When I was growing up, the martial arts absolutely captivated me. I started with judo in junior high, some jiu-jutsu in early high school, then Shotokan karate for the next few years, simultaneously practicing other martial arts with my friends. I even taught karate and basic self-defence for quite a while. A smidge of aikido and hapkido got me through the start of university, then the martial arts practice waned as my priorities changed. Quite a few years went by, and I eventually joined a Goju-Ryu karate dojo for a couple of years until priorities changed again.
One problem I had to deal with throughout all those experiences? The bowing. In Islam, of course, we bow only to God, and bowing toward anyone or anything else is considered inappropriate. In the martial arts though, bowing is the alpha and the omega of every interaction and the class itself. What to do?
A large part of it is simply perspective. The Islamic Weltanschauung (can you tell I've been in Deutschland this past week and a half?) interprets bowing as demonstrating subservience and acknowledging dependence on the other party. In the Asian martial arts, the root cultures can interpret bowing as a sign of respect, not subservience. But perception is reality, right? What are Muslims supposed to work with: their own interpretation, or that of the host environment? Go with your own, and it's seen as a sign of disrespect to the host environment. Go with the host environment, and you're perceived as disrespecting God.
All of this would have been allayed however, if I could have practiced Silat Kalam, a Muslim martial art. Silat is a full martial art, with Islam at its core, and originates in Malaysia. In a widely published piece by Antontio Graceffo, the first non-Muslim permitted to study the art, he quotes Guru (teacher, master) Mazlan Man:
Silat Kalam is a martial art where you never use a lot of force or movement, and each movement is based on the position of the prayers, the position of where you pray to God.
I breathe because of God. I drink because of God. I eat because of God. I practice Silat because of God, he concluded. This is a portion of the mantra which Guru Mazlan Man has his students recite daily. He explained his philosophy this way. We must remember that we only do things because of God. And if we only do things because of God, we will not do bad things. You cannot say, I steal because of God.
Instead of bowing to start the class, hands start in prayer positions, and a short series of dua'as (prayers of supplication) is recited. Silat is a completely defensive art, and all movements (buah) start with an opponent's attack. There are blocks, locks, throws, grappling, and inescapable holds. (Assuming you want to keep your body intact.) All blocks are followed by strikes which are designed to cause maximum pain for a brief period of time. The goal is to have your opponent lose the will to fight. To guarantee an end to the conflict, a strike is followed by a throw or lock. When that opponent is locked up, well, good-bye Mr. Chips.
Graceffo is the well-known Brooklyn Monk who quit Wall Street to travel extensively throughout the Far East and study various martial arts. He's also put quite a bit of time and effort into learning six languages and defending the people of Burma and Cambodia against their governments. His story is fascinating; do check it out, and enjoy his Martial Arts Odyssey video library too.
For those of you interested in studying Silat Kalam, there really aren't a lot of places to go. You'll have to contact Guru yourself. He takes only a few students, so best of luck on that.
I'd like to leave you with a quote from the video below. When Graceffo, a Catholic, asks Guru whether he can study under him, Guru (who is Muslim) responds "we don't talk about religion, we only talk about God. If we talk about God, everybody's happy. It's only when we talk about religion people get angry." Now there's a guy who gets it. (If you're having trouble with the Flash below, click here instead.)