Eruptions of violence appear in the news and in the world around us every day.

In civil war era Japan or during inter-dynastic periods in China, social disorder was the norm. As martial artists, we have heard stories from these times. They are part of martial arts lore. They have been romanticized in modern retelling. They have entertained us, but they have also inspired us and instructed us in the need for training in martial arts and in the nobility of the skillful use of force in the restraint of harm.

The days of civil unease are with us now. And the need for the personal cultivation of martial skill has not changed. The presence of firearms and other weapons and of a professional law enforcement contingent in society has not reduced the relevance of martial arts training.

The ways in which social conditions have changed since the origins of Asian martial arts, have not changed our need for training in ethics either: the ethics of our obligation to protect ourselves and others and of what constitutes right action in ordinary conduct and in the face of violent threat.

Modern people are well educated in violence. On the news, and through the menacing behavior of thugs in music, games, movies and on television. Even in higher realms of social discourse, a pose of bullying and intimidation is not only accepted, but admired. Mayhem as entertainment trains us in a set of values and behaviors. Under pressure or in ordinary life, people use what they are taught.

Six high school girls were trapped in a room with a violent criminal. He attacked one at a time. What if the other five had trained in martial arts? Twenty-nine college students found themselves within a few yards of a shooter. They all bolted for the door while some of their fellow students were shot.

What if they knew their own strength? What if they had been taught to unite and fight back in the face of murderous threat instead, of to run off individually? What if, upon first seeing the rifle, the ones nearby had stopped the threat before it became deadly? What if, instead of watching videos and eating junk food to make themselves feel tough and happy, kids could train in martial skills and have the clear mind, good self-image, strong body, and sense of purpose that it takes to avoid wasting your life in arrogance or cowardice?

Can martial arts have such a good effect? It can. Is this too much to ask of it? We can all do something. We can work hard, be strong and humble, and do right.

We can further the strength and the decency of at least a few members of our society, a society in danger of losing its virtue. A society that is not teaching young people what they need to know is exposing itself to harm.

Let’s not forget why we became martial artists. Let’s not forget what we admired or who we wanted to be. The mission of the true martial artist now is as critical as it was in Tokugawa era Japan or in the time of Bodhidharma and the Shaolin Temple in China.