David wrote an article called “Religious Overtones in the Martial Arts”, which you can find here –> https://urbanmartialartists.com/2021/12/09/religious-overtones-in-the-martial-arts/ I find that this is a related but parallel article to what I wrote about. While he discusses the influence of religion and moral codes on the martial arts (and keeping an open mind), my focus on is on how martial arts can improve our link to our spirituality. Before I can delve into that, however, we will need to define what we mean by “spirit” and “spirituality”.
Let’s begin by defining what the spirit is NOT: it is not anything you can touch, feel, or hear. It is also not an emotion, such as anger, jealousy, joy, or sadness. It is not an idea, nor is it a physical part of the brain or heart or any organ in our body. It can not be measured nor can it be divided, subtracted or added to (sorry mathematicians), and yet, it can not be denied that it exists.
So, what IS it? I had often heard during testing or regional events the phrase ”show your spirit!”, so obviously it is something that can be shown or presented. Most people expect to see people lower their stances, make louder kihaps, and in general show more physical strain in order to “show their spirit”, but if the spirit is not physical or tangible, why bother exerting any effort?
I was a senior in high school when 9/11 happened, and as that fateful day unfolded my class spent a good part of the afternoon watching the news, eyes riveted to the screen. There were stories of brave police officers and firefighters running towards the towers as they collapsed, and images of people helping and carrying each other to safety. On that day, we were told that those who were at Ground Zero showed the “American spirit”, not because they displayed great physical feats, but through their actions they showed their character: who they were when facing one of the darkest days of our country.
We can’t see one another’s spirit by a casual glance or even through conversation; the spirit can only be “seen” under physical and mental duress, which the typical individual won’t experience unless their line of work demands such pressures. As martial artists, our training should put us under a controlled level of stress such that our spirit can be tested and improved, and with enough experience we can put ourselves into that mindset so that we can “show our spirit”. If you find that you are comfortable during class, then you are probably not effectively cultivating your spirit. Challenge yourself (not to the point of injury) so that those around you can see your spirit and can be inspired by your example.
