Martial Arts Philosophy For the past 30 years or so, American
parents who give a darn about their kids have noticed that the
marital arts teach their children about respect, discipline,
hard work, sacrifice and humility. Children are likewise taught
that they should walk away from trouble, lose the ego and fight
only as a last resort. This blends in well with Western
Christian principles such as turning the other cheek, the Golden
Rule and forgiveness. Yet these attitudes are taking a hit these
days with the advent of UFC and MMA, where many fighters are in
the martial arts for personal gain (money, fame, self-promotion,
etc.) They’re not so much traditional, philosophically
influenced martial artists as they are technicians bent on
winning fights. Chinese Martial Arts The historic philosophical
foundation for Chinese martial arts mostly lies in Chan
Buddhism, Taoism, Legalism and Confucianism. Moral codes from
the Shaolin Temple and the world of Jiang Hu also have been
heavily influenced by Chinese martial a