If you look at a typical martial arts poster - at least in the UK and USA - you will see a list of different services and functions that the respective art claims to offer. When people get philosophical about martial arts again a list of life-enhancing attributes are often mentioned.

What I would like to ask is this. What does a martial art/combat sport/RBSD/whatever provide that other activities do not have in their remit? What does practicing a martial art offer you that you cannot get in any other activity?

Jamie I love these questions!!

Personally I love keeping fit and feeling I get after a really hard session of training. I like running, occasional gym work and squash but nothing compares to the love I have for MA training.

An important angle for me is the self expression ma training gives you. Sometimes I just love to freestyle - i.e. move and hit without thinking about rules etc!

So in a round about way the answer I am going for is self expression.

Jamie I love these questions!!

Personally I love keeping fit and feeling I get after a really hard session of training. I like running, occasional gym work and squash but nothing compares to the love I have for MA training.

An important angle for me is the self expression ma training gives you. Sometimes I just love to freestyle - i.e. move and hit without thinking about rules etc!

So in a round about way the answer I am going for is self expression

You are very kind, Pete. I understand your argument and I can certainly empathize with it (my own club has a syllabus with techniques!), but I am going to challenge it nonetheless. Surely couldn't you get this freedom of expression through painting, drawing, sculpting, writing, contemporary dance, acting improvisation or some form of physical theatre. Surely these activities have more room for freedom of expression than martial arts, which often have certain restrictions in place.

I can learn to fight.

I can learn to fight.

Now we are getting somewhere Seems like such an obvious answer, but it is amazing how often it is evaded.

Lol, I thought I was being too simplistic to be honest.

It's not necessarily what I looked for when I first started kung fu, but when I was looking for my other styles, that's primarily what I was looking for. Fighting first (for me anyway) and the other stuff is all good if it's there.Different people like different things I suppose though.

Lol, I thought I was being too simplistic to be honest.

It's not necessarily what I looked for when I first started kung fu, but when I was looking for my other styles, that's primarily what I was looking for. Fighting first (for me anyway) and the other stuff is all good if it's there.Different people like different things I suppose though.

Well, I could go into the debate that a great number of martial arts clubs do not actually teach you how to fight let alone practical/realistic self-defence, but that's been done to death in enough threads.

What other things did you look for in martial arts that could not find in other activities?

For the record, I like simplistic thinking

I'm pretty sure that was it ,fighting. I can get fit and do hard physical exercise myself or in the gym.I can find "spirituality" in other places too- I know I have said this before but I dont really connect the two,apart from if you count fighting spirit as spirituality.

As soon as I went to kung fu we were introduced to sparring,once we had the basic techniques and that's what I came to expect when I started mma and muay thai.

I could get flexible by going to yoga or pilates. I could get fit from cycling. I could condition my limbs too from exercise.

It all boils down to the martial aspect for me. I enjoy doing forms, but take away the sparring and I would be lost.

I'm pretty sure that was it ,fighting. I can get fit and do hard physical exercise myself or in the gym.I can find "spirituality" in other places too- I know I have said this before but I dont really connect the two,apart from if you count fighting spirit as spirituality.

As soon as I went to kung fu we were introduced to sparring,once we had the basic techniques and that's what I came to expect when I started mma and muay thai.

I could get flexible by going to yoga or pilates. I could get fit from cycling. I could condition my limbs too from exercise.

It all boils down to the martial aspect for me. I enjoy doing forms, but take away the sparring and I would be lost.

I like it...and yet how often do read or hear this type of honesty in the world of martial arts? This is all going to sound rather crass, but here goes:

Get confidence - Acting or any performance art will enhance your confidence far more effeciently than the most robust of realistic martial arts/self defence programmes.

Get fit - Martial arts are a weird mixture of professional athletes and instructors who are not fit really for any purpose. Nevertheless, to get fit in this manner seems a little abstract.

Meet friends - social clubs? the pub? the internet? C'mon there has got to be better places to meet new friends than with a bunch of sweaty perfectionists.

Spirituality - I have my own personal view on spirituality, but there are more than enough ways to express yourself spiritually or places where you can receive spiritual guidance (whatever that means). For me spirituality in martial arts is more of a personal attribute you acquire rather than a motive for training.

Get confidence - Acting or any performance art will enhance your confidence far more effeciently than the most robust of realistic martial arts/self defence programmes.
I am a musician, I have played far longer than I have practised MA, MA has given me social confidence which just playing music and playing gigs did not. MA does teach me practical fighting skills which add's to a different angle of confidence.

Get fit - Martial arts are a weird mixture of professional athletes and instructors who are not fit really for any purpose. Nevertheless, to get fit in this manner seems a little abstract.
Sure I can see you point here, but martial arts can inspire you to get fitter by running again, cycling, exercising when at home to be fitter and perform your art better

Meet friends - social clubs? the pub? the internet? C'mon there has got to be better places to meet new friends than with a bunch of sweaty perfectionists.
The interenet is indirect social interaction. The pub means drinking or sitting doing nothing whereas at a dojo you learn skils and practise hard then go to the pub afterwards and the beer tastes so much sweeter lol.

Spirituality - I have my own personal view on spirituality, but there are more than enough ways to express yourself spiritually or places where you can receive spiritual guidance (whatever that means). For me spirituality in martial arts is more of a personal attribute you acquire rather than a motive for training.
unless your a budist school or something I don't think this should be advertised. In fact in an article you wrote Mr Clubb you said that the peaceful aspect of the arts wasn't really a part of it till later on in the world of MA. Which I agree with, with more awareness and less reason to kill someone preactise became meditation and self knowledge rather than killing someone or defending yourself... which in older times it was for killing if you had to.

I see what your saying Jamie but for every aspect here you give different examples of how to achieve them, yet all are included in the martial arts.

I train because of the expression, because the philosophy relates to my musical approach and philosophy, they work together and help improve both my writing and my understanding of MA and myself. I train to learn a skill, A skill which involves fighting but also a skill which means I don't need to fight. Self discipline and respect, which I wouldn't really get in a pub or at a gym, especially when I was younger!

Martial Arts is something that includes everything in one place. It can help your lifestyle so much more than most things. I used to run and swim etc that didn't help my music or make me feel as good as I do since training in MA.

For me Jamie it's got to be the fighting, I'm with Su Lin on that one. And besides that, I've tried other sporting activities and various kinds of "fitness" clubs, but MA is the only one I've really stuck at, got obsessed with, and just generally love to bits

Re: Speaking of MA Posters - How about this retro one, lol...



There are loads more of these Comic Book MA Posters here...
http://www.mrdankelly.com/martialads.html

I am a musician, I have played far longer than I have practised MA, MA has given me social confidence which just playing music and playing gigs did not. MA does teach me practical fighting skills which add's to a different angle of confidence.

That is your personal experience and I am happy you feel that way, but I don't see that martial arts offers as big a sphere of confidence as many other activities - and my main area of focus is on realistic self defence and practical fighting skills. Performance art is just one example, but I think it is a fair one. From my personal experience I have performed and have been around showbusiness all my life - TV, feature films, adverts, pantomime, dance, music, pro wrestling, circus (of course) etc., etc., etc. I see far more limitations on being able to express oneself in the world of martial arts than I have seen in general professional showbusiness. Worse still, I have seen misplaced confidence in the world of martial arts - as I am sure many of us have. Furthermore, you can get confidence from other activities and there are even workshops (good and bad I hasten to add) for improving assertiveness and confidence.

Sure I can see you point here, but martial arts can inspire you to get fitter by running again, cycling, exercising when at home to be fitter and perform your art better

So can any number of things. Many martial arts are not practiced in a way that will improve your fitness. Others may improve your fitness but generally it is a by-product just like the spiritual stuff. I appreciate Body Combat and TaeBo and their ilk are designed with fitness in mind, but you could get the same results (perhaps better) from a high impact aerobics or dance class.

The interenet is indirect social interaction. The pub means drinking or sitting doing nothing whereas at a dojo you learn skils and practise hard then go to the pub afterwards and the beer tastes so much sweeter lol.

I appreciate your point, I have written similar, but it misses mine. The same could be said about any activity you do with other people if you all feel you have worked hard at something worthwhile. Again this is not exclusive to martial arts and I wouldn't say martial arts is the best type of place to advise people to meet new friends - except if they are new friends if you share this one particular interest of yours.

unless your a budist school or something I don't think this should be advertised. In fact in an article you wrote Mr Clubb you said that the peaceful aspect of the arts wasn't really a part of it till later on in the world of MA. Which I agree with, with more awareness and less reason to kill someone preactise became meditation and self knowledge rather than killing someone or defending yourself... which in older times it was for killing if you had to.

Yes, I did and I stand by my words. Many say "Why stay in the forge". I say that's all well and good, but you have to truly go through the forge first before you start going all pseudo-philosophical on my ass. Few great spiritual leaders I have ever read about spent most of their days sat around sniffing joss sticks - they got their hands well and truly dirty.

Back to the point. Name an exclusive service martial arts can provide. I am not after personal philosophical revelations - if you enjoy doing something enough you can justify it as being the centre of the universe if you choose. What distinguishes martial arts from every other form of activity. What exclusive service does it provide?