Is practicing martial arts against ahimsa?

[orlando]

Namaste.

Soon I will inscribe a karate gym.
If I practice martial arts,do I go against Ahimsa?

Regards,
Orlando.

[Sahasranama]

Not necessarily, unless you are a Jain (because then even breathing is a form of himsa). It can be himsa if you go there to hurt people, but if it's more a form of "self-development" I wouldn't call it himsa, even though accidents happen easily.

I have practiced some martial arts for a while (kung fu, kickboxing, jiu jitsu, tai chi). I didn't like touching sweaty and sometimes smelly people, so I stopped practicing it. Often the equipment used in dojos aren't very hygienic either.

Also, most martial arts instructor make you do hundreds of stupid exercises like crunches which are bad for your spine.

[charitra]

NO.
Malla yudham and Kushti make a strong component of hindu version of martial arts, these were never caricatured in any negative way. The hindu soldiers including their kings during their training years had to go through this practice without any exception.As a matter of fact tournaments were conducted with proud participants converging from all over the hindu lands to stake a claim to the trophies.

[sm78]

NO.
Malla yudham and Kushti make a strong component of hindu version of martial arts, these were never caricatured in any negative way. The hindu soldiers including their kings during their training years had to go through this practice without any exception.As a matter of fact tournaments were conducted with proud participants converging from all over the hindu lands to stake a claim to the trophies.

+1 agreed.

[Friend from the West]

Namaste,
Bahkta Orlando,
I will defer to those more learned than myself in that I posted a query similiar to this sometime ago. My conclusion with the help of HDF, meditation, prayer, and studies is that the answer depends on your intent and can depend as well on your Dharma. For me, I consider it an obligation.
Good luck to you.
Peace.
FFTW

[R Gitananda]

Namaste

In the Mahabharat we observe that it is the job of Kshatriyas to go out and uphold Dharma in society
by force and fear of force. However even Brahmanas were often trained to defend themselves, their
family and their ashram. Since the constable will usually not be readily available the second he is
needed (and in some situations seconds can mean a lot), I think every sadhaka should learn how
to defend himself and his loved ones.

If a grave enough situation arises, even those that eschew martial arts will attempt to use their arms
and legs and/or some object to attempt a defense of themselves or others. However, an untrained
defender is far more likely to be ineffective or too effective than one which has been trained.

Ineffective defense can lead to the hospital or the morgue for oneself or loved ones. Over-effective
defense can lead to un-intentional consequences and even land the defender in jail or prison!

A skilled enough martial artist, if he decides to act, has a much greater chance to defend
himself and/or others confidently and efficiently with the appropriate amount of force - thereby
minimizing harm to innocents and inflicting the minimum damage necessary upon the assailant.

Counter-intuitively then, a well trained martial artist actually promotes less violence than
a pacifist - who only encourages greater violence by his immoral stance. Let the sattvic
people of this world be strong and skilled - that promotes ahinsa!

Hari Aum

Namaste.

Soon I will inscribe a karate gym.
If I practice martial arts,do I go against Ahimsa?

Regards,
Orlando.

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste.

Soon I will inscribe a karate gym.
If I practice martial arts,do I go against Ahimsa?

Regards,
Orlando.

Vannakkam: If its just for exercise and potential self-defense, then I personally see no problem. But like other disciplines, if it is used incorrectly it is himsa. My daughter holds a black belt, and has never had to use it, fortunately. Still it has helped with confidence and other things in life.

Aum Namasivaya

[Adhvagat]

Martial arts is supposed to properly channel your kundalini energy so you can lead with your inner aggressiveness in a constructive way.

Martial arts is ahimsa.

[PARAM]

My daughter holds a black belt, and has never had to use it, fortunately. Still it has helped with confidence and other things in life.

It is great for your daughter to hold a black belt, I would like to see her performing, she is a Kshatriya in her way.

JAI MATA DI
JAI MAA KALRATRI

[Spiritualseeker]

Namaste,

This is something I am also interested in. I have been in a situation where I had to defend my wife and I from an intruder. Unfortunately, the end result was fatal for the intruder. Since then I sometimes have thoughts that if I was really good in martial arts, perhaps I would not need a weapon that would be lethal against someone, but at the same time I need to have such a confidence that I can subdue someone while being unarmed. It is very difficult and I do not know what I should do or should not do. Till then I always carry a weapon just in case, but this may well be against ahimsa and my actions before may have violated the law of ahimsa. I think im rambling at this point, let me tend to my morning coffee.


Om Namah Shivaya