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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Is Martial Arts Okay.	Michael	Monday, August 4, 2008
Question: This may have been addressed before, but the search didn't really turn up what I want to know. How do I know which parts of TaeKwonDo ( a martial Art ) are acceptable by catholic teaching. Can I go to it and still be a "good" catholic. Or should I just avoid it entirely, because of some of the practices being eastern and mystical in nature? Are eastern martial arts equivalent to playing in the devil's sandbox?
Question Answered by Mr. Joe Meineke Dear Michael, Brother Ignatius asked me to answer this question since I had to research this very subject for myself about a year ago and am currently taking Tae Kwon Do. I know that this is a controversial subject and that opinions vary widely. However, I personally believe that Tae Kwon Do is an acceptable form of martial arts for Christians (along with Judo and Jujitsu) - at least in general terms. I cannot say for sure that there aren't at least some schools out there that also teach eastern mysticism. However, I can vouch for the fact that my school (An ATA school) does not teach anything other than positive virtues (i.e., respect, perseverance, loyalty, honor, self-control) and the actual Tae Kwon Do techniques. My advice to anyone wanting to get involved in martial arts would be to always ask the instructor what if anything they teach in terms of the philosophical and/or religious and mystical aspects of their particular discipline. If they say they teach virtues such as those that I mentioned above, or if they teach nothing at all other than the forms and self-defense techniques, then you probably have nothing to be concerned about. On the other hand, if they start talking about Chi, universal energy, controlling one's environment, emptying the mind and things of that nature, find a different school. There are some martial arts forms out there, such as Tai Chi and Aikido, that should most definitely be avoided (I know of at least one client of ours who was demonized as a result of participating in Tai Chi). Other forms, such as Karate and Kung Fu, might be okay if and only if they are taught without the meditative, mystical or philosophical aspects - even subtly - and as long as the movements do not lead to a meditative state or an altered state. Yoga, by the way, fails this test. I hope that this helps. God bless you, Joe Meineke For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Is Martial Arts Okay.

Michael

Monday, August 4, 2008

Question:

This may have been addressed before, but the search didn't really turn up what I want to know. How do I know which parts of TaeKwonDo ( a martial Art ) are acceptable by catholic teaching. Can I go to it and still be a "good" catholic. Or should I just avoid it entirely, because of some of the practices being eastern and mystical in nature? Are eastern martial arts equivalent to playing in the devil's sandbox?

Question Answered by Mr. Joe Meineke

Dear Michael,

Brother Ignatius asked me to answer this question since I had to research this very subject for myself about a year ago and am currently taking Tae Kwon Do.

I know that this is a controversial subject and that opinions vary widely. However, I personally believe that Tae Kwon Do is an acceptable form of martial arts for Christians (along with Judo and Jujitsu) - at least in general terms. I cannot say for sure that there aren't at least some schools out there that also teach eastern mysticism. However, I can vouch for the fact that my school (An ATA school) does not teach anything other than positive virtues (i.e., respect, perseverance, loyalty, honor, self-control) and the actual Tae Kwon Do techniques.

My advice to anyone wanting to get involved in martial arts would be to always ask the instructor what if anything they teach in terms of the philosophical and/or religious and mystical aspects of their particular discipline. If they say they teach virtues such as those that I mentioned above, or if they teach nothing at all other than the forms and self-defense techniques, then you probably have nothing to be concerned about. On the other hand, if they start talking about Chi, universal energy, controlling one's environment, emptying the mind and things of that nature, find a different school.

There are some martial arts forms out there, such as Tai Chi and Aikido, that should most definitely be avoided (I know of at least one client of ours who was demonized as a result of participating in Tai Chi). Other forms, such as Karate and Kung Fu, might be okay if and only if they are taught without the meditative, mystical or philosophical aspects - even subtly - and as long as the movements do not lead to a meditative state or an altered state. Yoga, by the way, fails this test.

I hope that this helps.

God bless you,

Joe Meineke

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.