Martial Arts Stories

So, I have to write this after the last couple of weekends. Many folks ask alot of questions about what martial arts are and how they relate to life. The first story I want to tell is how martial arts can affect a kids life very quickly.

My girlfriends son is 14, he has studied some taiji with me, but wanted more socialization with his study. We got him enrolled in a great dojo here in town, after reviewing quite a few. He studies Aikido and Arnis as well as kenjutsu now. He has been studying since the beginning of October. He takes it quite seriously and is the youngest Aikido student that Grandmaster has ever taught. Well, this Saturday afternoon, he was walking from an adjoining neighborhood back to ours accross a wooded path, and four 13-15 year olds decided that they wanted his Xbox game more than he did. Two of them pulled out pocket knives. One put it up to his throat, the other put the blade on his arm. Marc kept his cool. He didn't challenge them and when he got his chance he got out of there. He knew that with his limited training he wasn't a match for four kids his size that had knives.

Two things are important as outcomes of this story. One, he kept his cool under pressure. Two, he wants to redouble his training so that he never feels that way again. Martial Arts training is more important than ever in society today. It is much more than fighting. It is awareness of ones surroundings, honest awareness of ones capabilities, and it is the ability to not be afraid so that we can live our lives fully.

The second story I think captures the best use of martial arts that I can imagine. As I worte about, I was at a Jiujutsu seminar last weekend. The founder of Atemi Ryu JiuJutsu was there. He told some great stories about fights that he was in. What follows is the story that he said he was most proud of.

Dr. Chenique (Grandmaster Atemi Ryu Jiujutsu) was exiting a highway in Miami when he observed a car pulled over by the side of the road. There was a lady standing outside of the car in the rain, obviously in an altercation with the occupant of the car. The car then sped off leaving the lady standing there in the rain.

Dr. Chenique pulled over, asked the lady if she was ok, and if she needed a ride. She said that she was ok, and that he would come back to get her. The driver of the car obviously saw that Dr. Chenique had pulled over, and came ripping back to where this was all happening. He exited the car and began to verbally assault Dr. Chenique.

Dr. Chenique (remember, this is his story that he was most proud of) calmly told the driver that he should treat this lady better and then asked him what he was going to do...beat up a 53 year old, bald, fat guy. He said that as soon as he uttered these words, the driver of the car began to lose his aggression. Dr. Chenique had stopped the fight before it got started, caused the man to change his behavior with out any force at all. Sun Tzu would have been proud.

Sometimes force and violence are neccessary, but the warrior is the one who hopes it can be solved without them. It is the warriors who pay the price when force and violence are used as solutions.