Is it possible for Christians to do Karate for body building only?

Question

I have been doing a little rsearch, and what I got is that Christians shouldn't do karate because the symbols for universal Karate is either a Dragon, or a serpent (snake). It is also because Karate was (and is) a sport for maiming, or killing someone. I just want to know if Christians can do Karate without subscribing to the Eastern Religon and still be taught about the Lord God almighty?

Answer 1

Well, for starters, if their fundamentalists/fanatics/extremists (or whatever you want to use to describe them) then there's not a chance in this planet's existence. Otherwise it's all about interpretation. Don't forget that the Knights Templar and just about every major war back in the day was fought and people killed in GOD's name. Rethink what your religion and all other religions are teaching, and relook at how your peers and those of these worldly religions interpret their "holy" word.

Answer 2

Of course Christians can still do karate! I take karate & a majority of my classmates are actually Christian. First of all karate is NOT "a sport for maiming, or killing someone." You learn self defense techniques that DISABLE (not kill!) your attacker long enough for you to still get away with your life.

And no you don't "subscribe to the Eastern Religion". You can be Christian & still take martial arts. I say go for it!

Answer 3

self defense duh,take boxing if your to scared about the asian thing

Answer 4

you have the complete wrong idea!

i know ALOTTTTTTTTTTT of christians who practice martial arts.

whats wrong with dragons and snakes? ..it doesnt "represent" the devil or anything like that. and they dont teach you to worship these things. to the asians, a snake represents certain "qualities" like suppleness...flexibility. the tiger represents other qualities...such as strength and tenacity. the crane represents longevity and grace. the dragon represents the ultimate state of knowledge and understanging....true wisdom. not the physical embodyment of a dragon or satan.

martial arts are for self defense!!! not killing and maiming people. ...turn the other cheek if you like...they'll just hit that one too. it's you or them...and you honor noone by sacrificing your own life for no good reason. if someone attacked your pastor...rest assured he'd fight back...it makes no sense to just let someone take advantage of you.

yes you most certainly can learn martial arts without being a taoist, buddhist, or shintoist...religion has little to do with most arts. some temple arts require you to be a buddhist but only if you want to be an official representative of the temple...anyone can learn the martial art aspects of it.

there are many christian martial arts associations actually. i think infact there is one calle the christian martial arts association.

i think that myth was started by alot of misinformation and ignorant (uninformed) assumption by christians who take their religion a bit too "literally" ....when he says the devil is a serpent...he doesnt mean the devil is literally a snake...or that snakes literally represent the devil. they are all gods creatures after all...why not learn from them!!??

i know some people who meditate...and rahter than visualize energy filling them up...they visualize jesus' love filling them up inside!

yes you can and should learn martial arts if you like

Answer 5

ive taken a little bit of shotokan karate, and it hasnt done anything to me spiritually. only taught me how to fight more

Answer 6

It says in the bible that thou shalt not make any graven images and worship them. It also says turn your cheek.  When Jesus was being taken prisoner peter smote the ear off of a guard with a sword. But Jesus told him this was worng. The fact is Peter had no doubts about what to do when it came time to dfend his lord , savior, and most of all his friend. The fact is that if someone you love is being attacked, even if you are a pascifist you need to protect them and help them in any way. It would be courageous if you knew you couldn't win and fought any way, but than you are hurt and so is your friend, loved one, girl  friend etc. If you take proactive measures with good intentions in your heart and mind and don't forget to do the works of our saviour than I see no wrong in this. Peter said  that faith without works is not faith and Christ himself said that good deeds  with no faith in him count for nothing. So I say it is perfectly fine and in a world where there is violence you must strengthen yourself to protect yourself and any one who needs it. I would recoemend Krav Maga though as this is a Jewish martial art and we are made Jews by the blood of christ.  I hope you have read the bible so this makes sense. Read the whole thing. I will finish with a psalm of david,

Psalms 144:1 Blessed be the lord my strength, who teacheth my hands to war , and my fingers to fight.

Also to get fit for everything life will throw at you and especially being fit to fight, go here: http://rosstraining.com/

This is the absolute best site and has the best manuals by far on this subject. Non will get you fitter than Ross, just watch his youtube.com channel and you will see he is serious. That's Ross Enamait.

Also John Brookfields books are the best to Strengthen your hands ; ) , besides that if they openly worship dragons don't go there but if they have a drawing of a dragon, I think it is not bad. I realise god said to make no graven images, but I think the bible said to make them not to worship. Besides that you would have to get rid of any image or picture in your home.

I should probably add that the manuals at : http://rosstraining.com/

are the best fro building straight up athleticism and building your body in a mtter that is strong, enduring and very functional, Dinosaur Training is also a good PURE STRENGTH book I have heard. Ross stresses the explosive strength and intense conditioning that is needed to be a professional figther and helped Chuck Lidell get in shape. So basically to get fit get Infinite Intensity or Never Gymless along with Full Throttle Conditioning. To get Pure strength get Dinosaur Training. To learn to fight do Krav Maga and if you are really into learning the art but not hurting your opponent, I would say Aikido is good.

Answer 7

yeah you dont have to be in any certain religion to do martial arts thats the best part the dragon in asian cultures is a positive symbol thats why its everywhere....however if your still scared take kick boxing or something westernized if your still mixed of it....

Answer 8

omg lol

its Fine to do Karate! lol

im a christian and i am a black belt---almost!

u use it for defense, not offense and ur fine!

Answer 9

As far as I know, karate and other martial arts are for self-defence, not to kil someone.

In Medicine, snake represents a cure. In Asian countries Dragon represents a protection.

Don't be a BIGOT.

Answer 10

No. This is not against God. You are not worshiping your chi.

I am a Christian and I have been practicing martial arts for 22 years.

Your Chi or Ki, is considered your internal energy.

Some extreme Christians might think that it is "casting spells" or "sorcery", but in my opinion, those people are not doing God's work.

The martial arts, when viewed as a whole, can be very confusing when it comes to spiritual matters. Most popular martial arts in America today originated in Asia and had deeply spiritual roots in Buddhism, or other non-Christian religions. It's also true, however, (especially in the U.S) that martial arts can be considered more of a science, or sport, in which Eastern mysticism plays little or no role. There are even a number of Christian martial arts schools and associations!

It's interesting to note that many of the foundational values of traditional martial arts (rooted in eastern religions) are not in conflict with the doctrine of Jesus Christ. For instance, the five tenets of Tae Kwon Do as taught in many Tae Kwon Do schools:

Courtesy - Consideration for others; respect, humbleness, and good manners. Phil 2:3-5

Integrity - Knowing right from wrong, and doing right; to be honest and good. Proverbs 10:9

Perseverance - To never give up in the pursuit of ones goals. Romans 5:3-4

Self-Control - To remain in control of your mind and body. Proverbs 16:32

Indomitable Spirit - The courage to stand by your principles, even against overwhelming odds. Genesis 32:24-30

Though this list is not found specifically in scripture, the tenets in it are certainly not un-Christ-like at all. The key then becomes how these martial art values are taught in the school. In a Christian martial arts school these values, though still true to the traditional art, would be taught and lived out through Christ's example.

One of the more confusing issues for Christians in the martial arts seems to be the use of the term master. While the term has several definitions, in the martial arts sense, it is not in any way used to mean someone having control over others, or in a religious sense. The title is simply intended to denote an expert - someone who has reached a high level of achievement. The martial arts master is somebody who is highly skilled, and qualified to teach apprentices. Therefore, Master Instructor is someone who has reached the highest level as an instructor, similar in usage to a Master Chess player, or Master Craftsman.

Personally, I can't imagine practicing martial arts without feeling the spiritual/philosophical side of it. It would seem empty. I don't find it at all in conflict with my Christianity.

James

Answer 11

My Sifu is Christian!

Answer 12

Many years ago I struggled with martial arts and karate. But I have come to realize that I can be a martial artist and a Christian. It is a martial art not a religion. You do learn self defense, but not to maim. Although you can, but that is not its original intentions. It was taught with the intention of self defense. It is should teach to heal rather than harm. Because of my training I know how to control myself and my emotions. My ego doesn't get me into fights, but I have learn to avoid fights. Those symbols are not used in every school. They are only symbols of animals, there aren't worshiped by martial artist. You only see that in the movies. Most of that comes from the days when eastern cultures were very superstitious.

Answer 13

I have only been told "It's against our religion" one time -- that was when I was visiting a Greek Orthodox Monastery and they saw me practicing my Taiji Walking Stick Kata out in a back meadow on monastery property. Since I was a visitor, I obeyed.

Monastic discipline and "Christian discipline" are two entirely different ballgames!

Check out:

Karate for Christ

http://www.karateforchrist.net

Karate for Christ teaches:

Chutoku Ryu Karate

Lil’ Dragons (for 4, 5 and 6 year olds)

Tai Chi

Chutoku Ryu Jujitsu/Submission Grappling

Japanese Sword (Chutoku Ryu Iaido)

Xtreme Martial Arts

Weapons (bo, kama, nunchaku, tonfa, sai, tanto, and Filipino kali/escrima.)

Chutoku Ryu Goshin-Jutsu

Okinawan Shorin ryu

Leadership Training

There are MANY other martial arts programs run by/at churches for church goers.

(I am not affiliated with "Karate for Christ."

I just offer this organization as ONE example.)

Answer 14

Yes! It's actually design to kill and maim people. When it turned to sport the rules reduced the fatalities of the Martial Art. It does have eastern religion involved. Even today it has been used for combat in a war. It's just like owning a gun! I'm sure God wouldn't like us to use a gun to kill others or hurt them. But we do! Martial arts need to be recognized as a weapon. Krava Maga is an Israel combative art. So yeah It's wrong to use but it's important to know when you have to use it to save your life or a loved one. I believe it's how well a person is disciplined!

Answer 15

it doesn't matter that the symbols are dragons or serpents... those are SYMBOLS, it doesn't mean that you worship these symbols, and the chinese views on serpents are nothing like the christians' view of the serpent where serpents represent evil/devil. (if thats what you're worried about)

karate is not a sport for 'maiming', it's the art of self discipline. and it's self-defense... it's not intended to kill, it's to protect.

i believe christians can practice karate as self-discipline, self-defense, and  as means of keeping fit.

as long as you don't use the martial arts as a violent attacking tool, you sould be fine.

Answer 16

Well... If you read the book of Job chap 41, you will see that Leviathan is mentioned. Read the description. At the end you see that he: "he [is] a king over all the children of pride."

So then Leviathan is doing Gods work... reigning over those who are sinners... do you see that?

Also, the dragon you see in some karate styles are not related to the style but only something the "master" used to make the patch look cool.

There are some Chinese arts that use characteristics you would "supposedly" associate with a dragon like twisting, coiling, clawing, etc.

Karate actually comes from Fukien and Hakka arts like White Crane fist, Black Tiger, Five Ancestor fist, Southern Mantis.

Karate was originally a Life-Protection art.

So these things are a misconception.

I teach my class without bowing to alters(Shomen), pictures, no uniforms and I have eliminated the use of colored belts. Only a white belt to wrap around you as support for your internal organs during training - this is very important and the only reason you should wear an Obi.

I teach the "bow" as a series of self-defense techniques.

Research all the things I said here.

Answer 17

there are very few places that ask u to cahnge ereligion.You can belive in dragons as a creatures dont gatta belive in em as your dieties.if u takin it in the western part u don gatta worry bout it.karate is universal to be used by alll faiths

Answer 18

absolutely I live in Northeast florida and there is a christian karate school here that teaches the basics of self defense , also the methodist church has their own martial arts program. The christian school is named AFR Christian Karate