Martial Spirituality

Martial arts is intended to embody the triad of mind, body and spirit. Yet, some martial artists tend to shy away fro the spiritual portion of martial arts training. Many activities or non activities promote the health of the connection among the mind, body, and spirit. Although this term seems to be a cliché for many types of products or exercises, let’s not allow the phrase’s overuse to lose its meaning.

For those of us who are martial artists (and for those who are not, apply the same principles to whatever activity you partake in) do you know what it feels like to execute a martial arts move using your mind, body and your spirit? Achieving the connectivity of the mind and body part are relatively easy – we know what we want to do so we train our body to move a certain way. Our mind exudes our intent behind the technique. We also use our mind to encourage ourselves to accomplish our next training task at hand.

Sometimes, our spirit portion is left on the wayside. The spirit portion arises from within. It is the personification of integrity, tenacity, humble respect and honor for the self, our fellow students, and the world around us. Some of us choose to view our training as something we do, others enable it to embody who we are. Then there are those of us who view the physical aspects as a means to tout our skill, increase our self esteem, or pride ourselves in the ability to win fights in the ring. And yes, there are physical battles that happen in the ring. But the real battles occur deep within our selves, as we struggle to loosen our grip on control enough to feel our spirit flow within, through, and around us.

Spirit enables us to become a true warrior – battling not the surface battles in our training, but more importantly, facing our own battles inside. As we continue to progress through our internal victories, we become more mindful of our own motives and actions, and can better understand and empathize with others’ life situations.

We can all accomplish great feats using our mind and body in unison. Imagine what we can accomplish if we consistently add Spirit to that combination. Feel what that feels like – make it part of your own – and you will surpass anything you’ve ever experienced or accomplished.

Pamela Aloia is a teacher/healer at Sol Angel and martial arts instructor at Asahikan Dojo, both located in Collegeville, PA. Pamela primarily provides energy sessions and classes to individuals in the surrounding community in an effort to instill wisdom, love and joy in people, animals, places and the earth. For further information, visit    www.solangel.com and www.asahidojo.com