Before I get too far into this topic, I want to offer up a bit of background information. My first martial arts training was in Korean styles - specifically Hapkido and Taekwondo. I started studying Kendo and Tai Chi after the first two. While most of the Asian martial arts also draw their ethical views from Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, I am most familiar with the Korean tradition on ethics in martial arts. That's not to say that these views are religious; these ideas are roughly translated from terms that mean "secular ethics." The reason is because there were many different religions co-existing in these areas and it was important to find a list of ideas that could be agreed upon by everyone independent of their background. That also doesn't mean that Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, or any other martial art lacks in ethical concepts - I just cannot speak on them because it was the Korean tradition that I was exposed to early on and have spent the most time exploring that perspective in particular.
In Korean history, there was a group of young warriors called the Hwarang. They were taught martial arts, archery, horseback riding, and military tactics along with art and music. The goal of creating this group was to have well educated and capable people to be the future leaders in Korean politics, military, and culture. Predating this group was a group of women, called the Wonwha, that was very similar to the Hwarang and only lacked in military training. Still, their code of ethics was carried into the Hwarang and was closely held to Confucius and Buddhist teachings. These five ethical rules were:
1) To show allegiance to the king
2) To treat one's parents with respect and devotion
3) Exhibit trust and sincerity among friends
4) Never to retreat in battle
5) Exercise discretion when taking a life
These five ethical rules later were expanded to 11 and taught to early Korean martial art students. They were expanded mostly to flesh out some of the ideas laid out in the earlier five. This served to make them more applicable to modern cultural situations. Those were:
1) Be loyal to your country
2) Be a good son/daughter to your parents
3) Be faithful to your spouse
4) Respect your siblings
5) Be loyal to your friends
6) Respect those older than you
7) Respect your teachers
8) Never take a life unnecessarily
9) Have a strong spirit
10) Be loyal to your martial arts school
11) Always finish what you begin
When Korean martial arts came to the west, these 11 tenets were shortened to 10 and re-branded the 10 commandments of Taekwondo. The removed tenet was to have a strong spirit. While there is some disagreement as to why this happened, many people believe it was because training would naturally strengthen the spirit and that westerners would be able to better relate to the idea of 10 commandments from their Judeo-Christian backgrounds.
Over the course of my own study and personal reflection on these tenets, I decided that I thought it a good idea to go back to the earlier 11 tenets because I wanted to make the cultivation of an indomitable spirit a thing of which each student was conscious. During my study, I also took issue with some of the interpretations and how each concept in the tenets was expressed. For example, being in a democratic society has different implications than a monarchy - as well as being in an ever shrinking and interconnected world. While I do not think myself a morally superior or inferior person, I had real issue with teaching some of these concepts according to the wording listed above. I could not ignore those feelings in good conscience. Still, I felt that it was very worthwhile to have these things stated so that other people could consider them and apply them in their own lives. Since I have my own martial arts school, I felt it appropriate to interpret them and teach that interpretation to my students. Still, it feels disingenuous not to show the path that these ideas have taken. It is through this series of blog postings that I hope to illustrate my thinking and leave the information in the reader's hands - to teach my own controversy, so to speak.
The 11 tenets that are posting in my school the photo are in the photo below. While the wording is mine, the design and artwork were done by Kayla Armstrong. Here it is as a photo:
In the graphic, there is Korean writing on the top right that basically says "11 tenets of martial arts" in that language. Korean originally read top to bottom - right to left. It worked aesthetically to have the Korean title go that way. At the bottom right is a phrase written in Chinese that translates to "will not bend on principle." It is common in official documents to have things written in Chinese since much of Korean's old writings were in pictographic Chinese writing. Hangul, or modern Korean writing, has been around since the 15th century and is phonetic like English.
My next blog posting will go over the first tenet and the topic of my 3rd degree testing paper: to be loyal to the king/to be loyal to your country/to be devoted to the greater community. For some people, this may be a little bit of a hot button issue. Some have very strong patriotic views while others see dissent as a right and another form of patriotism all its own. I know my attempt to have a more central view on these opinions may land me in hot water with some; I hope not. Still, I maintain that any conversation about what is true, what is best, and what is beautiful is one worth having. I invite everyone to check back and read the next blog entry. I encourage discussion and debate about this openly and only ask that the reader trusts that my goal is to understand and express an ethical view that is objective and harmonious.
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