A few hundred years ago the purpose of the martial arts was clear. Professional warriors needed this skill to survive and be successful in their careers. Others developed fighting skills to defend themselves and their families from crime and assault. In either case, the purpose of the martial arts was to provide safety and security for the family, the village or the country. While these reasons are still valid in the 21st century, the function of providing safety and security is largely taken care of by the governments which provide these services to the citizensi). It is possible to achieve personal and family safety in Australia without the need to master martial arts techniques. Knowledge of the martial arts does not always protect against an assault crime, in fact, when used incorrectly, it can exacerbate the situation.

There is no doubt that the martial arts skills improve self confidence and, generally, makes the practitioner a harder target for an attacker. This may improve personal safety, but the cost of such improvement is years of dedication and hard work. There have to be quicker and equally effective measures that one can take to achieve the same level of personal safetyii).

In the modern military profession the primary focus is on mastering advanced weaponry. It takes much less time and physical ability to learn how to handle a firearm in comparison with the battlefield sword or empty hand fighting techniques. Professionals who work in the security industry, police and military would benefit from mastering various weapons, including empty handed techniques to be able to apply force continuumiii) and to broaden the range of the tools at their disposal.

A martial artist of all times and cultures would be skilled and knowledgeable to deploy the appropriate tool depending on what the situation demands. He or she would have to be able to react instantly to changing conditions and threats, to have the mind uninhibited by thoughts and fears, to maximise effectiveness of learned reflexes. Such a special mind becomes the true weapon. Everything else is just a tooliv).

This concept couldn't be more relevant to the modern recreational purpose of martial arts. Most martial arts disciples in developed countries like Australia study martial arts for the reason of developing such a mind that would help them in every variation of threat in their life: overcoming personal fears, dealing with mental issues, applying the strength of their mind in competitive situations at work and, probably least of all, using it directly in resisting physical assaults.

So how is this special mind developed? Thousands of years of experience created traditions and ways to achieve the martial arts mind. In the ancient times development of the martial arts mind was through mostly oral traditions. In the middle ages they were described in the Knights Code in Europe. Perhaps, the most documented and embraced teachings of the martial arts mind is found in the Bushido Codev) of the samurai class in Japan.

It takes considerable time to forge a warrior mind. Initially it is about observing traditions of the club, respect for the style of the art or weapon learned, and respect for the teacher. It is not initially clear why certain things are done and, sometimes, it takes years to understand the meaning of a particular tradition or routine performed in class. The important part is to stay on the course and take a leap of faith in things that are not understood. For example, the importance of a calm, empty mind is not obvious and it conflicts with the teachings of certain styles, which work the fighters into frenzy in preparation for a match. Whatever the teaching or tradition is, the chances are that the meaning of it will become clear when time has come.

Some disciples of martial arts chose to focus only on mastering a particular tool: a weapon or empty handed fighting techniques. Such purpose is valid, but it is not going to complete their development as a warrior in the modern sense of it. Some strive to develop their warrior mind, but choose to disregard traditions and teachings that they don't understand or don't see as relevant. Such disciples are likely to miss an important point and have a gap in their development.

While various styles of martial arts have different traditions, concepts and philosophies, there are some things in common across them. In particular, the warrior codes of most cultures have one common value of honour in the forms of faith, loyalty and couragevi). The possible purpose of such value was to ensure that the warrior class is not dangerous to the rest of society. Such purpose is still relevant today as the martial artists has moral responsibilities to use their skills for good and not evil. Being loyal to your school, your teacher may not seem directly relevant to the goal of becoming a true martial artist, but by following the code, the tradition and the ethics the meaning of loyalty will become clear.

Loyalty to the school and the teacher is prominent in the martial arts history, legends and, most recently, popular movies. Loyalty is one of the key ingredients in most warrior codes of all times as well as the important ingredient in the way of forging a martial arts mind.

i) Majority of Australians find their country a safe place to live. Approximately 82% of australians felt safe at home alone in 2005 and the trend shows increase of this figure since 2002 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 4509.0 Crime and Safety, Australia, Apr 2005).

ii) E.g. Situational awareness: avoid places and times that are not safe. Developing a sense for bad situations where assault is more likely to occur.

iii) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_force_continuum

iv) http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/ccw/continuum.htm

v) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushido

vi) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrior_code

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