Warrior Spirit

[yutyeesam]

What is a complete definition of Warrior Spirit? I've kind of reduced it to not being afraid of getting hit. But I imagine there's more to it.

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[apoweyn]

in my opinion, the term 'warrior spirit' as applied to martial artists is a farce. it belittles what i consider to be a fundamental point of being a warrior: the possibility of death. not in bed watching matlock. but violently. and for a cause larger than oneself.

navy seal: warrior spirit. police officer: warrior spirit.

martial artist: er, no. that doesn't mean one can't be a devoted, serious, and skilled martial artist. it just means that one's mortality isn't really called into question as a result of that lifestyle.

even self defense isn't, to my mind, warrior spirit. a warrior made a decision to fight on behalf of [fill in the blank]. self defense is a fight on behalf of oneself or one's loved ones. it's an act of self interest. a perfectly reasonable one. but still different in my book.

not being afraid of getting hit may make you tough. but it's different.

IMHO


stuart b.

p.s. i thought forrest morgan's book was excellent, but i could have done without its making 'warrior' a buzzword.

[yutyeesam]

Interesting. I've never heard that perspective. So people who are in situations where death is a very real possibility, and are doing things not for self interest, but for helping others.

I am assuming that there is an element of fighting/combat that's involved, because would you say aid station workers on the front lines of a war have warrior spirit? They know that their station could very easily get bombed, and kill them, and they are serving other people...or the example of a bomb defuser.

[apoweyn]

that's an interesting question. and it's hard to say 'no' without sounding like i'm somehow detracting from what those people do. but rest assured that i don't think there's much detracting from what a bomb squad member does.

still, i'm going to say no, based on my feeling that part of warrior spirit would also have to include the willingness to take a life. many of us would be willing if it were a question of life-or-death self preservation. but how about as a job requirement? out of allegiance to someone or something bigger than us? would we be ready, able, and willing to claim a life with detachment because it was our 'role' to do so? (job, duty, social role, etc.)

there's a question of dying and killing that needs to be addressed, i think. it's a moral and philosophical question that most of us will never need to address.

does that make sense?


stuart

[Suntzu]

I was in a bookstore the other day and came acroos this book called ON KILLING… it's about how the military trained recruits to take someones life… I put it back on the shelf but this discussion has me wanting to go back and pick it up… another book in my to read pile...:rolleyes:

[apoweyn]

:)

another book recommendation (you know, because you didn't have enough already) is richard strozzi heckler's 'in search of the warrior spirit.' it's a journal of an aikido instructor/psychologist's stint in the spartan project (a project run by the u.s. army in the 1970s to determine whether meditation, awareness training, and other types of holistic training could enhance special forces soldiers' performance).

it's a really good read and has a lot to say about the nature of soldiering and how it does and does not 'match up' with that of martial arts.


stuart b.