Why should you take a martial art?
There are as many individual reasons to take martial arts as there are martial artists. Each of us has a separate motivation to put ourself through the rigorous training.
One of the more common reasons is to learn to defend one's self. The world seems like a scary place to some people, and many martial artists begin with the wish to learn how to handle a physical confrontation.
A non martial artist, however, would likely be surprised to find that most martial artists are not practicing their art in order to learn to defend themselves. This is not to say that learning a martial art is not helpful in self defense. Perhaps the greatest self defense tool that a martial art grants is self confidence. Most muggers, rapists, and the like are looking for easy targets. Someone with self confidence doesn't look like an easy target.
Another reason for taking up a martial art is that it's cool. Nearly everybody in the martial arts has this reason somewhere in his or her brain, whether or not it is admitted. Many martial artists started because they saw Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
No, you're not going to be able to leap through the tops of a bamboo forest, or send someone flying a dozen feet, or kick up a swirl of leaves with a punch. But the coolness factor is part of the draw for many martial artists.
One reason for taking martial arts that should be discussed is the wish for physical power. There are people out there who are like Ed Gruberman from Boot to the Head. All they are interested in is the ability to beat people up. Using the martial arts to manipulate others, or worse, just to prove that you're more physically powerful, is nothing less than pathetic. There is no growth, either of the self or of the culture, when this type of goal is sought.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the quest for personal growth. This often begins as a quest for physical growth. The martial arts are very helpful in maintaining or restoring physical health. Although the more linear, external arts can be rough on the body, many older martial artists move on to more internal, circular arts as they age.
In addition to physical growth, however, the martial arts can lead to a mental and spiritual growth. This is the idea of tanren referred to in the site's name. Merely facing the physical demands of training week after week strengthens the will, as well as the body. More importantly, however, are the greater, more subtle changes that are worked upon the artist. One who looks at his training in the proper way realizes that the ego is the true enemy, not any external attacker. Once this realization has been made, the ego may be whittled away at.
This is not to say that the same changes can't be made in another fashion. To be sure, nearly every art possesses the same introspective potential. Rather, this is to say that the martial arts can be used to leave one's self more mentally and spiritually pure, willing and able to help those around one, and thus, a greater benefit to society and culture.
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