Are you a Violent Man?

I have been studying the martial art known as Haedong Gumdo for close to three years. Prior to that I had studied Tang Soo Do for over five. I was one belt shy of earning my black belt in Tang Soo Do and I earned my black belt in Gumdo last November. In that time I have been asked many questions about the art. And I truly consider it to be an art in that not only do we learn defensive and offensive uses of the sword but we also use formalized forms to present the various techniques in a standardized format so that we may be judged on our control of the sword and on ourselves. It can take a day to learn but a lifetime to master. Though I am a black belt now, I know that I have much more to learn.

The sword art of Gumdo is relatively new in this country with only a few hundred black belts nationwide and a few thousand students overall. Naturally there is curiousity about how we practice it. With empty handed forms of martial arts such as Tang Soo Do or Tae Kwan Do, you use basic hand and foot techniques. Everyone knows that. But when you add a sword into the mix, people get different ideas. I had been speaking with a girl once when she asked about the art. I told her what it was and what all we learned. In the entire conversation I never once mentioned anything remotely linked to violence; yet the first question from her was whether I was a "violent man."

I've been called many things but I don't think I have ever been considered violent by any stretch of the imagination. I didn't know how to respond but I had known this girl for some time and I was a little surprised that she would ask. I told her that I wasn't but it got me thinking and I brought the topic up with my fellow high-belts in class the next class. We got to talking and realized that the martial arts often get a bum rap. When you see movies starring guys like Bruce Lee or Steven Segal, you automatically link them to violence. But the benefits of truly understanding and embracing the arts is that you find an inner peace. I have found that in the time I have been doing Gumdo, my blood pressure has gone down, my resting heart rate has decreased and my overall attitude has been improving as well. My classmates expressed similar feelings.

It's easy to stereotype martial arts, especially something like Gumdo, as being violent. After all, we do use swords and we do practice using them in potentially deadly techniques. But the way our program is geared, as are most Gumdo schools and martial arts schools in general, is that a new student starts out slowly and progresses to more difficult levels as time progresses. This serves a dual purpose. It grounds a student's foundations and basic techniques but it also weeds out those who are there for the art and those who are there for the aggression.

I've worked with several students in my school whose sole interest was in sparring or cutting paper or flailing about with the sword in an attempt to look cool. There are times when even I wish I could twirl my sword like the masters of Korea and Japan but I know I have a ways to go before then. During this early period is when a lot of students who are on the aggressive path get frustrated and bored and turn away from the art. From a business perspective it's probably a bad thing since that's lost revenue, but in the long run, in terms of relations to the art and it's public image, nothing could be better for it.

Am I a violent man? No... and I use a sword to prove that point!