I Believe Martial Arts Prevents Violence

I believe that Martial Arts prevents violence. As a martial artist, you have self control and can sometimes control others with your ability to manipulate them with your confidence and your desire to resist fighting. You can talk your way out of almost any problem that comes your way.

When I was young, I didn’t have the ability to resist fights. In the third grade one morning at “The School of Excellence,” my friends and I were in the lunch room hanging out, doing what third graders do in the morning, you know, talking about what happened on wrestling last night. Ms. Burger, our teacher came over to the table and told us to lineup. Before I got on line I asked her if I could go get a fruit. She told me, “Okay, but hurry up.” As I walked to the fruit bin, I saw that there was only one orange left so, I ran over and got it. I peeled the orange as fast as I can so I wouldn’t get in trouble, a fifth grader told me if I didn’t give him the orange he would kick my ass. Now I wasn’t your average third grader. I was big and stocky with a nasty temper. I looked at the fifth grader, and he looked at me. I told him, “You’re not getting my orange, and you can try to kick my ass.” So we started fighting. After the fight it was clear that I was the winner because of the damage to his face. When we got to the office, they couldn’t believe that I, a third grader, was the one who did this to a fifth grader. So I got suspended for two weeks and still had to do homework.

Before I joined martial arts I was fighting people, catching jukes (robbing people), trying to follow the “cool crowd.” Then one day my aunt asked me if I wanted to join karate with her because she thought I was hanging out in the street way too much, which I was. I said yes, because I loved the movie “BloodSport” and always wanted to do the moves from the movie, and from there I was hooked. Today I am a second degree black belt in TaeKwonDo, Taeshodo, and a brown belt in JuJitSu,.

When I was younger I knew how to fight and always wanted to. Then I joined my martial arts class and learned one thing I wouldn’t have learned in the street: Discipline. When we lined up in class, if we even looked back then that meant we weren’t ready for our next rank. We would meditate for at least an hour, eyes closed, thinking about good thoughts. I was scared to open my eyes, because I was afraid I would fall from meditation.

Now I can fight even better but I don’t want to, because of self control, and knowing what I could do to the person keeps me from resorting to violence.