I have regularly received inquiries about learning the martial arts for “combat.” The inquiries look similar to this:

“Can you suggest learning Baguazhang as a martial art for combat?”

“I would love to learn more about the combat applications of Baguazhang or Xingyiquan training?”

Really? Combat? Consider the definition of combat. Fighting between armed forces. The origin of the word is from the mid 16th century French combattre and means a fight between two persons. The dictionary I used gave an example of the usage: he was killed in combat. Words like combat include fighting, hostilities, conflict, and war.

To paraphrase Dong Haichuan, when asked about lightness skill… Why? Do you want to hurt someone? Why do you need to know this skill? Are you looking for a fight? I think those fair questions. No respectable martial art teacher will teach a student looking for combat; Period. The martial arts–as we know them today–have their origin in Buddhism. Martial morality was originally the Buddhist Eightfold Path. If you are not familiar with those eight precepts, I present them here:

• Right Understanding means to understand sufferings origins and how to eliminate it.
• Right Thought means to direct the mind towards benevolence and kindness and to be free from attachments, ill will, views, and opinions.
• Right Speech means to abstain from lying, gossiping, and speaking unnecessarily or harshly.
• Right Action means to abstain from killing, stealing, and immorality.
• Right Livelihood means to maintain ones livelihood without harming living beings.
• Right Effort means to make the effort to remain aware and unattached in all circumstances.
• Right Mindfulness means to be aware of all that one does in thought, speech, and action.
• Right Concentration means to be free from all mental disturbances such as worry, anxiety, or envy. To be at one with life.

Right means skillful application of the above. You can get it wrong. These were so important that when the Buddha first taught, his very first sermon, he taught these eight precepts before he shared the Four Nobel Truths. In Baguazhang, there is a saying that goes something like “step carefully so not to harm an ant.” Does that sound like combat? Is there anything in the Eightfold Path that implies combat? Just to be certain, Right Action does mean stopping someone from doing evil. If someone is shooting a room full people and you are capable of stopping that person, then you should. Equally, if you can prevent someone from stealing by giving them a few dollars, then you should. Some have taken Right Action to mean self defense. The above Baguazhang saying does continue to include a verse about raising your hands only after you have been threatened. It means that if you are approached by someone that means to do you harm, then Right Action may be to attack first.

Remember that Cheng Tinghua was one of the three greatest Baguazhang masters, and he was shot dead. During the Boxer Rebellion many Chinese boxers ran screaming into the guns of the Austrian and Japanese occupying forces only to be shot dead. You see, these guys actually believed that they developed their Qi to repel bullets. They are all dead; Every one of them. These were the best masters of their arts. They trained for 6 or 10 hours a day, and they died defending themselves. You will do better?

Being physically fit will help you to defend yourself from any number of harms, but if you think you will physically defend yourself from a determined criminal by spending an hour or two a day training Baguazhang, then you will end up dead as well.

A personal note,I worked for 10 years at QuikTrip and was never robbed; Not once. I never had a gun pulled on me–once a knife–and was never physically assaulted. For most of those years, I knew nothing of the Buddhist Eightfold Path. But, I strictly followed the policies of QuikTrip in handling my money and dealing with suspicious characters. Only later did I realize how those rules kept me safe, and how much wisdom they shared with the greatest self-help master of them all.

If you want to learn martial arts to defend yourself–or for combat–I have some questions that you need to answer; Not to me, but to yourself. Why are you afraid? Is it where you live? Is it how you live? Can you change either of those situations? If you cannot change those situations what actions can you take that would reduce your fear without engaging in combat? What about your situation has put you into a position that you are so fearful? Usually, you are not in any of those situations. You are not afraid, and you do not live where you need to fight to be safe. That leaves only one other reason that you want to learn the combat application of a martial art and that is that you want to fight. You have an ego driven need to beat someone up. Even if that someone is imaginary.

Well, dude, not here. With the explosion of (so called) Mixed Martial Arts there is a multitude of web sites and masters that will supply the information you are looking for. You can go there, but keep in mind that there is another place. Where personal growth is the answer, and when you begin to look for something with more truth than marketing The Walking Circle community is here for you.