St. Nicholas of Japan and Martial Arts
Religious Fables, Folklore, Legends, and Stories
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Submitted by: Yuri Klitsenko

Fr. Nikolay, spiritual teacher of Pioneer Girl Nadya, reminds me St. Nicholas of Japan, who indeed was very much interested in the fighting techniques of Japan. Vasiliy Sergeyevich Oshchepkov was an Orthodox believer who as a young orphan from Sakhalin Island was personally blessed by St. Nicholas of Japan to study martial arts at the Kodokan Institute. St. Nicholas also introduced "self-defense without a weapon" lessons into Orthodox Theological Seminary in Tokyo.

We Commented:

From everything that Jesus taught, we seriously doubt that He would condone either war or martial arts.

Yuri Responded:

St. Nicholas of Japan knew that very well. He has turned Japanese martial arts into peaceful asceticism. Yet St. Nicholas deeply respected some Japanese teachers, because their teaching was indeed peaceful. We still have priests who belong to "Japanese school". Russian priests of "Japanese school" are very different from military Teutonic Order brothers.

Go on to: St. Nicholas The Great Wonder Worker
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