Is this a wise move?

[Matthias]

Hello!

I am wondering if anyone can assist me in a little situation I have myself in. I am hoping to start a style of Kung Fu called Nam Pai Chaun. It has a lot of traditional Chinese elements such as Buddism, Chinese healing and general Chinese religious and spiritual beliefs.

Of course, I do not have to believe a word they preach regarding the spiritual side of things, but would anyone here have a problem in me going and taking up this martial art, or think I would be getting myself into a lot of trouble by mixing Orthodoxy with Buddism?

Thanks for your help!

 

[MariaRegina]

Hello!

I am wondering if anyone can assist me in a little situation I have myself in. I am hoping to start a style of Kung Fu called Nam Pai Chaun. It has a lot of traditional Chinese elements such as Buddism, Chinese healing and general Chinese religious and spiritual beliefs.

Of course, I do not have to believe a word they preach regarding the spiritual side of things, but would anyone here have a problem in me going and taking up this martial art, or think I would be getting myself into a lot of trouble by mixing Orthodoxy with Buddism?

Thanks for your help!

Dear Matthias:

Christ is Risen!

I took lessons in Karate - Kung Fu style. Earned my green belt - next level would be brown then black. But I quit. The instructor would tell us to close our eyes and mediate. Once I opened my eyes with my head still down and saw him doing a weird dance over us. So we were having some discussions after class one time and I asked him if he was into Oriental mysticism - he said yes that he now rarely attends the Armenian Orthodox Church because he finds the acquisition of Chi to be more interesting. This is the danger. Truly he is becoming more strong in his Chi powers but at a tremendous cost - loss of his Christianity.

There were quite a few avowed gnostics who were told by their elders to attain the black belt status for part of their initiation rites into gnosticism. One of them saw my Orthodox Christian Cross and told me I was in the wrong place -- that their greatest enemy was Orthodoxy. That's when my son and I stopped our training in Karate and seriously began a study of Orthodox spirituality by talking to our priest, going on retreats, reading books with our priest's blessing.

One must be careful here. Talk to your priest.

Yours in the Risen Christ,
Elizabeth

 

[Patristic]

Greetings Matthias,

Christ is risen! I began studying Tibetan Lama White Crane Kung-fu when I was 11 years old and continued all the way up until I left for college. By the time I left for school I had achieved my first degree black sash and was very influenced by the philosophy that accompanies the martial art; At the time I didn't think there was really anything wrong with it. My Sifu had always told the class, if you disagree with something I tell you then disregard it, but if something I tell you makes sense then embrace it. In theory this makes sense, but the problem with it is that the instructors are very often like sages who possess a great deal of wisdom and experience. People trust them and very much of what they say is accepted and very little is rejected. Therefore discernment becomes a serious issue.

The manipulation and channeling of chi energy is a major component of chinese martial arts like wu shu and kung fu. I remember one time our Sifu manipulated his energies to move us back and forth in a rocking motion even when we resisted; I had him try this on me and he accomplished it with ease. Anyways, this practice is a type of spiritual exercise which emphasizes energy development and personal spiritual advancement. The whole purpose is to unleash the power within yourself. This kind of thinking is antithetical to Christianity because we stress our helplessness and inability and rely on the Spirit and God's grace for our spiritual development.

I won't tell you not to participate in classes because it would be hypocritical of me to do so. I still attend the beginner's class taught by one of my old friends because the philosophy and focus on chi development is absent. I know several Christians who attend the class with me and we always talk about our faith so that is a positive reaffirmation of our Christian belief. I still enjoy going to class because the workouts are excellent and the self-defense techniques are great to learn. Nevertheless, I always remind myself that Chinese martial arts developed around the religious philosophies of Buddhism and Taoism and that there is much that doesn't mesh with my Christian faith.

 

[Umut]

Once I opened my eyes with my head still down and saw him doing a weird dance over us.

That is so creepy. If I were you; and I wasn't his student, I'd kick his butt. That's too creepy... God knows what he's doing!!!!

Matthias, about confusing Buddhism with Orthodoxy; I think that's an issue. Buddhism evolved from; you guessed it; Hinduism. Hindu's have the whole idea of reincarnation this and that, but about Buddhism, Andreas told me that the idea of meditation is bringing out the "GOD" in you. They meditate to attain enlightenment. Attaining enlightenment is a dangerous thing; it is almost like trying to bring out the God in you. Not that there is any; you're just trying to make yourself God. i wouldn't go for a martial art that involves buddhism. I took tae-kwon-do, but I quit because I came to Canada. My friends think I'm a liar because I never want to "do it" - you know... hi-ya moves? I just don't find it in me to hurt anyone; or defend myself... defending myself would mean hurting another person. If i'm hurting them; that means I don't like them. If I don't liek them and i'm hurting them in return to them hurting me, i've become something i don't like... I've become them.

Would Jesus start kicking and punching? nope.

Judging from your age I think this is just a quick phase that you'll go through. If you actually want to learn martial arts; stick to the non-meditating ones. Although they seem intriguing, something about them really scares me. The whole energy stuff. Scary....

 

[brewmama]

Wow. My son is taking tae-kwon-do (in a very elementary and non-Asian manner). Is this one of the non-meditative ones?

 

[Patristic]

Wow. My son is taking tae-kwon-do (in a very elementary and non-Asian manner). Is this one of the non-meditative ones?

You're son is probably not being exposed to religious and meditative elements because Tae Kwon do was developed by the Korean people as a national sport. That's not to say that that energy and meditation techniques cannot be incorporated into the art, but for the most part that is not done with TKD. To be safe ask if you can observe a class and see what elements are taught that way you can know for sure.

 

[brewmama]

You're son is probably not being exposed to religious and meditative elements because Tae Kwon do was developed by the Korean people as a national sport. That's not to say that that energy and meditation techniques cannot be incorporated into the art, but for the most part that is not done with TKD. To be safe ask if you can observe a class and see what elements are taught that way you can know for sure.

Thank you. I haven't seen anything so far to worry about.

 

[Michael G]

Two people who I knew when I was much younger quit Karate because of the Buddhist influences in it. Both were BlackBelts who I had studied Karate with, and both were devout Christians, one a 2nd or 3rd Degree Blackbelt, the other had just earned his Blackbelt. In order to get Blackbelt he needed to study with another master of another style of martial art and he chose a Kung Fu master who was deeply into Buddhist spirituality and wove it into his Kung Fu. The Master who founded the style I was studing, Kajukempo, was into the whole Life Energy thing. If you look at the Yin & Yang it shows clearly about the Buddhist idea of Life Energy and Positive/Negative energy, etc. That is dangerous. At the same time, I took Judo in college and it was treated more as a sport, a sport that needed to be respected because of how dangerous it could be. There was no centering meditation or anything like that involved, but then that could have just been the teacher I was studying Judo under. In my humble opinion, you should be very careful when learning the Martial Arts.

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

I think it's a bad idea to learn those kinds of arts. They are too deeply rooted in paganism.

 

[Umut]

Hmm, if Andreas says so, it must be true!



The pagan thing, plus we're talking about punching and kicking and shoving and the whole works. Jesus would not be pleased with us fighting.

I haven't heard of one Saint who tried to defend themselves. They bowed their head and took the beating. Which I believe has a deep spiritual side to it.

 

[katherine2001]

Matthias, have you talked to your priest/spiritual father about this? He would probably be the best person to ask.

 

[Patristic]

Not all martial arts are rooted in pagan spirituality. Most Americanized versions of the Martial Arts have been stripped of the spiritual elements because the Western mind cannot comprehend them.

 

[Matthias]

Thanks for your help everyone.