Should Martial Artists read Philosophy

Hi All,

just saw yesterday a great film: The Twilight Samurai

There was a great dialogue. The samurai asked his little daughter to learn the Confucius.

So she asked: "If I learn to do needlework, someday I can make kimonos. But what good will book learning ever do to me?"

Samurai: "Well, it probably won't ever be as useful as needlework. But you know ... Book learning gives you power. The power to think. However the world might change, if you have the power to think, you'll always survive somehow. That's true for boys and girls."

One can't express my feeling about the question if martial artists should read Philosophy better. Especially in Tai Chi Chuan we prepare for the change - by thinking.

Martin

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not an internalist--- but I'd say don't read philosophy until you have a very good understanding of the mechanics of your art. Here's a Big reason why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_dYJVHyMo4

Notice that "Push Hands" in the Chen village has a very different look and feel of "push hands" as being taught by the modernist/philosophical way of tai chi. I believe that we tend to over analyze and over think MA, CMA in particular. I call this "tea-house kung fu". I discussed it more in depth here: http://kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53850

The question is somewhat vague, and depending on the person reading, the responses should vary. Here is mine.

Personally, I feel its a bonus for ANYONE to read philosophy. Not just martial artists. Many of the greatest philosophers in history did not even study combat arts.

It can be very eye opening to see how the greatest recorded thinkers through out history viewed certain aspects of this journey we call 'life'

I'm not just talking about any specific philosophy. Not just eastern, nor western. Not just classical, nor modern. But all.

The insights one can gain by pondering the many aspects of existance, can be life and world changing.

I have ready many thoughts that I have not agreed with, yet that does not mean i wasn't able to glean something usefull from the outlook that particular person had.

It has been said that learning our history is a good thing, because history is doomed to repeat itself. Learn from our mistakes. IMO this doesnt just concern factual data as to what happend when and how, but also to learn the thought patterns and processes in place to see the why of it all.

Using confucius as an excample, you can see the dramatic effect that confucius had on the chinese social structure and development. Much of the reactions and interactions people had and made, namely heads of state and officials, leaders and generals, were tied in one degree or another to the social structure in place during the certain time periods you would be studying. The particular social structure being directly tied to the school of thought developed by the confucians.

The problem with philosophy is that it's like poetry; everyone thinks they can do it but almost no one really can, and there's nothing worse than a ham-handed attempt at either.

Everyone should understand the world on its many different levels.

Philosophy is a essential to developing as an intelligent human being. It allows you to understand your world in a different way, that gives you new perspectives and understanding of how things are, how they work, and how they can be.

Martial Artist or not, it is as essential as is a formal education.

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The problem with philosophy is that it's like poetry; everyone thinks they can do it but almost no one really can.

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And yet the mere human expression, failure or not, is one of the major things that help us develop as people.

I would prefer someone who has a non-sensical philosophy to one that has no philosophy at all.

Well, that's where we differ then.

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Originally Posted by MightyB

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not an internalist--- but I'd say don't read philosophy until you have a very good understanding of the mechanics of your art. Here's a Big reason why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_dYJVHyMo4

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Cool link.

Anyway, I have to disagree on this one. It's pretty likely that those people read some taoism long before they studies their tai chi, as it's still a big influence on their culture and part of their classic list of readings.

Honestly, taoist philosophy is big on practice. Zhuangzi and the story of the butcher is a good example.