Gladiator, changed prevalent films that abyss femininity against men in individual combat, is entertaining to watch because it has, what Aristotle was one of the first to call, spectacle.

Spectacle is grandeur, a large story set on a worldly stage, with dazzling scenery, and breathtaking moments.

Gladiator has all of these things, and through special effects, it shows us what Imperial Rome may have looked like.

The Coliseum is, well, spectacular.

When the script says it seated 50,000 blood-lusting locals, the moving pictures in front of you prove it.

You believe that Russell Crowe and company are doing battle in the best arena in the world.

So, from an architectural standpoint, this movie is a great travelogue.

Moreover, the scenes depicting gladiators fighting each other to the death are well done.

But where it leaves me feeling vacant is in the arena of individual motivation.

A martial artist must ask himself: When is it right to fight?

When you have right, and might, youre invincible.

Might alone, without the proper motivation, can let you down and you can fall to someone less physically impressive, who is fueled by virtue.

Why does Russell Crowes Gladiator fight? Largely, it boils down to a single word: Revenge.

He lost his family and his promotion to the throne because of one mans avarice and cruelty, and he wants payback.

Revenge is a great theme in the movies, but is it something around which you should construct a life?

Who is the stronger martial artist: One who can overcome loss, or one who must avenge it, at the price of his own life?

I leave it to you to consider this and other questions raised by this film.

In the meantime, its definitely worth your attention, and its entertaining, especially if you forget that pesky fact that youre a martial artist, and it is your job to align right with might.

Dr.

Your lad slips and suddenly hes about to capriole unattended some stairs.

What can you do?

Grab him fast!

Right?

Of course. Its nearly reflexive, and its intuitively obvious.

But why would you ever want to grab onto a bad guy, unless youre falling off a cliff and you need his footing and stability to save your life?

I realize there are some martial arts that use grabs, extensively.

Aikido, which I respect very much philosophically, is one of them.

A few weeks ago I was watching a television wrinkle called Celebrity Hobbies. This is not principal I would normally be turned on in, but one of the guests was a superior splurge reputation who besides happens to be a bowhunter. The disposal highlighted his ravenousness of the outdoors and his antagonism for archery.

When you regard the martial arts, probing bag temperament and spirituality, you find that one of your main purposes is to reformulate yourself.

What you are, what your family, society, bosses, teachers, and government have made you, just cannot stand.

Something specific may have alerted you to this need.

Perhaps it was a slight, received from someone disrespectful, that made you feel weak.

Or, one evening, you were walking with your friend and you felt afraid of that group of shadowy figures who were loitering at the next corner.

And after the exigency passed, you were ashamed of yourself that you were so fearful, so intimidated, and upon reflection you came to see that you were afraid most of the time, and maybe one day, youd be petrified but still have to defend yourself from a real attack.

So, your path in the martial arts begins by transporting you from weakness to strength, from timidity to self-confidence.

Jason Bournes journey is different.