Think about that question for a moment. The very word 'martial' is supposed to suggest something very akin to what the military is supposed to do for a living, isn't it? Yet nothing could be further from actuality. Many martial artists have never been anywhere near the military and those soldiers, sailors and marines who study martial arts very often have little occasion to use them in their jobs.

I suggest, in my ignorance, that since the martial arts and the military are both 'philosophies', that they are at odds with each other. The martial arts in their essence are about individual combat, with very few exceptions, and the military is about attrition. I know that is a very simple, almost to the point of moronity, comparison. The true martial arts involve a sort of religious bent, with the mind being as important as the body, preparation being almost the same thing as action. The true military is also a sort of religion, with it's priests and acolytes and even concubines. It also uses the mind, kind of as a dental floss, to be used and discarded when it gets in the way of the business of war or pretending to get ready for war.

The military would have you believe that it takes millions of monetary units to train, equip and feed thousands of soldiers, sailors and marines. It would have you believe that under the right circumstances, it can perform miracles that no civilian organization could hope to achieve unless it were guided by a military mind. It would also have you believe that under the right circumstances, it can take any civilian who can see thunder and hear lightning and within six weeks make a fighter out of them.

In the martial arts community it is a given among true masters that it takes years to find out if a student is capable of following the path. Just wearing the uniform and going through the motions is not enough. Since a lot of schools would like to pay their rent on time, as martial arts academies are not often considered charitable institutions, instructors don't mind dealing with people who are more capable of paying fees than reaching nirvana through proper meditation before they take to the mat to kick the crap out of each other. Not everybody who wants to learn martial arts is going to become an artist.

Despite public delusions to the contrary, the number of military persons and martial artists who eventually engage in life-threatening activity is very small. In fact, very few martial artists are trained to fight outside of the dojo and very few military persons are inclined to stick their noses past the nearest available cover unless they are ordered to join a group of their fellows in attacking or they find themselves in a position to defend against attacking enemies. So you have training situations in both fields that are mostly involved with 'what if?'

A true warrior doesn't need training but desires that which seems useful to him. A killer is not necessarily a warrior, nor is he suitable for the military unless he can fill the time between wars by preying on his fellow service personnel or find a way to take advantage of a local civilian population. In the event of war, the military has no idea how to find a warrior, unless he is on the other side and making their lives miserable by toying murderously with their conscripts or volunteers who have never encountered anyone like him within their training cadre.

Warriors make decent martial artists if they are capable of thinking seriously about the battle in the mind. Sparring is one thing, but killing is another. Very few martial arts advertise their killing abilities unless they are trying to make money or steal it. But most true warriors do not fit in the martial arts world because they are individuals who like to fight other individuals instead of being followers who wrestle with other followers. Outside of such odd and fascinating events as the Ultimate Fighter spectacles, which is as much showmanship as it is sport, it would be hard to figure out where to find a true warrior unless he was in prison, as either an inmate or a guard.

A warrior is not necessarily a fighter, a killer, or a soldier. There are warriors in politics, though they are usually far behind the scenes. There are female warriors who have managed their families and their localities with no one being the wiser, including those they are closest to. A warrior can be a leader, an instigator, or a clever observer who takes advantage of the system or lack of it. Warriors do not make good criminals. They would have to share too much or belong to some odious group. They might have followers of their own, but they prefer the company of people of like abilities whom they hate with affection. And a true warrior is often born, not made. It may just be genetics or the way their brain is wired.

My point, if I have one, is that you can't believe everything you are told. Everything that wears a uniform is not a fighter, be it in the military or a martial arts school, just as everyone who can hold a guitar is not a musician.

It would be nice if the military were truly martial, but in many cases it is a civil service with prettier clothes. It would be nice if the martial artists were capable of creating a useful war-fighting group who could function effectively to lower the attrition of both sides with their philosophies. History and current events tell us these are pipe dreams. The militaries claim that they teach a form of martial art to their people. Whether they are truly useful in combat remains to be seen. Bayonet drill is still taught in many countries as a form of choreography when using the pointy thing on the end of the empty rifle is basically waiting until your opponent is down or out of ammo himself and then stabbing him until he stops resisting. The tactics of hand to hand combat conflict with the need for troops to function en masse without shooting each other.

Can you imagine someone like Bruce Lee functioning in a military setting? Can you imagine someone like, say, Winston Churchill or Field Marshall Montgomery kicking the crap out of someone?

I will apologise to anyone who believes that they are a martial arts warrior or a soldier who has incorporated Zen and Aikido into his military activities, but only to the extent that I think they will agree with me in my feeling that they must feel awful lonely on a regular basis within their respective organizations.

Sometimes words don't mean a thing. Other times their meaning completely escapes the reality they are appended to. I think that applies to 'military' and 'martial'.