Does the Orthodox church ever condone violence on an individual level? This post made me wonder. Is it true the Orthodox church thinks violence is always sinful no matter the circumstances? If so, in what manner do Orthodox Christians respond to personal violence? For example, I have two small children at home. If someone tried to break in and assault them, does the Orthodox church say I should not intervene?

I enjoy practicing martial arts because I aspire to be able to defend myself and others compassionately (without causing serious or permanent harm) and am very interested to know if the Orthodox church would consider this a waste of time or worse as the Protestants with which I am familiar certainly do not.
This post made me wonder. Is it true the Orthodox church thinks violence is always sinful no matter the circumstances? 


The violence in very most cases includes the anger, and hatred to the target of violence, lets say enemy. So that are the reasons why the violence in bad. I said very most because we know the case of the violence without a sin: And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables. John 2:13-15.


  If someone tried to break in and assault them, does the Orthodox church say I should not intervene?


But I have brought the reason why the violence is allowed, that is defence of weak, or your family, or even in some cases yourself (if your family will be destructed buy the reason), because that the all are inclusive in Christ's saying : Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13. That is the difference (as far as I know) to most of the protestants doctrines.


  I enjoy practicing martial arts because I aspire to be able to defend myself and others compassionately (without causing serious or permanent harm) and am very interested to know if the Orthodox church would consider this a waste of time or worse as the Protestants with which I am familiar certainly do not.


The time waste is also always bad, but the reasons by which we choose wheither the deal is the time waste or not, differs to protestant reasons. If we consider exactly martial arts, I believe they just can be treated as a neutral deal, non-good, non-bad, but when you choose in which case apply the art in your life it becomes bad or good, and good not because it is good in itself, but it becomes good because, not to apply it for that case is worse. For example to defend weak man, etc. And as an example of that how to be a man who take himself in martial arts we have the famouse fighter Fedor Emeljanenko, and he is the orthodox man.