Musashi's 5 rings and summation of bushido are really interesting reading. Too many people (I think) get into martial arts for the violent aspects of it, when so, so much can be learned from studying it as a "true budo" way of life.
I have a friend who owns a BJJ (that's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) place in town. A sign in his door states: "check your ego at the door"
Too many people get into martial arts because they imagine themselves kicking arse in 'the cage' or whatever and they can't wait to tell everybody how bad they are; however most of
those people quit within a month or maybe two. They find out that 90% of martial arts is repetitive, boring, occasionally painful, certainly humbling, WORK. They run their mouths for awhile, then they get embarrassed by the smallish quiet guy who's been there five or ten years. And they never come back.
So I think you are right and wrong: The people who stick with martial arts are quite aware of the philosophical aspects as they are training a violent lifestyle. We have all been beaten and gotten up again, we have all beaten someone else and hugged them after. People who don't actually train ring-sports don't see the tenderness between opponents after a fight on CNN because CNN doesn't bother to show it. I have never been to a fight where the fighters didn't love each other after.
Miyamoto Musashi, by the way, spent much of his life seeking out duels with and killing many men. He wrote a fantastically wise book, and he lead the bloodiest of violent lives.
