A True Martial Artist is Strong Physically, Mentally and Morally by KJN James R. Hogwood, PhD.

A True Martial Artist is Strong Physically, Mentally and Morally by KJN James R. Hogwood, PhD.

Body, Mind and Spirit is the motto of most martial arts schools in the United States. So let’s discuss why, and more than likely it will become your school’s motto if it is not already.

Body, physically being strong so you can apply force and absorb energy when needed. The martial arts teach us that we can overcome greater physical forces with proper body alignments and using our opponents’ strengths against them. This is accomplished through the understanding of levers and energy flow (anatomy & physics).

So with a greater intelligence of how the body works, we can then focus on strengthening our body so the muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments can develop a greater resistance to injury, bone density to support our frame and a greater ability to generate force.

Mind, mentally being strong so that we can develop a greater understanding of how our body works in all plans of motion. Physically demanding more and more out of our training can become mentally draining at times, so mentally we must work smarter not always harder.

We must also mentally understand time management and how to blend life with training. Variables like school work, employment, marriage and children directly compete for the time needed to truly develop skills and class time needed to increase knowledge. It is advisable to calendar your times to increase the odds of not interfering with knowledge and skill development.

We must remember that by knowing our opponent we can go into battle and win 50% of our encounters, by knowing ourselves we can go into battle and win 50% of our encounters, but by knowing ourselves as well as our opponents we can go into 100 battles and come out victorious 100 times.

(Art of War)

Spirit, religion and how it applies to the martial arts. Remember that belief and religion is to totally different aspects of life. Belief is what we hold dear to our souls, it is hope, faith and love. Hope of life after death, faith in believing in something we can not see, and emotionally loving the things we hold dear to our hearts.

Religion on the other hand is what we do religiously day in and day out. Most martial artist religion is their art form. Because of this there are many instructors that would go to war before they will ever understand the next statement. “It is not wrong, it is not better, and it is not worse, it is just different”

Spiritually a martial artist is totally invested in their art form, because it is what makes them who they are, who others see them as, and what drives them through each day’s stressful events we call life.

Body, Mind and Spirit

Respectfully Submitted Grand Master James Hogwood

The National Self-Defense Agency, Inc 501c3

Ooltewah, Tennessee

(423) 505-0525