corrected” me in discussions. He might regard my sharing the faith as contrary to his teaching about what it means to be a Christian…

I need to make sure that my training is not contrary to the Faith…and that it is appropriate for me, a Catholic, to train and teach under a protestant who does not acknowledge the Church…

Thank you for your consideration and help…

 

[Scott_Lafrance]

1. 
   *]Welcome home to Rome!!! God bless you.
   *]Martial training is not incompatible with Catholicism.
   *]Decide if you want your Sensei (I assume Japanese) to also be your spiritual guide. If he persists in maintaining the dual role, you may want to seek martial instruction from a different teacher.
   *]If you need to, take your discussions out of the dojo. That is his realm of authority, you have no business de-edifying him there. (I’m not saying you would, but even merely correcting him or disagreeing with him in from of other students damages his ability to teach. Be respectful of his authority in his dojo.)
   *]Seek advise from other Catholics who are also engaged in the same type of martial instruction as you. I, for instance, am an aikidoka (I study Aikido). Although Aikido contains many spiritual type of theories, my sole interest is in mastering the martial style. My shodan is aware of my religious affiliation and is very respectful of my aversion to shinto spirituality.

 

[Kerrypchef]

My son’s karate instructor is an Italian Catholic, but even if he weren’t, I can’t imagine anyone trying to talk a student out of their faith. Doesn’t it all just boil down to business?

 

[otm]

Melvin:

I know this issue has been discussed before, but I am most interested in the Church’s official position on this topic.

I have been practicing martial arts off and on since the '70’s; I quit practicing once because of the non-Christian philosophy inherent in the art I was studying at the time, but now study an art that actually has a Christian (although not Catholic) foundation. Its focus is self-defense (the first defense is always to walk away and/or try to be reconciled to the opponent) and is actually designed to expose the student to a Christian world-view. I feel this is especially important in the age of terrorism in which we now find ourselves…I am now in the instructor apprenticeship program…which means that I will be responsible for teaching others…

I am also (glory be to God!) coming into the Church this Easter after many years of rebellion and sin. The Lord and His Church are what is most important to me. My instructor, who is the founder of the art, has known me for ten years and knew me when I was a protestant and anti-Catholic, and living a sinful life, contrary to Christ.

He is a lay protestant apologist who has taught protestant apologetics. This causes me some concern. I know why I am Catholic and I will not teach anything against the Church, but he is always dropping little “hints” regarding his view of salvation as separate from baptism, etc…

I suppose there is the possibility that one day we might have to part company…for instance, if my instructor forbade me to share the Catholic faith in discussion with other students…he has never actually done so, although he has “corrected” me in discussions. He might regard my sharing the faith as contrary to his teaching about what it means to be a Christian…

I need to make sure that my training is not contrary to the Faith…and that it is appropriate for me, a Catholic, to train and teach under a protestant who does not acknowledge the Church…

Thank you for your consideration and help…

Sounds a little bit like over-reaction to me. You might want to clear the air with him if it really bothers you.

It sounds as if your first job is to train in the art of self defense. If it is just a cover for evangelizing, you might want to get another job. If it is truly training in the art of self defense, you might want to focus on the art.

The world is made up of lots of bosses with different religious views than their employees; most of the time they all manage to get along.

 

[Argh]

My tai chi/wushu teacher is a devout Catholic and studied with some very prominent people. Nothin wrong with internal or external martial arts.

 

[Kaspar]

I too agree that most forms of martial arts are compatible with Catholocism. I have studied Taijiquan and Baguazhang for some years now, and while a lot of people, out of ignorace, say that Eastern martial philosophy is contrary to christianity, I have found this to be untrue. Maybe I’ll find a hitch now that I am starting Capoeira.

 

[Kylyna]

That’s what interests me!! Are here christians that practise capoeira?

 

[thistle]

A 75 year old priest friend of mine is an expert in Tai Chi.

 

[Rand_Al_Thor]

I train in karate and judo. Karate I’ve been studying for the past–nearly–14 years and judo I’ve recently added as a supplement. I prefer to think of studying karate-jutsu and ju-jutsu rather than karate-do and judo. The “jutsu” (meaning “art” or “technique”) was changed relatively recently in history to “do” (meaning “way”). The “do” implies more of a spiritual aspect much of the time. Since I’m Catholic, my spiritual life is completely taken care of there and I don’t need to focus on eastern religions in martial arts–I do it just for the art and self-defense.

I received some wise words from a homeless man I knew in college who would come by our Newman center every now and then for Bible study and to borrow books from the campus minister. He told me he used to be a shotokan karate instructor before voluntarily becoming homeless so he would have more time to pray without the distraction of a job (wasn’t “all there” as you can probably tell by that, but a very bright man nonetheless). He said the reason the old martial arts masters were so good at their arts, to the point of being almost undefeatable, was because they had their religion tied so closely with their art (Taoism, Zen, chi, etc) and it was the most important thing in their lives. He said for us as Christians, we needed to make Christ the center of our lives and apply Him to our martial arts training the same way we apply Him to the rest of our lives.

 

[chemoangel]

My son’s karate instructor is an Italian Catholic, but even if he weren’t, I can’t imagine anyone trying to talk a student out of their faith. Doesn’t it all just boil down to business?

I agree…My husband’s Tae-kwon-do Master is Korean-Catholic and is open to all religions.