When you look at virtually every martial art, there is always some sort of moral code. These moral codes come from different religions. Many different religions are represented in different different martial arts. In a lot of the Eastern Asian martial arts you see a great deal of either Zen Buddhism or Taoism. In the Filipino martial arts you will notice the influence of Christianity, and Yoga has different influences from Hinduism and Buddhism.
In the martial arts, the way of life of these religions is utilized more than the theological aspects of the religions. The arts will give you a moral compass of some sort without forcing beliefs. For this reason the non religious love the philosophy of martial arts. After all, you need to get morals from some place or influence.
Many devoutly religious people can become concerned with the influence of religions outside of their own in their martial arts training, but just as I mentioned above, there is no forced change of belief in these cases, in fact it allows and even encourages martial artists to learn about world religions and their philosophies. You see this with the most successful of martial artists.
In the case of Bruce Lee, he was Taoist. This did not stop him, however, from incorporating the Christian Philosophies of Thomas Acquinas into his own philosophies and martial arts. You see it again with Chuck Norris. Norris a Devout Christian, was still very curious about Zen Buddhism. He learned a very great deal about those philosophies but did not allow it to affect his faith.
I find it great that there is a possibility to have an open mind for different perspectives while still being secure in your own views and this doesn’t just have to apply to religion.
As martial artists and professionals we should have an open mind to what others have to present and say. We should really take the time to understand and apply what is being told to us. Just because we are listening and understanding, it doesn’t mean that we need to soften our professional opinions or be less passionate about them. Listen to a different perspective, even if you don’t live and die by it, it might enhance your own beliefs!
