Does Religion Clash With Martial Arts?

I really didn't want to go down this route, mention religion and many people instantly start to get emotional and defensive of their beliefs and faith. It would be very easy here to look at the atrocities caused by religion and faith over the years, dwell on the 100's of millions of deaths caused by religion and dismiss the followers as being gullible. Im not religious, I understand the need for people to have a faith and I respect them for their commitment towards belief.

Belief in a supreme being plays an important role in the life of most human beings. Religious beliefs have been shown to help people who have gone through hardship, the support offered from religious mentors is second to non -  I personally see this as the major roll of the religious establishment "to offer comfort in times of distress"

Like it or not the martial arts is connected to religion by virtues of history. Learning how to fight to protect your religious beliefs was part of daily life, and Martial Arts were the most effective way of learning how to do this. It was crucial in the historical development of many arts, and it continues to dictate the ways in which many students think and act during practice sessions. 

So given that Martial Arts have derived from religion are they connected to religious practices in 2013? Should students be warned that they are entering a religious environment? Is learning to self defence all of a sudden against religious beliefs? Is promoting improved fitness disrespectful to your faith? - in short Martial arts in 2013 are about as connected with religion as christianity is to football. 

This said we can take many things from Martial Arts roots, Taoism advocates living a simple life, the principles of yin and yang and living in harmony with nature can be taken from Chinese & japanese arts. Buddhism can be viewed similarly to Taoism in that it originally consisted of philosophical guidelines - for eliminating suffering, in this case. Specifically, the Buddha taught that suffering is caused by desire and that eliminating desire eliminates suffering. Similar to one of the ten commandments - you shall not covert.. and the Quran passage 60:12 & 5:38 which also addresses desire and its implications.

A modern-day martial artist should know that religious connotations are still present in Martial Arts but while students may appreciate the value of philosophical aspects of arts, they need not practice religious aspects. During our Wai Kru students with other beliefs are permitted to substitute a bow to their own religion or god whenever necessary. This eliminated any potential conflict and offers more potential benefits for the students.

Meditation is often confused with a religious practice, there is a fine line between nonsectarian meditation practice and religious practice. The most commonly encountered method involves partially closing the eyes and monitoring the breath, which are compatible with most religions. However chanting though out meditation had widely been dropped from the arts - Chanting or saying Hindu or Sikh prayers would for example clearly be a violation of Christian, Jewish or Muslim religious beliefs.

So is there a "Spiritual Clash" with training in Martial Arts and practicing religion? - in my opinion absolutely not - How does learning self-defense techniques - how to hit harder or kick faster, make one spiritual? Isn't spirituality the same as self-confidence, empowerment or serenity? For thousands of years people have been trained in the arts to enhance and protect religion often breaching many of the principles of what makes up the fundamentals of religion - "you shall not murder from the 10 commandments" for example.

If you are Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, you should be aware that practicing certain martial arts and their related religious rituals may be considered sacrilegious. Competing in an ring sport may conflict with your views of humanity - But before making decisions that effect the well being and future of your children you should also know that in almost every art, the physical can be separated from the spiritual/cultural religious practices.

As Martial Artists we understand there is no need to risk violating the precepts of your religion for the sake of training or competing. In fact, it's easy to incorporate your beliefs into your martial arts and omit those beliefs that clash with your views.

As the Chinese sage Confucius said thousands of years ago: "Although you may respect spiritual beings, hold them at a distance. This is a part of wisdom."