Butoku (Martial Virtue)

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Currently, martial virtue is defined as, “To train with only the thought of being able to finish and not with the thought of progressing.”

A concept of an old master of Okinawan karate, “Your fingers and the tips of your toes must be like arrows, your arms must be like iron. You have to think that if you kick, you try to kick the enemy dead. If you punch, you must thrust to kill. If you strike, then you strike to kill the enemy [Ikken Hissatsu].”

It has also been stated, “Martial Virtues explores the place of the martial arts in the development of moral character. ... “

As well as, “Martial Virtues scrutinizes such qualities as courage, wisdom, justice and benevolence in turn, employing the lessons of modern psychology to understand how these virtues can be cultivated within ourselves and others.”

The dictionary says, in general: 

• Virtue: behavior showing high moral standards.
• Martial: of or appropriate to war; warlike.

Kind of an oxymoron phrase, martial virtue, I.e., the idea of developing high moral values in applying warlike behaviors.

“Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation's intangible cultural heritage.” - unknown

“Although the term martial art has become associated with the fighting arts of East Asia, it originally referred to the combat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s. The term is derived from Latin and means ‘arts of Mars’, the Roman god of war.” - Unknown

Can one assume that the tenets of bushido provide the fundamental principles of martial virtue? [Rectitude 義, Courage 勇, Benevolence 仁, Respect 礼(禮), Honour 名誉, Honesty 誠, and Loyalty 忠実.]

Bushidō (武士道, "the way of the warrior") is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle.

Bushi Katagi (武士気質, literally 'warrior temperament'). The consistent ideal is martial spirit, including athletic, military skills and valor: fearlessness toward the enemy in battle.

• Rectitude: morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness.
• Courage: the ability to do something that frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief.
• Benevolence: well meaning and kindly.
• Respect: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements; due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.
• Honor: high respect; great esteem; adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct.
• Honesty: free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere.
• Loyalty: giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.

Note: I utilized a check mark in lieu of numbers because numbering tends to suggest and influence the way a person perceives, interprets and follows when presented so check marks. 

Modern Martial Virtues

What makes a martial artist virtuous and why does it even matter? Yes, as all martial artists already know, it isn’t just about those virtues found in the bushido tenets but something else altogether.

When should they be taught and how do we, as Sensei, judge the practitioner? What authority do Sensei have that gives them the responsibility and privileges that speak for that community as well as the social structure in which each person lives?

These questions, and more, are what I will try to convey to the reader stressing their importance before a person chooses to follow the path, the martial way.

I plan on using this bushido tenets we are familiar with but present them in a way more appropriate to modern times.

These are presented in a form that one can chunk into learnable and memorable terms to better encode them into our minds or memories. Repeating them over time solidifies them into a form that remains, mostly, intact.

• Rectitude: morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness.
• utterly dependent on culture, beliefs and the social fabric in which an individual lives, works and plays. 
• Influenced a great deal from the social fabric of family, friends and acquaintances while also influenced by ’others’ as to how they perceive those cultures, beliefs and clan or tribal survival rules, etc.
• The overall character and personality of the person as well as how they are influenced by dojo-members, especially sensei and senpai, all contribute to how one applies their skills whether it be sport, defense (actual and legal) and philosophical. 
• It is the product of such things that build the foundation on which one acts morally be it in thinking, be it in their behavior. 
• Righteousness is that double edged sword one must be wary and aware of simply as it pertains to themselves and their perceptions of others righteousness - all of which may or may not be the same. 
• Courage: the ability to do something that frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief.
• Life itself be it involving violence or some lessor form that falls to the survival instincts of flight-or-fight. 
• Fear is that state of mind one must control rather than ignoring or trying to suppress because fear is natural and necessary for our very survival. To control one’s fear is to use that fear as an enhancement rather than an obstacle or hindrance to action of mind, body and spirit. 
• Pain and its resulting emotional state of mind are also tools of progress and movement rather than stagnation into a state of motionless stagnation. 
• Benevolence: well meaning and kindly.
• Benevolence depends on oneself and their perceptions of others in the whole that is the scheme of things be they normal or abnormal. 
• Be wary of how you perceive others for our natural tendency to bias that perception against our own way is dangerous, a double edged sword that, as you already know, cuts both ways. 
• Respect: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements; due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.
• It is critical to remember that respect is about that others abilities, qualities, and/or achievements, etc., as they understand it in their way, culture and beliefs for often, there are differences and we must respect and accept those differences even when they go directly against our way, cultures and beliefs. 
• Honor: high respect; great esteem; adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct.
• Ask yourself, what is right and by the standards of whom? 
• You can honor and have respect for others even in the face of dissonance or divergence of your standards and expectations. 
• Make if about how that others honor, esteem and standards of conduct that best connect with yours even if by a tenuous thread and use that to make sure you ‘get along.’ 
• Honesty: free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere.
• Once again, it depends on the individual, clan or tribe and their respect, honor, expectations and standards because conflict and resulting violence often arise of of the differences and a lack of acceptance and willingness to connect and ‘get along.’ 
• Loyalty: giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.
• Loyalty is a win-win relationship that must not be blind or susceptible to human blinders due to biases and dissonances that come from belief, understanding and acceptance without exposure to violence or grave harm. 
• One must NOT allow loyalty to circumvent or diverge from core beliefs and cultural/social necessities that mean survival of self, family and clan. 
• Loyalty to ONESELF is always first and foremost to the individual and that is why finding and connection to other like minded others makes for a strong tribal social connectedness that is strong, resilient and progressive so one’s tribe, family and self survive in the best of times and in the absolute worst of times. 

All this, and more, are what make for not just a virtuous person but a virtuous martial lifestyle especially as it involves the use of mind and skills through proper spirit to achieve goals that result in survival by avoidance first and violence as a last resort. 

For reference and sources and professionals go here: Bibliography (Click the link)