If it has, how has learning Martial Arts taught you honor, respect, and humility?

Question

I am looking for personal experiences, no lessons, so just enlighten us on the impact of your martial learning. I'll give my example after a few days.

Answer 1

Nice question. I'm really thinking about how to answer.

Well, I guess the Martial Arts have taught me honor, respect, and humility more in depth than what I've learned otherwise. I used to honor and respect my instructors mainly because they had a black belt tied around their waists and the whole bowing thing was expected of me. That was intimidating to me and I respected their rank and knowledge. I still do, but now I've learned to honor and respect them for other things too. Just watching my instructors teach with so much patience and attention to detail has really impacted me. They are great men and women and would go out of their way to help one of their students during or outside of class. I've been in another class that wasn't quite like that and I can tell the difference.

I'm even allowed to teach the lower ranks sometimes and I see how hard and trying on one's patience (at times) it is to teach and make sure the student understands. I respect them even more at times like this. I wish I could be more eloquent and more patient like they are.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that through the years of watching others, it is very easy for me to honor, respect and show humility now. I've learned by example.

Answer 2

Hi there

Personally i feel that honor, respect, and humility are all qualities that a person already possess and they bring these with them as part of their character before they start training. What training does is enhance these qualities further allowing you to focus more and fine tune your direction. Training alone will not give an individual these quality's. A bad person will always be bad until they are ready to change and in some cases that's never. That's why it's so important that people should not be taught anything if they don't already posses such factors. Unfortunately this a very important point that is not enforced in today's modern martial art craze which is why I feel the image of the martial arts is in the state its in. Maturity is something else that seems to be lacking. Just look at the state of over 80 percent of the questions asked?

Best wishes

idai

Answer 3

My personal experience is that i know one truth story that nobody know this truth story in the whole martial arts,  thousands thousands students no one Honor, no one respect and no one have humility to told the truth about theirs only one Grand Master Angel Blancia from Philippines Iloilo City.

This students explain very well about honor, respect and Humility but they dont honor, respect thiers GM.

Its very sad to know about theirs hidden story.

Answer 4

I learned all that from my parents, I started training in martial arts (seriously) after I had been mugged.  I started boxing in 98 then I got mugged in 00, which made me take up Aikido and kickboxing instead.  I have always been nice and respectful to people before then.  However training in the arts helps to re-enforce these aspects, when you bow or touch gloves.  You are also asked to leave your ego at home.

However this is not always the case, one unfortunate episode while at one of my Aikido classes, which resulted in me and a friend not speaking for a year and a half.  While practicing a technique my friend said I was performing the technique wrong.  I explained that this is a way I was shown at another class and I prefer this way, it comes down to personal preference.  He argued that it doesn't work, so I told him you do it your way and I will do it mine.  When it came to my go again, my friend tensed up to try and prove my wrong.  This resulted in me breaking his wrist, which scared the s**t out of me.  The next year and a half showed the guys true colours as he proceded to try and bully me out of the club.  We finally made up, but we don't really hang out any more.

Live and learn :-) lol

Answer 5

It has definately pushed my physical limits and pushed my body to a level originally not thought possibly,  I have been doing Muay Thai for 5 years kickboxing for 3 years and Bjj for 2 years now .I used to only be able to bench 250 but with the confidence I gained over the years my bench is now 325 it broken basically every mental barrier I have ever had in my life.

Answer 6

the respect came to me from everyone around me just showing respect, bowing, shaking hands even in between practice bouts, at the end of the class bowing for the instructor then the rest of the class,

humility, well when u training for hours to be able to knock people out, brake bones, and do real damage to people, and you realize how easy it is, ( maybe this just holds true for me) i don't see the point in harming people or acting like an arrogant punk since their is someone out their who could put me down with very little effort, so i just try to act humble bc no ones better then anyone else you just might have had more time to get better at something

honor, your school, ur instructors, and the guys u train with become like your family, where you are proud of the things u are doing and what u  stand for learning (whatever that may be) and love (yourself, other and life)  

having  playing other sports, football, baseball, volleyball, and wrestling i sort of never realy like the way coaches acted and treated me and my fellow team mates, bc it was like they wanted us to be thankful that they where their to coach us, i just saw too many guys get disrespected by coaches with over inflated egos, however once i started going to my dojo i didn't see that arrogance in the instructors who just seemed happy to show you what they knew, and only asked you to show the same respect you where shown

Answer 7

I agree with idai.The ancients didn't just teach anyone that came knocking on their door or entered their monastery .They had to be reccomended by someone who vouched for them as a moral upstanding member of their society .Teaching members of another race or society was also frowned on .Many CHINESE wouldn't teach japanese or okinawans or koreans but  thankfully some did particularly in the south china area .

It was felt that non chinese didn't have the maturity or respect required BEFORE being taught to receive lessons in their arts.

Yes training will enhance these qualitys but you have to have some degree of them in the 1st place.

As for learning true humility that is the result of some life altering or enriching experience which rarely occurs to anyone.