22 Virtues For An Honorable & Happy Life

For whatever the reason, isn’t it strange that virtue is strangely neglected or avoided nowadays with regards to what we teach children?

Consider the many subjects taught in school: math, science, reading, writing, history, art. All important of course.

But the subject of being a good human being is strangely neglected. We have a strong desire to help fill that void at Legacy 22.

There are many different important variables of success in life: career, enjoyment, peace, romance.

And yet, towering over all of these, from most people’s perspective, is did you live an honorable life?

It is very easy to understand why we must teach virtue at Legacy 22: the fundamental difference between a superhero and a supervillain is that one is virtuous and the other is evil. What do they both have in common? Power.

We teach children and adults how to become exceptionally powerful with regards to self-defense and fighting. Without the virtue, we’d be breeding supervillains.

Some of these exist for more obvious reasons than others.

But all of these have an essential place in the conduct of a martial artist.

Accountability
Antifragility
Composure
Courage
Detachment
Diligence
Diplomacy
Discipline
Formidability
Honor
Humility
Malleability
Persistence
Positivity
Resolve
Restraint
Respect
Sacrifice
Skepticism
Stratagem
Vigilance
Vision

Those same virtues that our students seek to master for martial arts are fortunately just as powerful for their own lives and their own happiness in life. That’s a big part of the beauty of training at Legacy 22. The benefits of these virtues are for life.

Keep in mind that the younger the student is, the lower the expectations are for the memorization of the 22 virtues.

We have found that it is very hard for a student to sustainably memorize, and much less apply, virtues which they do not understand. So the time we spend on virtue at the beginning and end of each class is largely devoted to this.

Keep in mind that the younger the student is, the lower the expectations are for the memorization of the 22 virtues.

But as students grow older and are maturing into a position to test for their black belt, the standards are very clear: Until these virtues are fully understood and committed to memory, there will be no black belt. It’s an essential part of the test.

More important than comprehension or memorization is actual application. The amazing news here is that a martial arts class is the perfect place to practice applying almost all of these virtues. And so it is often the case that students review a virtue at the beginning of class, such as diligence, and then reflect on that as they work hard throughout class. Virtue takes practice. Not just theory.