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Originally Posted by fearn
Not really. The SEALs (to pick one) routinely practice non-lethally. The problem I DO point to is that we assume that "martial" arts are now primarily about sports or self-defense in situations where guns are not involved. That's a very biased point of view. Should we perhaps blame judo and karate practitioners for promulgating it?
Certainly our society has martial arts and sciences at every scale, from sports to back alleys to nuclear war. Being an American, I just think it's hypocritical to ignore the modern military (the biggest the world has ever seen) in a discussion of martial arts, and to focus on any particular sport as the "best martial art." This isn't criticizing MMA--even the military uses it for non-lethal combatives. Rather, it's pointing out an enormous blind spot in any definition of "martial" that doesn't include the military.
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Ah. Now I understand your point.
It's a matter of degrees, I suppose. (No pun intended).
In deference to my fellow staff members and the subject matter of this forum, however, I'm going to close this thread.
I'm happy to continue the discussion via email or PM.