Why are modern martial artists against combat.?

[teyo]

The Shaolin temple, famous for teaching not only martial arts but also pacifism, took chalange fights for most of its history, not just for self defense but for honor. Samurai are often considered an apitimy of warrior culture, dueled constantly. Bruce Lee consistantly got in trouble at school for fightin, so did Mabuni Kenwa, one of the founders of modern karate do. Hatsumi Sensi faught frequenly in his younger years, as did the famous O Sensi. Hao Yenja faught as a child. Elder martial artist have always taught peace, but through most of human history, up until about the eighteenth century, peace was radically difrent from it current definition. Peace was dulling somone of your own skill, not somone lesser, unless they insisted, in which case you taught them about humility. Peace was not killing somone who you faught. Chines masters were recorded saying young men will fight, and that was fine. Through most of history, a boys will be boys mentality was excepted, where it was known to be the nature of young men to fight, but not hold grudges. Young men would fight, bow, congratulate eachoter, and be done with it. There were no hard feelings, no death, minimal injury, just common sense. In observing the actions of our closest relatives in the animal world, fighting to release stress and aggression would appear to be natural, and far less then harmful. Now it is said that the buisness man sub cultrue has won over that of the martial subculture. The warrior class has always looked down on the scheeming, calculating buinsess mentality by which all things are measured by gain and loss. I may have been born in the wrong age, where the path of martial vallor is not only unnecesary but considered foolsh. But why do we conside fighitg serious. Why, as a high school student, am I warned by senior martial artist that if somone insults my mother and hence my familly honr, that I may not strike him down to make full restoration to my familly name. Why is it bad that I want to fight, why do my superriors chastise me for follwing my natrual way. To all the seniour martial artist, you have been throught this foolisness that I am in now, and you know full well that it is mans nature to take his own path and make his own unique mistakes. Why should I not fight.

[abisha]

Brandon,
I appreciate the time you took to compose your thoughts and write them down, and yes I do remember being full of testosterone and wanting to give someone a beat-down. However, I think it boils down to a common misconception that I also had at your age.
What I thought martial arts was at your age is what you are describing: mere martial TECHNIQUE, or the methods used to kill. Period.
Martial arts combines much more, hopefully resulting in a person who respects the fragility of the human body. I believe a person should fear the ease with which a person's life can be taken equally along with his own safety, and then weigh those two only if his life is threatened, not if he's just pissed off.

Let me end with two questions:
Is a fight worth you spending the rest of your life in prison or getting a death sentence for?
Would your mom feel as "natural" as you do if she lost you forever?

I hope this helps.
Good Luck to ya!

P.S.-- With your passion and ability to think, I would be proud knowing that you had gone on to serve our country in the armed forces, but stay out of irrelevant street fights.

[sceley]

Rock on, Brandon! Stay safe.

[muata2]

Unfortunately, far too many martial arts are only for sport, so the original use of martial arts has diminished. There are several modern martial arts still used for combat like MCMAP, Systema, and Krav Maga, and a lot of police agencies use variations of JKD Concepts.

[kirklin]

Martial arts is and always has been used for whatever the practitioner sees fit. If that means self defense only, then so be it. However, there are many that would just as soon use it to kill their enemies on the modern battlefield.

[donough]

I cannot tell if you are UK or Canada, but today in the USA, a real street fight almost always means weapons, multiple opponents, or both. Fighting for your honor can get you killed or put in jail for a long time.

[ludano17]

I'm not against fighting. I am against your atrocious spelling and grammar.

[devon]

Everytime I throw a strike, I imagine I'm planting an idea in another person's head.

If I do beat them, it'll put in spite, and jealously, and hatred, and a host of other problems. This guy might want to take his anger out on other people. Or he might come back with a knife. A host of issues resolve simply because I want to use violence.

If I kill someone (and God forbid that, I don't even think I have it in me tbh), then I'm not only hurting that person. I'm hurting all his friends, his parents, his children, etc etc. I'm causing a giant ripple simply by performing a single action to satisfy a single purpose at a single moment.

Don't get me wrong: someone rapes my sister, or tries to kill my mom or dad, I will do whatever is necessary. That little tidbit has been drilled into me since I was born.

But I am willing to do whatever it will take to avoid violence, because I don't know what even a single little act of violence can bring.

I could tell you all the horror stories right now.

My friend's sah bum nim stopped a man beating his wife publicly once using his Tae Kwon Do. He would later read in the newspaper that the man murdered his wife at home in a fit of rage and shame.

My Sifu, in his younger days, provoked a group of hoodlums and defeated them all with his Kung Fu brothers. Said hoodlums would later break into his house and put him in serious danger.

My Kung Fu brother, in a fit of anger, fought back against someone repeatedly harassing his girlfriend in the mall. The thug walked out scot free, and my brother almost received jail time. He is still banned from the mall.

There are many others, but the whole thing is that violence is unpredictable, and rarely gets the result you want.

Would I like to beat down the mugger and walk off? Sure.

Can I do it without getting hurt, or having legal complications, or getting shived a few weeks down the line? Questionable.

[tanishia]

"...The warrior class has always looked down on the scheeming, calculating buinsess mentality by which all things are measured by gain and loss..."

yes indeed..and they expect us to defend thier winpy li'l a$$ses when they've stirred up enough sht...

"...I may have been born in the wrong age, where the path of martial vallor is not only unnecesary but considered foolsh...."

nah..there are plently of us who will continue to hold our ideals...

hold yours, and your honor will remain...

[raleah]

the shaolin temple was destroyed one reason was because of there skills
the founders of moden karate itosu, matsumura, sakagawa would, throw students out for fighting, and have, even those who became famous later on,
funakoshi was appalled by the jka sports aspect. he would also turn his back when ever his students did kumite in disapproval
aragaki died from internal injuries in a street fight at the age of 26

"where it was known to be the nature of young men to fight, but not hold grudges."
people do hold grudges as well as did even in some of those matches and there were many grudge matches as well as, and even many fights to the death

you only chose the parts of history you agree with and ignored the rest, what about the hundreds of stories you left out that you ignored in your rant