Gratuitous Violence in Modern Times: How It Applies in the Dojo

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I don't think people are asking this question, "Why do people have such a fascination with violence, violence in television, movies, videos and video games?" This question becomes even more important when people realize that society, in general, are pushing so hard to condition humans to believe that violence, any violence at all, is very, very, very bad and we should stop it. Yet, we promote types of violence in the very sports we love like football and, in these modern times, the cage fighting along with other aspects such as MMA and so on. 

I also asked myself, "If violence is so bad why is it encoded in our very gene's, our DNA if you will, and why do we use it to get things done or to get what we want in every single facet of our daily lives?" 

Think about our emotions, "We have happiness and then we have anger. Anger often leads to some form of aggression and violence. It may not be at a level that ends up applying physical violence such as slapping a face or punching out a brother or yelling loudly due to frustration due to a lack of social coping skills. 

Aggression and violence of all kinds and all levels is as much a part of being human as peaceful actions and loving others is. After all, nothing in nature is so one sided, we have to have the good and bad to exist because that is the natural state of nature, the Universe itself. You can't have light without darkness but you can learn to control both the light and the dark. It comes down to balance, think yin-yang. 

If aggression and violence were unnecessary then why wouldn't nature have evolved us to that point where it would simply not exist in our minds, our genes or our DNA? This question if answers as I suspect then would mean that humans would not exist because the balance of life would be one sided. Can you imagine an animal kingdom being without aggression and violence? 

Take the definitions of aggression, violence and especially fighting as example (online Oxford Dictionary):

AGGRESSION:

• forceful and sometimes overly assertive pursuit of one's aims and interests.
• hostile or violent behavior or attitudes toward another; readiness to attack or confront.
• the action or an act of attacking without provocation.
• Feelings of anger or antipathy resulting in hostile or violent behavior; readiness to attack or confront.
• The action of attacking without provocation.
• Forcefulness.

VIOLENCE:

• strength of emotion or an unpleasant or destructive natural force.
• he unlawful exercise of physical force or intimidation by the exhibition of such force.
• behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.
• The unlawful exercise of physical force or intimidation by the exhibition of such force.
• Strength of emotion or of a destructive natural force.

FIGHTING:

• Quarrel or argue.
• Struggle to overcome, eliminate, or prevent.
• Strive to achieve or do something.
• Endeavour vigorously to win (an election or other contest).
• Attempt to repress (a feeling or its expression)
• Move forward with difficulty, especially by pushing through a crowd.
• A violent confrontation or struggle.
• Take part in a boxing match against (an opponent)
• the action of fighting; violence or conflict.
• displaying or engaging in violence, combat, or aggression.
• Take part in a violent struggle involving the exchange of physical blows or the use of weapons.
• Engage in a war or battle.
• Command, manage, or maneuver (troops, a ship, or military equipment) in battle.
• A vigorous struggle or campaign for or against something.
• The inclination or ability to fight or struggle.

People reading the lists will notice that there is a “range” of definitions in all three terms that take us from a simple struggle to achieve something all the way up to fully outfitted military actions of war. Some of these could be averted in execution while others are about the very survival of both individuals and the social groups in which we all find ourselves be if family, neighborhood or country. 

This always puzzles me that when we try to “make a person” act or be or believe something against their very nature that we end up getting a person who experiences a great deal of stress. Stress then triggers some sort of coping mechanism that should alleviate said stress but what I perceive is happening is a lack of coping skills leaving only those natural nature driven flight-or-fight responses often of aggressive anger, aggressive angry posturing and, in many cases, the application of physical violence by hand or weapon that lead to grave harm or death. 

Take fighting for instance, take a look above at that list, there are all sorts of fights we engage in daily in our lives. Some that are aggressive in nature and some simply a matter of exercising influence principles to get people to take actions as if they thought of it and it was what they wanted to do anyway. 

Society has forgotten in the knee-jerk uninformed ignorance of life’s necessities in survival that we are all higher level animals and to survive nature provided us with emotions, positive (love) and negative (hate), that trigger both positive (debate) and negative (fighting), so that we may obtain resources or processes toward our very survival. 

I have heard folks say, survival is this ancient thing we did before we evolved, but that is not true for if it were then we would not be naturally inclined toward violence and aggression. Watch babies and small children ball their fists or cry a lot, all toward getting something they want or need. It is how we start and it is only how parents and others teach us to either believe it as bad or, if lucky, teach us how to harness that feeling and actions in appropriate ways, coping skills. One suppresses a natural inclination causing stress and its health issues both mental and physical while the other accepts and acknowledges our very nature and provides a way to control it properly for the good of the individual and society. 

This is why we value gratuitous violence in gaming systems on computers; why we value our natural inclination toward competitions; why we value the business models toward making money ergo survival of the individual, family, society, businesses, and so on. As long as there are humans with differing beliefs, perceptions, experiences and memories there will be conflict of one level or nature or another. That conflict regardless of level will use emotions, aggressions, and sometimes low-level arguments to achieve goals, objectives or milestones toward some resource or process the person or group wants or needs. 

No wonder we of the martial arts and karate communities, as well as other types of disciplines that engage and embrace aggression and violence, i.e., football, soccer, rugby, basketball, and others. There is literally no aspect of life of humans that does not involve aggression and violence where in the dojo you find it a plenty. 

In karate, my martial discipline specifically, I speak to self-protection. You cannot have a need for self-protection if nature and humans were evolved to a state where that level of aggression and violence exists. It would be wonderful if we never required that level of violence, defense or fighting, to protect and defend. In that light, in the dojo I find three definitions I use to help the student be inspired to research and study this subject.

Defending and Fighting are:

• Defending against violence and aggression is the admission to breaking the law for legally accepted reasons and justification. 
• Fighting is a mutually combative engagement of two persons who are breaking the law for no acceptable legal reason or justification. 
• Anything else is strictly sanctioned by society as a sport governed by strict rules, standards and requirements that if violated could result in criminal prosecution or sanctions by the sporting promotor or system. 

Now, this is just to inspire people to seek out more answers because those simplistic definitions are not adequate to inform, teach and understand the depth and breadth of aggression, violence and protection under the social legal systems, it is just way too complicated and complex requiring in-depth study, training, practice and application. 

It helps people understand their true natures, to accept and embrace them, then to go on and learn how to apply that knowledge and understanding in a mature, logical and emotionally mature way to make life better, safer and secure for self, family and social construct. It is literally the way our species has survived against more aggressive, stronger and predatory types of animals including the humans. 

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