Martial arts consist of disciplines or mental and physical struggles grouped in different degrees, with the objective of promoting the self-development of practitioners so that they know how to defend themselves or position themselves in front of their opponents using certain techniques. Many people think that martial arts are just another type of fight, but in fact, instead of promoting fights or any type of physical violence in order to win, these arts have combat techniques focused on physical, spiritual development. and mental of the practitioner himself.
This type of discipline has a great psychological effect, and we will explain a little more in this article about martial arts in relation to spirituality and self-knowledge. Pay attention and allow yourself to be dazzled by the philosophy that this type of art preaches!
Martial arts and its philosophy
As previously mentioned, martial arts are disciplines that focus on the self-development of the practitioner, not with the intention of causing physical violence, but rather of preparing the mind, spirit and body to face their opponents - at first, internally. . From this, it can be understood that the person who practices martial arts learns to defend himself, that is, this self-defense is a result of the obtained self-development, not the opposite, as most fights preach.
The philosophy of martial arts preaches that for an individual to be able to enjoy and go through the process of self-development and self-knowledge about one's own being, it is necessary to have a master - a person who already deeply knows the practice and can transmit the teachings of this art. And in this world, the master teaches not only how to attack and defend himself, but also deep concepts that promote human evolution.
The transmission of philosophical thoughts through martial arts
In martial arts it is possible to learn values that serve for a lifetime. Such values are transmitted not only with words but also with gestures and practices. Human beings have the idea that there is a separation between the body and the mind at certain times, but the truth is that all people absorb knowledge in an integral way. Let's take an example! When the child learns to express himself, he uses his body: if you ask him how old he is, he will use his hands with the number of fingers that correspond to his age. And so it also happens among adults, everyone communicates through the body, which is a great instrument of communication.
When starting martial art training, an individual experiences experiences that encourage him to develop deeper concepts. In this “fight”, when you face an opponent who is weaker than you physically, you need to control your actions and your strength so that no one gets hurt. In this case, we can see that self-control has been learned or trained.
In another case, if your master asks you to do a certain amount of exercises and you are not able to do them, you will be driven to persist until you can do what was asked of you – here you will understand what persistence is. You can analyze that at the same time that there is a bodily learning about strength, resistance and sense, there is also a self-knowledge about yourself, your limits and about the world around you - the body is the first tool for learning the arts martial.
In order to fully understand all the philosophy contained in the concepts of martial arts during training, it is important that the practitioner learns to observe and reflect on what he learned during training. This reflection should not only be about technical issues but about the lessons that can be practiced in everyday life.
Note: Meditation is a technique widely used among martial arts practitioners, as it promotes relaxation and also a deep self-knowledge.
teachings for life
Anyone who practices martial arts understands that the first step in this art is to learn to feel and control the body. From this perception of the physical, it is possible to control
the mind in the face of the way the body reacts. This self-control originates from self-knowledge, as the practitioner already understands his body, and is already able to control his mind. When the martial artist is hit hard by a blow, he will be able to control himself - this control means not allowing the actions of others to interfere or cause his actions.
All this collection of personal learning reflects on the practitioner's routine life, as he can already have control over himself and will not be influenced by external actions. The health and balance of the mind always start to be present, regardless of adversity, because mental control makes a person see things clearly, without problematizing them - and thus it is possible to find ways of solving them more easily, which lessens the strength of the problems.
Those who think that the martial artist runs away or ignores discomforts to balance the mind are wrong! On the contrary, he faces all the turbulences of his mind face to face so that it is possible to clear it and organize all thoughts.
Martial arts x self-knowledge and spirituality
As you can already see, practicing martial arts is escaping the superficiality of certain disciplines and training the body and mind. The more an individual practices self-control, the more he knows his limits and gets in touch with his true essence. Just as the body is the first instrument of this practice, the mind is what promotes control in the face of situations – this is the difference between the flesh and the spirit.
Many people think that being spiritual means having some religion or following some kind of doctrine, but the truth is that we feed our spirituality when we take care of our own being - and practicing some kind of martial art is a great act of self-care.
A very important detail that I'm sure you noticed, but that's very valid to point out, is that martial arts teach us not to act according to other people's actions. Just because someone hit you doesn't mean you should react back; just because someone hurt you doesn't mean you should hurt them too. As much as this art does not directly preach self-knowledge as a focus, but self-control, both are two strands that run together, and the result of this union of self-care is the increase in spirituality.
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We can conclude that martial arts are much more than disciplines, they are lifestyles that make their practitioners better people, both physically and spiritually and mentally. And this beneficial change in behavior can be noticed in all areas of an individual's life, whether in training, work or personal life.
