The Martial Arts and The Martial Way

Some of you may know that Toni is a master of Reiki, a traditional Eastern healing art. Traditions that may not seem spiritual on the surface, also, almost always, have a deeper path. Recently Toni asked me to give some thought to this question: what is the difference between a martial art and a martial way? It is a good question. Many martial artists never make this distinction.

Kung fu, influenced by Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist thought, is elevated into methods of self-cultivation. Japanese warrior tradition makes a distinction between “bujutsu” (martial art) and “budo” (martial way.) I was influenced by the words of the late Donn Draeger, pioneer historian and practitioner of Japanese combat: “ Budo  is about martial protection and Bujutsu is about moral perfection.”

After half a century pursuing that ideal, my views have shifted. When younger, I took pride in achieving many of my youthful ideals: acquiring physical skills, fighting proficiency, knowledge and ego recognition. I even created a new system. I also encountered unforeseen battles and unplanned misfortunes in daily living. Throughout, the mental and physical martial discipline has been a source of hidden strength in trying times. But I am humbled. I still have much to learn about life, others and above all, myself. So, in terms of translating any martial art excellence from self protection into self perfection…well that’s different. I’m still working on it.

For the Evolving Martial Artist, a martial art is for protecting life; a martial way is for living life. How would you answer the question?

Lawrence Tan

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