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(yes another religion post)
Most combative systems (martial arts) or at least the traditional Afrikan or Asian systems are tied to some religion or religious component of the particular people. Because of typical American/European WHITEWASHING, many systems (particularly Asian) the "religious" component is often watered down or taken out completely, as one can see in the "McDojos" of karate and also taekwondo schools. However, the fact remains in many of the systems has specific religious/spiritual philosophies entrenched in the system.
This brings me to the big 3 (Judaism, Chrisitianity, Islam). In many cases one can simply focus on learning the "techniques" and not the rituals or philosophies that go along with it. However, in arts gaining much popularity in the West such as t'ai chi and capoeira, this is not possible. In t'ai chi, the accompanying religion/philosophy is Taoism. How do the big 3 see/understand concepts of "chi" and "ying-yang"? These concepts clearly cannot be understood by the big 3, "ying-yang" especially, because it nullifies the existence of "God vs. Devil." In capoeira, _EVERYTHING_ (let me say this again) _EVERYTHING_ is tied to an orisha; the instruments, music, movements, rituals, _EVERYTHING_! Capoeira and Candomble are sisters with the same Afrikan parents. In fact capoeira is a religion within itself. *My favorite quote from an angolero: "Church?! I don't need church! I got capoeira!"
Knowing what was previously stated, how does a practitioner of one of the big three JUSTIFY practicing and studying one of the aforementioned as they go against their own teachings?
____________________________ "the real pyramids were built with such precision that you can't slide a piece of paper between two 4,000 lb stones, and have shafts perfectly aligned so that you can see a tiny aperture through dozens of these mammoth blocks
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