Krishna, from the Hindu Mahabarata epic is the best example of the duality of warrior-hood. The incarnation of God is depicted as gentle, loving and generous; but on the battle field he is possessed with terrible, almost merciless war-lust. The enemy is given no quarter. Thus the great horror of war or conflict deserves no glorification; the use of physical force should be seen as the last resort. However, once engaged, there should be no hesitation or moralising. To this day, there has not been a world war, the most likely cause maybe the knowledge of the horrendous price such a carnage will bill.
Strictly speaking, the martial arts is not just about un-armed combat, but is the art of defeating the enemy. The techniques that characterise a martial discipline (Karate, Judo, Kendo) forms only a small part of the whole. Without the skill in the application of strategy, the spiritual and moral awareness, the techniques practised can only be viewed as clever trickery. What makes Karate or Judo superior to say- Professional Boxing, is the transposability of the strategic skills learnt into daily life. The only place where a boxer is required to be in top form is within the ring; a martial artist trains for life. Ultimately, his battle ground is life it self and the struggle is for self improvement. These acquired qualities can be applied to other aspects of life, not just a life or death confrontation.
Good conduct, self control and courtesy are qualities which martial training help to grow; whilst other forms of western combat training only encourage tendencies to dominate and despise. Other forms of combat tend to pit force against force, power against power, the martial arts doctrine is that of the correct and skilful application of force.