Christanity and the Martial Arts
A common question I get is "How can martial arts and Christianity be mixed?" My answer is simple: they aren't mixed. Martial arts (or football, or boxing, or sewing) are just things you do while being a Christian and leading a Jesus-based life. One's walk with Christ is the backbone of his or her life and the other things in life are just things you have to do in a day.
God introduced me to the martial arts (at about the same time I was saved) to keep me "out of trouble," as a lot of my friends began to make bad decisions in their lives. There is no doubt in my mind that Christ led me to start training. This kept my body and mind somewhat focused, or at least focused enough to avoid any massively bad decisions. I lead a blessed life and have amazing twin boys, a job I enjoy, and am a member of a church I love. Things are good for me.
In 1996, I received my shodan black belt, my nidan (2nd degree black belt) in 2001, my sandan (3rd degree) in 2007, and my yondan (4th degree black belt) in July of 2010.
In 2001, I received my lifetime membership and instructor certification from Karate For Christ International. Our school is also a certified dojo for that group. Visit http://www.karateforchrist.com/ for more info.
Our school has adopted the Karate For Christ Int. statement of faith as follows:
We believe in the Trinity of God (1 John 5:6-8), the Virgin Birth (Matthew 1:1-25), the inspired and preserved Word of God (Ps. 12:6-7), and It rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15) that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh (John 14:7-10), and that He died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day, as according to Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). We are saved by grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our calling is to equip the Christian Martial Artisit to reach out to the lost. We refer theological and counseling issues back to the local church pastors, since our calling is to come alongside them, to win the lost, and to encourage believers to get into fellowship with a local church.
God introduced me to the martial arts (at about the same time I was saved) to keep me "out of trouble," as a lot of my friends began to make bad decisions in their lives. There is no doubt in my mind that Christ led me to start training. This kept my body and mind somewhat focused, or at least focused enough to avoid any massively bad decisions. I lead a blessed life and have amazing twin boys, a job I enjoy, and am a member of a church I love. Things are good for me.
In 1996, I received my shodan black belt, my nidan (2nd degree black belt) in 2001, my sandan (3rd degree) in 2007, and my yondan (4th degree black belt) in July of 2010.
In 2001, I received my lifetime membership and instructor certification from Karate For Christ International. Our school is also a certified dojo for that group. Visit http://www.karateforchrist.com/ for more info.
Our school has adopted the Karate For Christ Int. statement of faith as follows:
We believe in the Trinity of God (1 John 5:6-8), the Virgin Birth (Matthew 1:1-25), the inspired and preserved Word of God (Ps. 12:6-7), and It rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15) that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh (John 14:7-10), and that He died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day, as according to Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). We are saved by grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our calling is to equip the Christian Martial Artisit to reach out to the lost. We refer theological and counseling issues back to the local church pastors, since our calling is to come alongside them, to win the lost, and to encourage believers to get into fellowship with a local church.
The Bible is God's flawless word and has some wonderful sections that I use while teaching.
A few are:
* Prov. 25:28 - A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls (my favorite to teach on).
*Psalm 144:1 - Blessed be the Lord my rock, who traineth my hands for war and my fingers for battle.
*Prov 16:32 - Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.
*James 1; 19 & 20 - Be quick to listen and slow to anger
* 1 Corinthians 9:26 - So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.
Of course, these are verses where I can show a given lesson and these come after the main verses that talk about Christ being the true savior of mankind.
Regarding other concerns that people have with martial arts customs, one needs to throw pretty much everything seen from Hollywood out the door. Bowing is not synonymous with worship. Bowing to someone in Asian culture is nearly identical to a handshake. Years back, someone showed me a wonderful example of Japanese newscasters at the start of the evening news show. The two hosts bowed to the viewers at home. There are a few more traditional bows that involve getting on one's knees to bow; we don't do those in my school, not because they are worship, but because we in our western culture feel uncomfortable doing so. For us it feels too much like groveling for us to comprehend that it is a respect-based motion.
There are a few things I have gotten rid of though. I do not bow to the center of the room when walking into a dojo that I am head instructor of. I only bow to people I can see, not to a person who died years ago (other than Christ), or to the "spirit of the martial arts." The other thing I have gotten rid of is calling someone "master." I do recognize that some people are masters of a given martial art, and that is fine with that connotation and I will use it as long as the application of the word is understood by all, but no student will ever call me "master," even if I ever do get to that level. "Sensei" translates literally to "one who has gone before" but we use it as "teacher" or "guide" and I am fine with that.
I have found many organizations, groups, study guides, and other resources that relate to Christian martial arts and have them available for anyone to see. Some of those are listed here on this website. If anyone wants to ask me about any of the above information or just talk, come to our school at Heights Church.
I would love to share my faith with you.
Johnny Hughes Sensei
A few are:
* Prov. 25:28 - A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls (my favorite to teach on).
*Psalm 144:1 - Blessed be the Lord my rock, who traineth my hands for war and my fingers for battle.
*Prov 16:32 - Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.
*James 1; 19 & 20 - Be quick to listen and slow to anger
* 1 Corinthians 9:26 - So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.
Of course, these are verses where I can show a given lesson and these come after the main verses that talk about Christ being the true savior of mankind.
Regarding other concerns that people have with martial arts customs, one needs to throw pretty much everything seen from Hollywood out the door. Bowing is not synonymous with worship. Bowing to someone in Asian culture is nearly identical to a handshake. Years back, someone showed me a wonderful example of Japanese newscasters at the start of the evening news show. The two hosts bowed to the viewers at home. There are a few more traditional bows that involve getting on one's knees to bow; we don't do those in my school, not because they are worship, but because we in our western culture feel uncomfortable doing so. For us it feels too much like groveling for us to comprehend that it is a respect-based motion.
There are a few things I have gotten rid of though. I do not bow to the center of the room when walking into a dojo that I am head instructor of. I only bow to people I can see, not to a person who died years ago (other than Christ), or to the "spirit of the martial arts." The other thing I have gotten rid of is calling someone "master." I do recognize that some people are masters of a given martial art, and that is fine with that connotation and I will use it as long as the application of the word is understood by all, but no student will ever call me "master," even if I ever do get to that level. "Sensei" translates literally to "one who has gone before" but we use it as "teacher" or "guide" and I am fine with that.
I have found many organizations, groups, study guides, and other resources that relate to Christian martial arts and have them available for anyone to see. Some of those are listed here on this website. If anyone wants to ask me about any of the above information or just talk, come to our school at Heights Church.
I would love to share my faith with you.
Johnny Hughes Sensei