Spirituality is something that is open minded and passionate and ever expanding. It has no set shape...no set design or borders. It is deeper than the ocean and as vast as the sky that touches the space beyond. Spirituality has often been accepted by most...I dare not say all. However there subsidiary groups and areas within a spirituality that do not get the acceptance others do. Most of the time it is due to lack of understanding or fear of the dogma that surrounds the titles and names behind the spiritual groups. Practicing any spiritual art requires a level of discipline to learn and grow the art of your chosen path. To learn the words, actions, rituals and formations takes time and energy.
BDSM and fetish/kink has rarely ever seen the light of day in public acceptance. However it has more respect and more passion, a greater level of trust and understanding than most vanilla relationships may ever know. There are hidden depths to bdsm that scarcely reach the ears of the world. It certainly isn't just about domination and submission. There are hidden depths of empathy and compassion, oceans of lust hidden beneath deeper depths of love and trust. It takes a great deal of trust to allow someone to control you (to whatever capacity that might entail) it takes trust on both ends. It also takes a great deal of discipline. A dominant doesn't flail a flogger around mindlessly. They flog their submissive like a painter uses a paint brush. Each stroke is controlled and precise. Each flogging is a hidden message of love, of discipline or some other emotion. The submissive has to remain disciplined just as much. They must retain the discipline from their dominant and retain their own disciplinary reasons day to day.
Martial Arts has been accepted by mass public and society. Many have devoted their lives to it others simply train and practice for sport or hobby or something else. However there was a time when martial Arts was looked down upon. It too had its dark areas. Martial Arts can often be seen as a sport or something as a side project. Martial Arts has deeper hidden levels that many don't recognize. To train in martial Arts is to hone not just the body but the mind and spirit. To remain disciplined through pain and exhaustion. To remain loyal and diligent through hours...months...decades of tireless training. To learn...to teach...to heal and to hurt.
These three things (spirituality, bdsm and martial arts) have three very important things in common. They require discipline, an open mind and heart and have greater depths than most realize. They are all ways of life. A lifestyle. Not a hobby, not some activity for the simple minded. No, they are lifestyles. I live all three simultaneously.