Martial arts can be a touchy subject for some Christians. It is said that they are an open door to the occult, or that they are just too violent, among other scattered criticisms, all of which conclude with "therefore, Christians cannot practice martial arts". Is this the case? Is it ever acceptable for a Christian to practice martial arts?
The morality of martial arts is an open-ended question. A good rule of thumb in Christianity is to remain silent where the Bible is silent. Servants of God are not supposed to quarrel (2 Timothy 2:24), and must meet each other where we're at when it comes to "doubtful issues" (Romans 14:1). No one is allowed to judge the Christian who practices martial arts, neither is a martial artist allowed to judge the one who does not practice them.
As you can probably discern from the above, I fall very heavily on the "yes" side of martial arts. In fact, I have no issue admitting that the fighter depicted in the header image is, in fact, me. I practice Krav Maga, a combat style developed shortly before World War 2 by a Jewish man named Imi Litchenfeld, who sought to enable his people to defend themselves from anti-Semitic violence. It is still practised by the Israeli Defence Force today, and has been modified for civilian use as a self-defence strategy.
This is not typically what springs to mind when we hear "martial arts". Usually, we think of what we've seen in movies and popular media. Karate and Kung Fu are perhaps the most famous martial arts, and Christians who are opposed to martial arts usually bring up those styles. Unfortunately, it is true that martial arts are sometimes contaminated with spiritual elements. However, as with all things, it is entirely possible to separate the physical from the spiritual.
Let me give you an analogy. Another thing the Occult use is books. In fact, in Acts 19:19, we read about an event in which ex-Occult converts to Christianity burned huge amounts of books. According to the AMPC, the price of these books (50,000 pieces of silver) is equivalent to about $9,300 in today's money. Now, does the fact that the occult use books mean we should immediately burn $9,300 worth of Bibles? Such a conclusion is clearly absurd! So also does it make no sense to throw the martial arts baby out with the spiritual bathwater.
As I said, I practice Krav Maga. Krav Maga has next to no spiritual implications at all, especially in the context in which I practice it. When I train, I don't do so for spiritual reasons, but to learn how to defend myself in the event that I get into another violent situation. And I say another because, through no fault of my own, I have been in violent situations. I'm not interested in contacting the dead, I'm interested in postponing the day I join them.
There is Biblical precedent for this. We know that the Apostles carried swords (Luke 22:38), and that Jesus actually endorsed them doing so (Luke 22:35-38). Violence was as common then as it is now, and it's very difficult to preach the Gospel when you have a sharp piece of cold steel lodged in your lung. Furthermore, in the law, there seems to be further precedent. In Exodus 22:2–3, we see a contrast between killing a thief breaking in at night and during the day. Someone who killed a thief breaking in at night would be completely free of guilt. Someone who killed a thief during the day, not so much.
The common elements here are theft and trespassing. Yet, obviously these are not good reason to kill someone. If theft or trespassing were the issue, the sun rising wouldn't be a problem, you could still kill the thief. The thing that changed the same action from justified killing to flat out murder, according to the verse itself, is the sun. If someone breaks in at night, you can kill them. If someone breaks in during the day, you must instead restrain them and have them pay back what they stole.
There are two things to note here. First, you cannot restrain a thief just by being the homeowner. Martial arts minimise the advantage a big strong man has over a small weak one, or maybe even a woman. If you know what you're doing, size only gives your attacker a slight advantage. The right technique will allow you to restrain a guy twice your size, quite literally.
But more importantly, note that the thing that changes the same action from justified to criminal is the time. Israel, not surprisingly, did not operate on a Purge system. The absence of the sun did not allow a Jew to go on a killing spree. Rather, the reason for the difference is the darkness. If someone breaks into your house at night, you are vulnerable. You are likely tired, probably not in ideal clothing, and of course it's dark. You don't know what the person in your house is doing. They could be stealing your valuables, but they could also be armed and dangerous. During the day, it's far easier to distinguish between a petty thief and a cold-blooded killer.
And so we see that there are implications about self defence in the Bible. You have the absolute right to protect your life and the lives of your loved ones. Furthermore, there is the concept of a military. The Bible does not forbid Christians from joining the armed forces of their country. In fact, all throughout the Scriptures, from the day Abraham raised an army to rescue Lot (Genesis 14:1-17) right the way up to Romans 13, where we are told the government "bears the sword" in order to be a terror to evil doers, the military seems to be a very noble, Godly thing.
Furthermore, when John the Baptist preached, he was asked by soldiers what they should do. This would have been the perfect opportunity for John to say "quit the military". Instead, his answer was "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." (John 3:14). Rather than telling the soldiers to quit the military, he taught them how to behave ethically while remaining within it. The military, especially back then, when guns were not available, have always used martial arts. During a war, the soldier who doesn't know how to fight is the first to die. Are these people opening the door to the occult when they train martial arts? No, they're just training to do their job better. Their job, by the way, is protecting you. It is sometimes said "those who are opposed to violence are protected by those who are not". And it's true. I don't phone a florist when I'm the victim of a crime, and I don't expect a group of gardeners to stop Facist dictators invading my country. The police and military are essential parts of the security of a nation, and especially a free nation, and so it cannot be immoral for them to practice the martial arts they need to do their job effectively.
But let's go back to the spiritual aspect of martial arts. After all, it's undeniable that, just as books have some link to the occult, so do some martial arts. Is it permissible to practice martial arts that are especially marred by the occult, or some other religion? Can a Christian practice Kung Fu, or Karate, or Aikido?
As it is entirely possible to separate the spiritual from the physical, the answer is an emphatic "yes". Obviously, elements of certain practices that are spiritual in nature are sinful. However, especially in the Western World, these things are almost always absent. In fact, even in China, which is famous for its martial arts, martial arts instructors are not universally agreed when it comes to religion.
In one of his videos, a Shaolin disciple by the name of Ranton examines a BBC documentary and exposes just how fast and loose the documentary plays with the facts (because it's the BBC, you can't expect much accuracy). In it, he describes how not even all monks take Buddhism seriously, and the Kung Fu masters do not share common spiritual beliefs. If they don't agree on what they believe, why would we believe the art they teach is necessarily linked to those beliefs?
Kung Fu is certainly not one of my strong suits. The Kung Fu Panda movies are probably able to give you a more realistic version of Kung Fu than I could. Aikido, however, is a different kettle of fish. I do not practice it myself (although there are common elements between Aikido and Krav Maga), but I am familiar with the philosophy behind it. It was developed by a man named Morihei Ueshiba in the early 20th century. He intended it as a unifying thing, designed to bring about world peace. Aikido is an inherently peaceful martial art, as it is designed to not only protect the practitioner, but also enable the practitioner to protect their own attacker from injury.
Of course, this concept comes from Ueshiba's personal religion, but do you see the significance of this? As Christians, we are actually commanded to live at peace with all men, if possible, and so far as it depends on us (Romans 12:18). With this in mind, Aikido actually has a useful foundation. If someone is intent on harming you, it is no longer possible to live peacefully with them, and that is not on you. You take no blame for violence done against you, even if you respond violently in an attempt to end the situation. But with Aikido, you're actually going above and beyond this command. You are not only living peacefully so far as it depends on you, but living peacefully in spite of the fact that it does not. Realistically, Aikido should have been developed by Christians long before it was developed by a Shinto. Does the fact that they beat us to it mean we shouldn't practice it? I guarantee you, if we use that logic, you would have to throw out half of the objects in your house, as they were invented, or at the very least manufactured by non-Christians.
The question of whether or not Christians can practice martial arts ultimately rests on two questions: What are you doing, and why are you doing it? If you're bending your body into specific positions with the intent of asking the spirits to aid you in battle, you've got a problem. But if you're just trying to protect yourself and your loved ones using effective techniques to end a fight as soon as possible, God's certainly not going to judge you harshly for it. The Bible's final word on this topic is that "to the pure, all things are pure" (Titus 1:15), and that if you lack wisdom, you should ask God, because He's quite happy to give it to you (James 1:5).