On Beauty

I encourage my students to pursue beauty when they train. What do I mean by "beauty"? I am not talking about "beauty" in the form of physical attractiveness; becoming attractive is not the goal of a martial arts school. Pursuing martial arts means sharpening the body as a weapon first, not shaping it for a photo shoot. Although the body can be shaped into an attractive object for the consumption of others (as some claim that self-imposed objectification is empowerment, and I vehemently disagree) from a martial arts lens, that is not the case.

Empowerment in martial arts is rooted in defending oneself from harm and surviving conflict. The word martial arts comes from "Mars," the Roman god of war, and "art," a beautiful expression. By definition, martial arts is the harmony of brutality and beauty: brutal in the violence but beautiful in the execution. I encourage my students to be both physically strong and have good technique: when you combine strength and proper (beautiful) form, you can also become effective and efficient in protecting yourself. The sculpted physique is just one of the results of consistent training, diet, and rest, but it is not the goal.

At Queens, we pride ourselves in being a school, we are not a store; we build ourselves through skill, not by buying material upgrades. When we are skilled, we can be truly confident. External markers of confidence, such as makeup, clothes, and public admiration, are unreliable as trends and social validation are always changing. The martial arts way of interpreting authentic confidence comes from being able to do something, while synthetic confidence is based on external judgment. Martial arts make those lines clear by prioritizing usefulness to oneself first through real-life actions, not personal (or external) opinions.

Authentic confidence can lead to freedom, as you have a concrete foundation of your abilities to act instead of relying on pretenses. Martial arts can also be that vehicle to love, respect, and believe in the body and mind you create through training. This is why martial arts can be a beautiful and powerful experience, especially for women and girls: empowerment and authentic confidence are achieved by developing concrete abilities and a positive attitude, not changing appearances.