Religion
Durbin teaches Kempo from a Christian perspective and refers to his own dojo as the "Christian Martial Arts Association", which is also the name of the non-profit organization that Kiyojute Ryu is legally incorporated as. While he personally teaches from a Christian perspective, he states he is open to teaching students of any religion, quoting the style web site FAQ he explains how religion is handled:
Like most martial arts masters, at least in the classical sense, I am a very religious person. Actually I am an ordained Baptist minister. But this is no different than Morihei Ueshiba being a Shinto priest and Michiomi Nakano (So Doshin) being a Zen Buddhist priest.However, like those masters, I teach Kiyojute Ryu Kempo openly to people of all walks of life. The only requirement I have is that a person should have a fundamental belief in God in some form. A person who just does not believe in God cannot possibly reach the highest levels of the martial arts, since they are of a spiritual nature.
In Japan the martial arts have been called Shin Ken, meaning divine fist. In Okinawa they were known as Kami Te, divine hand. In both cases the belief is that the martial arts are inspired by God. I believe this with all my heart. But I know that God loves all people in all countries, so that he has reached out in many ways to touch the lives of His children. Thus as long as a person has some concept of God, they can reach the highest levels in Kiyojute Ryu with no problem.
If you ask me my personal experience with God, you will learn about Jesus Christ, for this is how God touched me, through His son Jesus. However, we have students in Kiyojute Ryu who are of all Christian faiths, Buddhists, Hindu, Sikhs, Bahá'í, and even Wicca.
The only people who have ever had any trouble with the philosophy of Kiyojute Ryu have been people who do not believe in God at all. But in all my years, this has only been two people. So as long as a person believes in God, regardless of any other aspect of personal belief, they can easily learn and train in Kiyojute Ryu. —However Durbin also states, " A person who just does not believe in God cannot possibly reach the highest levels of the martial arts, since they are of a spiritual nature.".
The belief that Christianity is not unlike other religions such as Buddhism for purposes of the spiritual growth required for advanced-level practitioners of martial arts is not a belief unique to Kiyojute Ryu, Masaaki Hatsumi of Bujinkan has written that the spiritual goals with regards of the martial arts of Christianity and Buddhism are the same.
Read more about this topic: William Durbin
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