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Message: <blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 696138" data-attributes="member: 812">Re: MusashiForgive me for missing them.Why do you use the term "may be"? Surely either you are or you are not? Please speak frankly. Is it your opinion that by surrounding yourself with violence and potentially violent people you are inviting violence into your own life?Because I happen to agree with that statement. I think it's self-evident. It seems, however, that what you are saying is that people who study martial arts are violent people. With this I disagree. The violent people I have met have not been students of martial arts. They have been, for the most part, angry insecure people full of fear and despair who can find no means of exerting control over their surroundings except through physical violence. I find these people in all walks of life.I have found unequivocably that the study of martial arts leads people towards a peaceful nature. The masters I have met have invariably been serene, good-humoured people whose compassion and integrity I have not found matched in anyone else.Yes. The best people in the world study martial arts. The kindest, smartest, most courageous people I know are all martial arts masters. I want to be like them. I want to be like Douglas Skoyles, a Koaikido sensei in Calgary who is also an Anglican pastor, a former instructor for the Canadian Army and an excellent writer. I want to be like the late Yoshio Sugino, who was venerated as a Living National Treasure by the Japanese government while alive and remains a potent and inspiring force in the world of traditional bushido to this day.I know that I myself am smarter, kinder and more courageous because of my study of martial arts.I don't get into more fights. I get into less fights, actually. I stop fights from developing because I am unfraid to step in and defuse potentially violent situations. I have acquired that confidence through martial arts. Because I know that I can handle myself, I am relaxed and able to allow others to relax around me.I also study martial arts because swords are incredibly cool, and I like knowing how to use them.I don't insist that other people study martial arts. I don't think that winning fights is the best alternative -- not having the fight in the first place is always better. I agree that education is crucial.I do, however, believe that we should all seek to stretch ourselves and our capabilities. We should reach out and attempt things we don't know if we are capable of or not. Mentally, physically and emotionally. We should try climbing mountains, learning calculus and falling in love. Only by pushing ourselves and by placing ourselves in situations we don't know if we can get out of do we find out what we're really capable of.Yes, it's risky. There's always the danger that we will fail, that we will fall prey to some vile influence or other (like, for example, violence). Without that danger, there's no point in the activity. You don't grow if you don't risk something.So studying martial arts is valuable precisely because it forces us to risk succumbing to the attraction of easy violent solutions. Only by confronting that risk and NOT giving way to it do we find out if we can take the higher path, if we can make ourselves better people and thereby make the world a better place.Because if we're not trying to make the world a better place then why are we here?I'm not saying martial arts is the only way. I'm not giving it any special status. Sports are good, too. So is art, so is family, education, yada yada yada. We all follow whatever path attracts us most. And good for us.But I would not turn away from a path just because it was risky.Forgive me if I sound cheesy. You have said you do not believe in spirituality so perhaps you think all this "make the world a better place" is a load of hooey. Fair enough. Many people do.</blockquote>

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