Billy Jack, Bruce Lee, David Carradine’s “Kung Fu,” Chuck Norris, the Karate Kid, Ninja Turtles, and a host of others have made karate very popular in America. The martial arts were already popular in the Far East when Hollywood glamorized the fighting techniques with a string of low budget but successful movies. Although highly fictionalized, they found an eager audience in the western world. We westerners took an immediate shine to the seemingly indestructible karate practitioner as portrayed in the movies. He was independent, quiet spoken, self-confident, fearless, and capable of defeating a veritable army almost singlehandedly. Karate schools, called “Dojos” sprang up in cities across the U.S., and hundreds of thousands of Americans began their quest for the coveted “Black Belt,” worn only by the martial arts Master. From there it wasn’t long before the martial arts began seeping into the Christian church. Sadly, it’s been the habit of the church to adopt the fads of the world, and thus, many ministries were soon teaching judo instead of Jesus and holding courses in every conceivable form of the martial arts.
Recently, several large specialized ministries have appeared, featuring the martial arts and strong man stunts. The average service held by these “Christian karate” teams has them breaking bricks, boards, baseball bats, and huge blocks of ice with their heads, feet, and hands. Phone books and handcuffs are ripped apart, and other things usually associated with Eastern Mysticism and the occult (such as nail beds and walking on hot coals) are employed in a spectacular display of strength and skill. Ministers around the world have invited these karate teams to hold crusades in their churches, knowing that they will draw a capacity crowd that can then be told the good news of Jesus Christ. While I do not doubt the good intentions and sincerity of these men, sincerity is not the issue here. Truth is. And the former is never a substitute for the latter.
While one may argue that Christ can be preached from any platform, we must also bear in mind that the method we employ affects the message we preach. For instance, how can someone preach “turn the other cheek” when he’s teaching self-defense? And how can one preach “love your enemies” while teaching you how to hurt them?
The fact is, all of the martial arts were birthed from an anti-Christian womb. That is why their philosophy attacks the teachings of Jesus at every hand, and their practice conflicts with His example. I discovered that the martial arts were not harmless practices, but that grave spiritual dangers lurked in every corridor of their use. The particular style I studied was Korean (hap-ki-do), but all of the styles spring from the same source. Thus, it is out of genuine concern that I feel obligated to make every Christian aware of these spiritual dangers of the martial arts.
1. The Martial Arts all originate in false religion.
Funk & Wagnals says, “The art of karate is more than 1000 years old and originated in the ancient orient, first as monastic training and later as a defense by Chinese peasants against armed bandits.” Karate (Japanese, “empty hand”) developed much later than its forerunner, the Chinese Kung Fu which is more diverse and holds closely to its Buddhist philosophical roots.
Bob Larson, a respected Christian author and researcher says, “The original religious philosophy of kung fu dates back as far as 2696 B.C. where it was rooted in the occultic forms of divination known as the I-Ching and the “Book of Changes.” Lao Tzu, the Chinese sage born in 604 B.C., added further demonic embellishments. His teachings were set forth in a 5,280 word manuscript called Tao te ching, often called simply the tao or the way. He taught that salvation could not be found in prayer but rather by the observance of nature, the natural way. With the adoption of Taoism, kung fu developed into a complex system of occult practices that included contemplation and breathing exercises. The common doctrine of ki made acupuncture an aid in the quest for health in physical development. Eventually, this led into a search for the mysteries of the alchemy, further tainting kung fu with overtones of demonism.
“The next development in the history of kung fu took place when a monk named Bodhidharma brought Buddhism to China in the sixth century A.D.. When he discovered the monks sleeping during his lectures, he introduced exercises to assist them in meditation. Known as I-chin Sutura, it combined kung fu with philosophical principles of Zen to develop a highly sophisticated form of weaponless defense. The monks at his Shaolin temple became famous for their savage abilities of defense employed whenever they were attacked in the course of pilgrimages.”
Christians who participate in the martial arts and insist that they do not include any form of occultism in their practice still cannot deny its patently occult roots. Friend, if a corrupt root cannot produce good fruit (Matt. 7:17-18), how can we possibly believe that the rotten core of occultism lying at the root of the martial arts does not taint and pervert them?
2. The Martial Arts all have an underlying occult philosophy.
In the martial arts, the practitioner exercises “mind over matter” and through meditation taps into a consciousness of greater power. Surprisingly, many Christians miss the connection between karate and the occult. They see it as mere physical exercise but are blinded to its spiritual and philosophical aspects, all born of the ancient Orient.
In order to break boards, one must focus (kime), that is, he must see through the boards, see his fist emerging through the other side of them. This is the occultic practice of visualization, and mind over matter. The same is true for shattering bricks or ice. He must empty his mind of the thought of either pain or failure, and concentrate all of the energy of his body on a specific target. In entering such a mental state, the practitioner, willingly or not, has crossed over into the sinister realm of the occult.
The karate symbol (present in almost every stream of the martial arts) is the “yin-yang,” the ancient religious (occult) symbol of contrasts, good and evil, light and darkness, right and wrong.
Masutatsu Oyama, one of the world’s most renowned karate experts said, “Always more vital to karate than techniques or strength is the spiritual element that lets you move and act with complete freedom. [Oyama has stated that] Zen (occultism) is an essential ingredient in karate. In fact, it is precisely this occult connection through which the karate master derives his uncanny powers, such as: catching bullets between his teeth, pulling punches short of striking the body (with the effect still felt), exercising psychokinetic powers (i.e., moving objects by mental force alone), etc.
Furthermore, Oyama said, “Though it seems impossible, with karate you can actually snap off the top of a beer bottle with your bare knife hand. Mastering the fundamentals and unflagging constant daily spiritual and bodily training will make the impossible possible for anyone. Certainly breaking the neck of the beer bottle off and leaving the bottle standing is difficult, but constant karate training can help you develop speed and strength that surpass common sense.”
Oyama has also engaged in unarmed battle with bulls. In his lifetime, he dealt sudden death to three of them, and broke the horns off 48 others! Obviously, such amazing feats of strength spring from no mere human source. Hidetaka Nishiyama and Richard C. Brown, in their book KARATE, The Art of Empty Hand Fighting said, “At an advanced level, it is even possible for a karate expert to sense the movements of his opponent before they take place.” Though such divining is not uncommon in any practice of occultism, any manner of it is not only forbidden by God, but is an abomination to him.
Thus, to deny an occult source and presence in karate is to deny the obvious. Additionally, martial arts practitioners traffic in other aspects of pagan/idolatrous religions, i.e; walking on hot coals, lying on nail beds, etc., which practices are linked to Buddhism and Hinduism, not Christianity. Even the term Martial Arts itself denotes the arts of war, deriving from “Mars” the ancient Roman god of war. Thus, its very title presupposes violence and aggression. How can a disciple of Christ also practice the disciplines of the ancient, pagan god of war? And how can one who practices Christianity also practice blatant occultism?
Advancing to different and “higher planes” is represented by different coloured belts, the first being a white belt. The student of karate then progresses to different darker coloured belts and eventually receives a black belt on becoming an instructor (Sensei). This symbolises how one is drawn more deeply into the philosophy of karate initially innocently in white until one is so involved (black) that one cannot begin to imagine anything wrong with it. One goes through a process of being spiritually blinded.
Karate students bow to their instructors and to the Eastern masters. Should they really be showing such respect to one who is representing the occult?
The formal exercises in karate are called “katas.” There are different “katas” which consist of series of exercises in imaginary situations. The “katas” are aimed at awakening the four natural elements, earth, wind, light and fire within you. This is followed by meditation on emptiness (emptying your mind of everything).
The place where karate is practised is called a “do”, which means “the way” and “karatedo” means “the way of life”. The martial arts are not merely innocent exercises, they are a way of life.”
(stangerchristiancentre.co.za)
3. The concept of self-defense is itself both unscriptural and anti-christian.
Some believers may argue this point, considering self-defense both justifiable and “Christian.” But even they must realize that the violent spirit of karate is neither!
A. It violates the Golden Rule, Matt.7:12.
B. It contradicts the direct commands of Jesus. For instance, He said:
1) love your enemies (Matt.5:44)
2) turn the other cheek (Matt.5:39)
3) resist not evil (Matt.5:39)
4) bless them that curse you (Matt.5:44)
5) do good to them that hate you (Matt.5:44), etc.
In fact, the alert reader will at once realize that both in practice and philosophy, the martial arts directly violates not only all of the aforementioned, plus at least half of the principles in the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount; i.e., being merciful (Matt.5:5); being pure in heart (5:8); being a peacemaker (5:9); etc.
Is this the philosophy you will learn in karate? Turning your cheek, or kicking your adversary’s cheek? Surrendering your goods to the robber, or harming the robber? Did Jesus teach and set an example of self denial, or self-defense?
4. The Martial Arts glorify the flesh, by involving the entire bodyworship scene.
How is Christ glorified by stunts of physical strength? No one in history was stronger than Samson, yet even his mightiest feats of strength did not result in the conversion of a single Philistine. He tore off not mere handcuffs, but the gigantic gates of Gaza, laid them on his shoulders and deposited them on a hilltop miles away! Yet even this feat did not bring a single Philistine to repentance and faith in the God of Israel! This being true, how are we to believe that kicking a few bricks and breaking a few boards will somehow cause wholesale repentance among the unsaved?
Let’s be brutally honest. Who is increasing through martial arts and bodybuilding demonstrations? Isn’t it the karate practitioner who is attracting all of the attention, praise and admiration as he grunts and kicks, jumps and breaks boards and bricks? Isn’t it the strongman who rips apart phone books, and snaps baseball bats who is admired, and not Jesus?
Scripture declares that the Christian’s weapons are not carnal (cf. 2 Cor.10:4; Eph.6:10-18). That is, they are not fleshly, tangible or material. Since our warfare is a spiritual one, against a spiritual adversary (the devil, cf. 1 Pet.5:8-9), then obviously the weapons with which we fight and resist must be a spiritual and not carnal or fleshly nature.
We can state unequivocally that virtually every aspect of the martial arts is either carnal or occult.
By Russell K. Tardo, Th.B, M.Min, D.Min, pastor of Faithful Word Assembly, a Full Gospel, non-denominational church located in Kenner, Louisiana.