An "Art" is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, a skill at doing a specified thing, typically one acquired through practice.  The word derives ultimately from an ancient word base *ar- "fit together, join".  There is an art to just about anything that one can do, including living.

The "martial arts" are certainly an application of human creative skill and imagination.  They certainly demonstrate a skill at doing a specified thing.  This skill is certainly acquired  through practice.  These skills certainly are "fit together" in a particular way.

"In the past...if you wanted to learn swordsmanship you had to enter the tutelage of the master of a [school]. Upon entering the [school], the student had to write a...pledge or oath, to his master. He also had to strictly abide by the school rules...regulations...and codes." *

We see similar requirements in almost all of the arts and guilds--a master/apprentice system of learning; a pledge of loyalty to the master; and some form of code of conduct.  We also see a similar arrangement within the Templars and the monastic system.

"The student swore...that he would devote himself to practice, follow the school tradition, keep school secrets, and keep confidential documents received on initiation secret from others, even family members. After being officially accepted, the student had to be faithful at all times to his master, could not engage in matches without permission, or do anything which could disgrace the name of the school. Without an official license, it was forbidden for the student to branch out and teach in other regions."*

"SECRECY! What were the arts trying to hide? Surely they were of evil intent if they were keeping secrets!"  What nonsense.   How would one keep one's art--one's skillful and learned way of doing a thing--individualized to the intent of the originator of that art?  Keep the methods, the knowledge, and the training private to only those who swore to be true to the intent of the master, and the founding artist. 

"In Japanese martial arts and other performing arts, the principle element is [technique] which has been passed down through generations. The master-pupil relationship has played a crucial role in preserving techniques in this way...and [to] master the techniques to make them second nature."*

"But the Templars weren't artists, surely they didn't follow such practices. " If you will study the Templar Rule, which you may find in our study groups, you will see that indeed the Templar Knight swore that he would devote himself to practice, that he would follow the Templar traditions, that he would keep the Templar confidences, that he would be faithful to the master at all times, that he would not engage in matches without permission, nor do anything to disgrace the name of the order.  In short, the Templar Knights were vowing to become artists.  But what was their art? 

Some will say warfare--they were training to be soldiers.  This is partially true, but not all Templars were soldiers.

Some will say they were training to be religious students.  Again, this is partially true.  But the primary occupation of the Templar was not merely religious study.

Some will say that they were training in obedience.  Again, partially correct, but obedience was not the objective of the Templars.  It was a part of their way, but not their ultimate objective.

The Templar, indeed the monastic way, is training in the art of living. 

"The techniques cannot be refined or acquired only through verbal instruction. One-on-one practice involving actual striking, thrusting, attacking, defending and dodging between the master and pupil were the only effective way of learning combat techniques."*

If the Templar Way could be acquired simply by reading or through verbal instruction, then all people would already be Templars; for verbal instruction and written instruction in the art of life has been around for thousands of years. It is only through actual participation that one embodies an art.  You may conceptualize about it all you wish, but until you undertake that art within your body you can not BE an artist.  Art is not about the "doing", it is about the "being"--"doing" with such skill and creativity that one BECOMES something besides a mere DOER.

"In learning Japanese martial arts or other performing arts, there exists a teaching philosophy which encourages students to acquire techniques physically, without relying only on theory or intellectual methods. This is referred to as...the three elements of learning, training, and revision."*

"There is no special training method per se. All you have to do is to look at a grand [exemplar] every day. After a year, you will have developed fine...techniques. In other words, even if you do not receive special training, you will acquire the techniques as a matter of course by having contact with the genuine object. This theory applies to the training of a live-in disciple in the Japanese martial arts. During the course of training, the master shows his techniques without giving any specific instructions. The student lives in his master's house and the master shares his life with the student. During that time, he mainly performs domestic duties including cleaning and washing, but has no special time allocated for actual training. However, he has opportunities to look at his master's teaching to commuting pupils who, unlike the boarding pupils, visit the master's house for training from their own homes. Although he can only observe the practices, this is actually an excellent opportunity for him to learn and come into contact with authentic techniques."*

The Japanese martial arts continue this concept of "live-in-student" and "commuting student" through their terminology, and in actual practice.  The Templars also practiced this concept with the communal knight brothers and the professed, or contracted, Templars--Knights serving for a specific time period.  The Templar way had "live-in-students" and "commuting-students".  The "commuting students" came and "studied with" the Templars and lived with them for specific time periods and then, if they survived, returned to their homes.  The "live-in-students" stayed with the Templars for life.  The "commuting students" learned from the examples of the "live-in-students", but whom did the "live-in-students" learn from?

"As a live-in student lives in his master's house while performing basic domestic duties, he observes his master teaching other students, and comes in close contact with his master's nature as he develops. As he learns the master's approach to the techniques and the art in everyday life, he will in turn learn them naturally and eventually internalize the school's philosophy and style without even realizing it."*

Some will think that the "master" that the Templars learned from was some earthly individual, but a closer study of the Templar Rule will indicate that the Templars master was their God.  The Templar Knights spent time learning about God, learning God's ways, and observing God's nature.  The Templar Way was observing God, God's ways, and God's approach in everyday life.  Through this continual observation, study, and reflection, the Templar gradually would begin to internalize God's ways without even realizing it.  This is the Templar way.

"The training method of Japenese arts is ...[represented] by a circle with three dots, which represent 1) learning correct techniques, 2) revising the techniques, 3) practicing the techniques repeatedly. While a pupil revises the correct techniques and continues practice, he receives little instruction from his master. After the explanation of basic techniques he continues to practice until he can employ them subconsciously. Brief instruction may be given for any movement that is found to be awkward. The purpose of this hands-off method is to let the student take time to practice according to his level. Although it may seem inattentive, the student will be able to discover the reason for his existence, and his passion to learn will increase. Supported by such passion, he practices again and again to acquire the techniques and achieves the ultimate objectives without thinking."*

In the Japanese martial arts one learns primarily through doing rather than through instruction.  One learns to correct one's own mistakes through desire to improve, rather than through imposed dogma.  The Templar way, if you study the Templar Rule, was similar.  The Templars studied together, ate together, practiced together, camped together, and rode together.  They had specific rules and regulations to follow, but they helped each other to follow these rules.  Correction of infractions came from individuals pointing out the infractions to each other in quiet and private settings, unless the infractions were severe enough, or persistent enough to warrant the entire group to point out the infractions to the individual and require punishment.  Our Templar way uses a similar concept of three circles--the outer circle being where individuals choose to observe and learn the Templar approaches; the middle circle being where one practices and refines one's understanding of the Templar way; and the inner circle where one practices the Templar way repeatedly throughout one's life.

"When practicing the martial or other arts, to know the techniques doesn't necessarily mean that you can actually do them. Specifically in this case, knowing how to hold a bamboo sword and strike with it doesn't mean that you can immediately employ the technique. Without strict and hard practice, it is impossible to acquire and use any techniques. This theory applies not only to the martial arts and other performing arts but even to academic fields."*

Even the Templar "inner circle" practices throughout life.  Knowing the Templar way does not necessarily mean that one understands it.  Understanding it does not insure that one may execute it on a consistent basis.  Indeed, as long as we are alive there will always be a struggle between understanding and execution--between knowledge and wisdom.

"The Japanese traditional method to learn and teach techniques is not based so much on definition as much as encouraging students to set their own goals. In this respect, each level or grade in the martial arts is merely a rough standard and does not necessarily assure the acquirement of technique."*

Most in our western societies look upon the various grading systems of the martial arts as a "rank to be achieved"--something to acquire.  In the eastern society the ranking system was merely intended to identify at a glance at what level one encountered and taught another. The "level" was not the objective, the knowledge, understanding, and experience were.  Even today, most look upon the white mantle as an acquisition--something that one "works toward".  The common inquiry is "how do I become a knight?"  The correct answer is through knowledge, understand and wisdom.  The answer sought, however, is often "Just do this, and acquire that, and you too can be a knight."  Knighthood is NOT something you acquire, it is something you are, or are not.  A master's level in a martial art is not something you acquire, it is something you are, or are not.  Simply acquiring a "black belt" is meaningless.  Simply acquiring a "white mantle" is equally meaningless.

"The marital arts are referred to as an 'endless world' because of their unclear definition of each level of evaluation. As one who exists in this endless world grows old, he develops as a human in tandem with his understanding of the art. Some people describe it as the quintessence of technique or art...each technique actually represents the intangible unique beauty and profundity of the person executing it."*

Just as an ancient martial arts master developed their art to the point that it, perhaps, became recognized as a "new school" of art, so the Templar Way has resulted in a myriad of "Templar" organizations.  Some are patterned upon the historic Templars, some have used the historic Templars as a springboard for new additions to the art, some organizations have very little resemblance to the historic Templars in any shape or form.  The same can be said of the field of martial arts.  The martial art of swimming in full armor (yes, there is actually a martial art for this) bears little resemblance to sumo wrestling (yes, this is considered a martial art).  Does this make either one of them invalid just because they don't make use of some form of weapon? 

I will conclude with a story:

There was once a rat infested house. The owner decided to have a cat catch and get rid of the biggest meanest and most stubborn rat in the house. He borrowed several neighbors' cats but to no avail. The rat out maneuvered them all. The owner had heard of a consumate mouser in the next neighborhood and borrowed the cat. When he put the cat in the room with the rat, the rat immediately froze with fear and the cat grabbed him and dragged him to the owner.

The cat reviewed his performance with the less proficient mousers: One unsuccessful cat noted "I've been mousing all my life and have studied long and hard. I have never failed to catch rats because of my techniques and agility."

The successful cat merely remarked "All you have learned is technical form. This is why you always look for ways to show off your technique. If you only imitate the form of the technique without knowing the truth or the principles contained therein you will tend to compare your form with someone else's. Since your techniques aren't based on truth or principles they become artificial and do more harm than good."

An older cat, unsuccessful in catching the rat noted "I learned the theory, trained my mind, restrained myself from expressing anger, kept from fighting unnecessarily and thus maintained my peace of mind. But my tranquility had no effect on that rat."

The successful cat noted "You need to throw away discretion and use your techniques in a detached state of mind according to your intuition. A fixed state of mind is not easily to be moved, and thus not easily employed."

The last cat noted "I think the force of energy is the most important aspect. I have trained in it for a while and my energy is very strong and can be greatly expanded. After I overpower my opponents with my concentrated energy, I fight them freely on their own terms, but my tactics were not at all effective against the rat."

The successful cat remarked "The only thing you trained in was using energy. That only works when your opponent has less energy than you. If they have more, they will be beyond your control."

The successful cat rejected each of the other cats training methods based only on body, or mind, or spirit respectively. When asked about HIS secret he just laughed and didn't give an answer.

"He who knows the truth never speaks, and he who doesn't, always speaks."

The successful cat was truly great because he attained the selfless unfettered state of mind.  An "art" unto itself, a Templar Way.

* Essense of Training in Japanese Culture: Technique Acquirement and Secrets of Kendo, By Ozawa Hiroshi. Kendo World 3.3, 2006. KW Publications.