Killer Instinct

Another situation dealing with the repercussions of fighting, is when a young man became involved in a conflict, once again over a young girl, and when he was attacked by a group of friends of his rival, he pulled a knife to threaten them. He had hoped they would retreat, but instead the rival lunged at him and was impaled on the knife. And while the knife wound was not too severe, in shock and panic the assailant fell to the ground where he died from a head injury. The young man ended up going to prison for manslaughter. This is the reality of combat. Everyone needs to understand what can really happen when they get into a fight. When was the last time you heard a martial arts instructor explain the potential for a head injury due to a fall in a Dojo? And yet in self defense a kick or punch could drop a man to the ground, or a throw or joint lock could cause the head to strike the ground. Students need to have this explained to them so that they will be reluctant to fight. In order to actually save their lives, or the life of an innocent, the results, while unwanted, are acceptable. But to fight over something not life threatening, makes the potentiality of a prison sentence, or just having to live with killing someone, unacceptable. True.

Finally, the training needs to be based on the spiritual aspect like the training of old. In the past, the Sohei (warrior monks), Bushi and Samurai were taught that their spirits were good and needed to be in harmony with the Universal Spirit (sic. God). If they came into this harmony then their skills would proceed from their hearts and since their hearts would be pure, their art would be as well. Training needs to include the spiritual aspect of Kata, where a person is taught that doing Kata allows them to experience harmony with nature, a nature established by God. So that the closer the martial artist harmonies with natural law, the closer they feel to the author of that law. It is this spiritual aspect that really makes Honshin so effective. When the martial arts are taught in this proper manner, then physically the skills improve, mentally the attitude improves, and spiritually the person wants to do what is right. Whoa! This brings religion into the martial arts, which is something that critics say is what the martial arts really are teaching. Being taught right from wrong, respect, ethics, etc. does not need to be based upon religion.