Karate & teakwondo and christianity

[Mayflower]

Before i got converted i was involved with Taekwondo, Judo and jiu jitsu.

I know that i don't want to be involved in some martical arts like aikido and kung fu because of the budist philosofy and occult influences

But iam not sure about the sports karate and teakwonde.
Can i christian practise teakwondo or karate ? Is it different than aikido or kung fu in relatioship with theire budist and occult philosofy ?

Maybe some of the boards have experience with karate and/or taekwondo, and share their views ?

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

See this thread for some earlier discussion this subject.

 

[Pilgrim]

See here and here for a helpful overview.

 

[py3ak]

I took kung fu lessons for a little while. I wish I could still take them --I left the country. There was no religion in it. It was exercise and it was self-defence, based on sound physical principles that were drawn from experience in actual combat and in torturing prisoners of war.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

The Marine Corps has actually created one of the more lethal and effective Martial Arts forms and instituted it into basic and continued training of Marines. When our last Commandant, Gen Jones, instituted it in 1999, I thought it would die out like other ideas. We had basic hand-to-hand combat "lines" but they were very rote and not very institutionalized.

General Jones had been very impressed with the Marines of the Republic of Korea (aka ROK Marines) when a young Lieutenant in Vietnam. ROK Marines are highly trained in Tae Kwan Do. He was very impressed with the confidence it gave the ROK Marines and hoped that, if he ever got to a position to do something, he would try to institutionalize it. He succeeded.

I actually know some of the Marine Officers who developed the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). It is a blend of different techniques that gets to the point of subduing or killing your opponent very quickly when needed. One of the developers used to work here in my office. His strength, stamina, and skill in martial arts are legendary. He's not much to look at but would strengthen himself continually and read physiology and develop new forms. One of my Senior Enlisted, who had studied Martial Arts for years, called him one to the 3 deadliest men he had ever met.

Providentially, that young Captain moved to VA and is working for a dear friend of mine that I was stationed with all over the Marine Corps for 10 years whose name is Jay. I helped "convert" Jay to the Reformed Faith about 6 years ago from Calvary Chapel. He attends a PCA in Fredericksburg. That young Captain knew Jay was a Christian and approached him with questions about Christ. Jay started bringing him to Church and that Captain approaches Christianity now with the same intensity as Martial Arts.

The Marine is still as deadly as ever with his hands. Jay and I used to run together every day for about 6 miles and we both are still in great shape for our age. He's trained Martial Arts with the Captain and a group of Marines. The Captain will grapple with each of them for five minutes. Jay says that at the end of 5 minutes he is about to pass out from exhaustion. The Captain moves from Marine to Marine without seeming to exert himself.

Some men are just incredible.

As all Marines have had to, I've had to get my Tan Belt and demonstrate proficiency in the first level. I'm 38 now and have dislocated my shoulder twice in my career and have recovered from shoulder surgery. I'm just not in the mood for more injuries so I take it easy and just stay in shape these days. That said, I'm a huge fan of this kind of stuff.

Why do I think it's important? Toughness. America has turned us into a bunch of girls. Dodgeball is too aggressive. Kids can't get in fist fights anymore. Wrestling programs have disappeared from many schools.

If you've never boxed or wrestled or got into a fight then you need to learn what it feels like to get punched in the face. Especially in a business like mine where your lethality is a form of protection (I can tell you stories of enemies melting because they know they're about to fight Marines) we need to have men who have a warrior spirit.

Regardless of whether you want your son to be a steely-eyed killer, I think you need to consider the development of a man. I don't wnat my son throwing like a girl and I want him to know how to defend himself. I want him to know what it feels like to take a punch and I want him to be able to bear under that and push through physical pain and exhaustion.

I think most Christians have no appreciation for Paul's boxing and sports analogies because we've got a culture of sedentary folks that raise milqetoast men. If you want to "fill out" masculinity then I think physical training in the form of boxing, wrestling, or the martial arts helps round him out.