If I asked you to conjure up an image in your mind of the most spiritual person you can think of, you’ll probably think up a silent Zen Monk sitting under a tree; or perhaps you’ll imagine Buddha; or see an image of Christ. All universally accepted examples of highly spiritual individuals, but I contest that each of these spiritual individuals pales in comparison to a true Martial Artist.

Now, I don’t mean a “bully” or a “brawler”, as most people tend to think of nowadays when they hear the word Martial Artist and imagine a cauliflower-eared MMA fighter, but a true Martial Artist who learns how to fight in order to not have to fight.

I have recently gotten into listening to Ryron Gracie in various podcasts, and realized that he is perhaps one of the most spiritual people living today. Or, if you want to look at the pinnacle of a living Martial Artist who I think has come the closest to being fully Self Actualized, I highly recommend looking into Rickson Gracie.

Why do these two individuals beat out notable spiritual personalities like Osho or (as a living example) the Dali Lama? Because they practice Martial Arts.

Now, before I lose you, let’s look at it more scientifically. Observing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we can place spirituality at the top of the pyramid; also known as “Self Actualization”. At this layer, one has become a “fully realized being” and has come to understand the totality of who they are and is now able to enter into higher-order states of understanding and achieve their heart’s deepest desires. They are, in essence, fulfilled.

Self Actualization, being at the top of the pyramid, is where the epitome of “spirituality” resides. Where individuals talk about Enlightenment, about being a Saint, about being a Buddha, or a Christ-like figure; they’re talking about the realm of Self Actualization.

The problem is, though contemporary practices like Yoga or Shamanism like to tout this as their primary area of expertise, they have completely neglected the other layers of the pyramid and jumped straight to the top—“cutting the line” so to speak, without doing any of the real work to get there.

Sure, they may have “come face to face with their demons”, or “let go of their attachments”, or “mastered their Ego”, but these are all higher-order processes that can only truly be achieved once all of the other needs have been met. 

I have a line that I like to use often which goes “show me a highly spiritual person and I’ll slap them in the face to show you how unspiritual they truly are.” (I can just feel the contention growing among readers right now…) Why is this the ultimate test for a highly spiritual person? Because we can never escape our baser instincts no matter how much we say we have.

At our very core, we’re all animals. And all animals fight for dominance. Despite our futile attempts to extinguish this side of ourselves, it will always be there—so long as you push the right buttons and do it long enough (it’s called an Amygdala Response).

The reason why I say that Martial Arts is the one true spiritual path is because it focuses on the next Basic Need in Maslow’s Hierarchy after our Physiological needs have been met: Safety. 

It’s all well and good to say that you’re beyond all material possessions; that you’ve let go of all of your attachments; that you’re past all human emotion; but if you can’t protect yourself or the ones that you love at the end of the day, it’s all for nothing. Martial Arts is the one true spiritual path because if gifts you the confidence, the experience, and the understanding to know without a shadow of a doubt that you are safe and secure.

Touting spirituality without understanding how to protect yourself or the ones that you love is merely a false sense of achievement akin to building a brick house on sand. And, as the saying goes: you can’t build a brick house on sand.

There’s a reason why monks run away to the mountains in order to “further cultivate their spirituality”. It’s because they can’t deal with the world. But I contend that true spirituality, true Zen, true Enlightenment, can only be achieved in society… because society allows you to put your spirituality to the test (look into the Zen Monk, Ikkyu, if you’re interested in learning more about this concept).

It’s all well and good to say you’re not controlled by material possessions when you live in a forest with nothing else going on. It’s all well and good to say you’ve controlled your comparative Ego when you don’t have any Jones’ you’re trying to keep up with. It’s all well and good to say you’re beyond physical altercations when there’s no one around you to fight. But, in reality, society is the one true testing ground of your spirituality because there are material possessions; there are the Jones’ you feel the need to keep up with; and there are other human beings trying to do you wrong and you have to know how to fight against them (either physically or mentally).

So, what’s the first step towards true Self Actualization (not the imagined one you can only achieve in manicured settings, but the battle-tested one that you have to earn)? Learning how to protect yourself and the ones that you love.

-practice Martial Arts. 

Ps. As a fun fact—did you know that Arjuna (if you’ve read the Bhagavad Gita or are an astute practitioner of Yoga) was a Warrior (aka a Martial Artist) before he was a Yogi? Now you know... Martial Arts is the key.