Martial Arts Philosophy and Wisdom

In the past, the warrior met the enemy toe-to-toe. It was not uncommon for the warrior to not only see the face of the enemy, but to know the enemy's emotions during engagement. Today, most warriors never have such experience as the enemy is usually down range of the rifle. With drone warfare, the impersonalization of the enemy is even more pronounced. Not only did the warrior of the past have different battlefield experiences than the soldiers of today, but matters of self-defense and self-protection were also different. It was more common for the martial artist of the past to engage in some form of self-defense action than it is for the modern martial artist. Therefore, the sayings of past warriors give the modern martial artist insight into the thinking and philosophy of those who had to use their martial arts for life and death. Not only are the sayings of past warriors important, but also the saying of philosophers and religions are important to the warrior. The reason is that these philosophers and religions influenced the course of the martial arts philosophy and thinking. When reading these quotes, try to step into the mind, time period, and location of the person to help understand the essence of the quote. Tenkidokan
Ace Kiwami Publications