Why do martial arts exist? If we go back to their historical roots in military arts and warfare then, at a fundamental level, martial arts exist because of fighting. These combative skills and systems emerged in the body of human knowledge because people fought each other—and they wanted to win, or at least to avoid losing as much as possible. That consideration tells us ‘why’ at a superficial level, but it does not get at the underlying reasons for human conflict.
People could, and still can, wage war for any of several reasons. Resources such as land, livestock, or various forms of wealth could be the motivation. Desire for social prestige, political power, or other less tangible benefits could be another motivation. It could be as simple as a wish to dominate others—to bend them to the aggressor’s will. And of course, the people being attacked would not necessarily agree with the aggressor’s point of view!
For me, what this line of thought really raises is a question of justice, and therefore of morality. If one party attacks another, is the aggressor justified in making that assault? Is the defender justified in taking action to defeat the aggressor? A general principle is ‘live, and let live’—in other words, mind your own business and do not interfere with other people’s business. If others have done you no wrong, then do no wrong to them. Thousands of years of human history, and our own lived experiences, tell us that there are people who choose not to live by that principle. Whether it is a physical assault, a verbal assault, a financial assault, a reputational assault, or anything else, we see people being aggressive towards each other every day.
The reason for the existence of martial arts must go deeper than just the phenomenon of human conflict. We need to consider the concepts of moral right and wrong, and not just in an abstract or theoretical way; we need to consider it in a very practical and very real way.
The way I see it, a thorough consideration of martial arts (and, I would hazard to guess, any other human endeavour) ultimately needs to come to the foundation of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the almighty and perfectly just God who created Mankind and gave us the ability to choose our actions, and who gave us all a fundamental sense of right and wrong. Indeed, this is the same God to whom we are accountable for our actions, no matter big or small, no matter seen or unseen.
If one does not believe in God, there remains the consideration that, inherently, martial arts concern a life-or-death struggle. Any type of serious conflict (including non-physical forms) has the potential to leave long-lasting effects on an injured party. In a physical conflict, this could obviously go to the extreme of physiological death. This is not the kind of thing to be trifled with.
Over the past few decades, I have taught the martial art of tae kwon do to hundreds of people, and have spoken about it to hundreds more. Many of these people have been surprised at how seriously I take the practice of a martial art. (Quite a few of them may have felt that I take it too seriously.) I could turn the question around: perhaps there are some people who do not take the practice of a martial art seriously enough—and undoubtedly, there are many people who do not take God seriously enough.
I do not write these words judgementally (ultimately, it is for God to judge), but I do put them to you for sober consideration.