So many people think of martial arts as merely 'fighting' or 'self-defence'.  This is sad because because such a viewpoint is very far from reality.  I have met and talked with martial artists themselves who do not realise that their art was developed as a whole system that serves to change the practitioner's entire outlook on life and existence.  I often say to a beginner, "when you have embarked upon this path, you will never be the same again."  How true this is - the longer one pursues the art the more change takes place.  A very long and ancient philosophical cum spiritual tradition underpins our martial art that unfortunately, is not much in evidence within many of today's sport and tournament oriented schools. 

For myself, I have always had a hard time thinking of my art as having 'martial' connotations, because that couldn't be further from the truth.  This may be in small part why martial arts are regarded as fighting systems, for does not the word 'martial' relate to militaristics and war?  It was because of this that I gradually came to use the term 'life-skill' to describe my art, one which has a very powerful philosophical base.  This philosophy uses the vehicle of civil self-defence as a framework of reference within which all the practical methods and exercises are really physical metaphors for what occurs on mental and spiritual levels. 

No matter - enough of my own idiosyncrasies for all cultures have a 'martial' tradition, whether that be of a truly militaristic nature or of a  more civil, 'personal safety' nature.  And if one looks closely at these traditions it becomes quickly apparent that they are rooted in some philosophical framework leading to some ultimate spiritual enlightenment.  

We think of 'martial arts' as having developed primarily in the East, and certainly it was the Orientals who imparted the most significant aspects of spirituality to the former merely practical pursuit of killing and maiming others.  The resultant philosophical arts gradually spread around the globe displaying greater and greater diversity, becoming more often than not, more specialist, so the ancient holistic arts became watered down versions, mere shadows of what had been.  Hence the ancient holistic arts became arts of grappling, arts of striking, arts that utilise weapons etc.

Among the myriad of styles extant today, is our own Shinseido Shorin Ryu, a typically eclectic system that does what all systems have done before - explored, evolved, and changed with the needs of the moment and the needs of the individual practitioners.  Today, with communication around the world possible at the click of a mouse button, it is easy to see and learn about other 'martial' systems.  So there is a partial return to old holistic ways.  More than ever, martial arts are blending, are borrowing ideas one from another.  This is particularly so within a system such as Shinseido in which a powerful precept is that every technique must be as mechanically efficient as is possible and must must provide the maximum chance of success.  This means that there is a continual appraisement of every aspect of the Shinseido system in practical terms, and where alternative techniques or methods from other systems are shown to be more effective they will be readily embraced.  This un-blinkered approach has gone to enrich the holistic systems practised by open minded practitioners of the arts, and contrary to the opinion of many purist classical exponents, this approach has always existed within martial arts since the beginning of time.  Perpetuating a system locked in concrete without imparting one's own sense of being upon it is to cherish an old and dead art, like a dusty bookworm infested and fragmented tome upon a shelf.  A martial art must live, must evolve and accommodate the needs of its practitioners in the here and now, for the art is primarily a vehicle for focussing upon personal development and awareness. 

I hope that all Shinseido students, practitioners and teachers learn to understand the essence of our art and realise its very spiritual nature, rooted soundly as it is, in psychological and metaphysical realms.  It is necessary for the Shinseido-ka (Shinseido person) to understand how what appears to be no more than a physical pastime,  is in fact a means of confronting the very nature of humankind and all of existence.

Shinsei