The word "Wude" was first seen in "Zuo Zhuan." In the twelfth year of Xuangong's reign, King Zhuang of Chu said: "Martial arts have seven virtues" - "forbidding violence, fighting troops, protecting the country, establishing merit, calming the people, harmonious people, and making wealth". The "武" here refers to the military. Since military and martial arts have the same origin and developed cross-wisely, martial arts later adopted "martial ethics" as its own.
Our people have always been respectful and respectful. The ancients said: "Greater, there is the establishment of virtue, followed by meritorious service, and then there is the establishment of words. Even if it remains for a long time, this is called immortality." , speech, political affairs, literature, also headed by "virtue". Therefore, martial arts has always regarded the existence of excellent moral character as the main goal to pursue, allowing it to guide martial arts to move forward on the right track: always giving top priority to excellent moral character, making it the soul of martial arts; As the most important criterion for evaluating martial arts figures, it encourages martial arts practitioners: always use excellent moral character as a powerful weapon to lash out against bad habits and scum in the martial arts world.
Martial arts people know very well that martial arts is controlled by people's thoughts. Whether it is performed in the right place depends entirely on thoughts. As the saying goes, "If the heart is upright, the fist will be straight; if the heart is crooked, the fist will be deflected" (boxing proverb). Adhering to this theory, they advocated selecting people to teach, and only teaching people with decent character and not teaching people with evil character, just like the "Boxing Sutra". It is said in "The Preparation of Boxing Techniques": "The virtuous secrets are taught to save people in danger, and evil will not spread to harm all living beings." Some of the Shaolin Temple's chants also repeatedly emphasize: "Loyalty and kindness pass on the mantle" and "Shaolin's true martial arts skills should not be passed on to evil people. They insist on learning. Before practicing martial arts, you must learn and cultivate noble moral character: “To practice martial arts, you must first practice morality, and to teach people, you must first teach your heart. "Learn etiquette before you learn skills; learn virtue before you learn boxing." " (Boxing Proverb)
They advocate that in the process of learning and practicing martial arts, we should always put the cultivation of noble moral character first, and cultivate both morality and skill. Just as the boxing proverb says: "To practice martial arts, you must cultivate morality. Practice according to the rules. "Otherwise, "If you practice martial arts without cultivating morality, you will definitely become possessed by demons" (boxing proverb), which is contrary to the purpose of martial arts.
In order to cultivate noble moral character, each sect has formulated a number of rules and requirements. Disciples strictly abide by it. For example, Shaolin has "Ten Taboos" in practicing martial arts: "The first taboo is laziness, the second taboo is to be boastful, the third taboo is to be impatient, the fourth taboo is to be too much, the fifth taboo is to be drunk and lustful, the sixth taboo is to be arrogant, the seventh taboo is to be a litigant, and the eight taboo is to be false. , the ninth taboo is to underestimate the teacher, the tenth taboo is to bully the junior.
Every sect believes that: "Kung fu is limited, but benevolence is invincible." (Boxing Proverb) Therefore, for those who have practiced certain martial arts, when encountering conflicts, they are required to give full play to themselves first. Use the role of moral character to solve the problem; if that doesn't work, use martial arts to subdue the opponent, instead of relying solely on force to preemptively strike. As the saying goes, "Advocate virtue rather than force, focus on defense rather than attack" (boxing proverb).
The martial arts will not tolerate those who use their skills to bully others or even do evil. They will be scolded at the least, expelled from the school at worst, and severely punished at the worst. Shaolin solemnly declared: "Those who have skills but no virtue are not disciples of Shaolin!" and earnestly warned the monks: "After you have achieved success, do not use it lightly, use your skills to bully others and forget your virtues."
These are sufficient. It shows that martial arts people never view martial arts from the perspective of pure martial arts, but always closely link martial arts with moral character. They believe that "without virtue, there is no boxing" (boxing proverb), and insist that "literary is used to judge the heart, and martial arts is used to judge virtue" (boxing proverb).
So, what does martial ethics include? The main ones are:
1. Loyalty to the country and the nation
Loyalty to the country and the nation is one of the fine traditions of the Chinese nation. People with lofty ideals in the past dynasties have regarded "every inch of mountains and rivers as gold" and "willing to worry about the country." This excellent tradition has been clearly reflected in the martial arts people. For example, there is a song in the Shaolin Temple that goes: "Punish the evil and loyal to the country, and it will forever contribute to the national merits." "Hongmen" announced to its members: "My sect's practice of this technique (referring to Hongjiaquan) has patriotic thoughts in it. If you are sincere and your muscles and bones are weak, you will not be able to serve the country: the East China Sea can be moved, but this ambition cannot be changed; temper your muscles and bones, and wait for it." Many martial arts people are like this, like Xiang Yu who fought against Qin and restored Chu, Li Guang who fought against the Huns, and Yue Fei who fought against the Jin soldiers. , Qi Jiguang who fought against the Japanese pirates, Guan Tianpei who fought against the British invaders, and the Boxers who "destroyed the foreign countries" were all born in the martial arts world and were outstanding heroes who were patriotic and patriotic in the martial arts world.
2. Benefiting the people with justice
Another fine tradition of the Chinese nation is helping the people with justice.
Chen Ziang pointed out: "The sage is not interested in himself, but worries about the Yuanyuan (people)." Fan Zhongyan famously said: "Be worried about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness." Also, Confucius emphasized : "A gentleman is more valuable than righteousness." Mozi believed: "Nothing is more valuable than righteousness." These famous sayings are exactly what it shows. Wulin also has similar words, such as "Shaolin Songs" "Always relieve the hardships of the people, save all sentient beings and help those in need", "punish the bullies and gangsters, rescue the people and help the good." People in the Tang Dynasty said, "Justice cannot be established without chivalry, chivalry cannot stand." "Nothing can be done without justice." There are many people in the martial arts who practice this. Zhong Xiang, a farmer in Wuling in the Song Dynasty, announced: "The law divides the rich and the poor, and it is not a good law. I practice the law and treat the rich and the poor equally." For this reason, he led the peasant uprising, and the country was named "Chu". Li Baicheng, who was born as a "border soldier", also launched an uprising and overthrew the Ming Dynasty with the slogan of "equalizing land and free grain" for the people. As for those who "draw their swords to help when the road is rough", there are many.
3. Brave sacrifice
If our people have always had a brave spirit and a spirit of sacrifice, then the military generals are even more so. "Sacrifice one's life in a national disaster, and treat one's death like a sudden return"; "Wrap one's body in horse leather and perform heroic deeds, even if one dies, one will eventually sweat the fragrance of bamboo." These are their creeds. Martial arts, like military affairs, is a career for the brave and requires a spirit of sacrifice. Therefore, martial arts people also advocate bravery and sacrifice. The boxing proverb goes like this: "One is courage, two is strength, and three is kung fu." "One is to practice courage, the other is to practice eyes, the third is to practice strength, and the fourth is to practice dodge." Put "guts" (bravery) first. They are neither afraid of vicious invaders nor cruel rulers; they are not afraid of bullies or ruffians, nor are they afraid of bandits and robbers. When they encounter those who oppress the people, they will be like Nie Zheng, the swordsman of the Warring States Period. Tired, there was chaos on both sides. Nie Zheng shouted that dozens of people he killed had their skin cut out, their intestines cut out, and they died. "When fighting with the enemy, they will be like Wang Bo and others." Rushing forward: Chishiro in front of Changbai Mountain, wearing a pure red brocade back and crotch. It is slightly longer than half of the sky, and the wheel knife shines with golden light. They go up the mountain to eat deer and go down the mountain to eat cattle and sheep. Suddenly, when I heard the officers and soldiers were arriving, I raised my sword and swung forward. For example, if Liaodong dies, beheading will not hurt him!
4. Integrity and humility
There is a saying in "The Doctrine of the Mean": "A person who is sincere is...a sage." Confucius advocated "Be true to your word". The ancient proverb goes: "Modility benefits, and satisfaction Incurring damage." This shows that our people attach great importance to integrity and humility. Martial arts people are also very particular about these things. Sima Qian once strongly affirmed the ranger: "His words must be true" and "his promises must be true". "Virtue" and "There are many virtues!" For martial arts people, "you should follow a good teacher, and you should also visit a good friend." Follow each other and become a common trend. The boxing proverb also warns people: "There is a sky beyond the sky, and if it is full, it will cause damage." The boxing proverb even says, "One move will make you a teacher." The boxing proverb also advocates making people: "Let people handle it without losing anything." "Chang's Book of Martial Arts" also says: "Anyone who is respectful and humble and does not fight with others can be a gentleman." The Shaolin School advocates: "I would rather be beaten by others. , never hit someone first. ""Stunt skills are only used on thugs, don't use them if you are kind."
5. Diligence and hard work
Anyone who visits Shaolin Temple, When I saw how many inches deep the place where the monks stood in the training hall (Thousand Buddha Hall) was, I was moved by their diligence and arduous practice spirit, and they all admired it heartily. Indeed, the reason why Shaolin martial arts is outstanding and famous all over the world is entirely due to the diligent and arduous practice of generations of monks. Their chants also show this: "The seventy-two arts must be practiced hard, and there is no leisure in spring, summer, autumn and winter; practice hundreds of times a day, and you will become a hero with persistence." The situation is the same for other sects, so the boxing proverb says: " If you want to be good at martial arts, you should practice it from childhood to old age. "Practice in the summer and practice in the winter." This is also the embodiment of the traditional virtues of our people. "People's livelihood depends on hard work, but hard work will lead to failure", "Hard work and exhaustion, beautiful women will succeed." Such words embody the virtues of our people.
The above five points are the basic connotation of martial ethics. Of course, martial ethics is also manifested in other aspects, so I won’t go into details here.
Studying martial ethics is of great practical significance today. On the one hand, it can help teach people who learn martial arts, and on the other hand, it can also be used as a reference for others.