Warriors are Creators, not Destroyers: The Warrior's Ethos

People will say, "He's a warrior and a poet." Samurai as another example were not just warriors. They considered their swordcraft an art, but they also excelled in the actual arts. Several were known as accomplished poets, and others as talented calligraphers. You've certainly heard of the phrase, "It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war" too.

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Warriors do not seek to destroy as one might first believe. Instead, the vast majority of them fight only when necessary. They will destroy an enemy who leaves them with no other choice however. A warrior always seeks peace first, but they are prepared for war in the event that peace fails.

Someone who seeks to destroy is not a warrior. They are a human predator, and human predators should be culled. There's no place for them society. If they wish to hunt and prey on their fellow humans, good people need to stand up and stop them. Those people are usually the warriors among us.

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Another way to look at this concept is the more modern day classification. People are divided into three groups. There are sheep, wolves, and sheep dogs. I'm not a fan of this way to define people, for there's often a lot of gray area. Some people will fight, but they will not fight until all other options are exhausted. Therefore, are they a sheep or a sheep dog?

Worse, the idea implies and reinforces the idea that people need protectors. They need an elite class who are above the law and who benefit from double standards and special protections. I completely reject that idea in favor of equality under the law. Every person, whether they decide to fight in the beginning or as a last resort, should be protected the same way.

Each one of us needs to decide our line in stone. What must happen before we take up the tool of violence? Your line may be very different from mine. A life or many lives are at stake, so the choice is a very personal one. Decide for yourself, and accept the consequences. Before you decide though, make sure you know yourself well.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” --Sun Tzu

We are in a perpetual battle with ourselves. If we do not know ourselves, we cannot win our internal battle.

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.” --Cherokee Parable

Once we know ourselves and commit to the battle, we must conquer the "evil" wolf.

Warriors understand the fight and embrace it. It is part of their ethos. They have studied their weaknesses and strengths, and they know which wolf to feed. No matter what evil is committed against them, they will act according to their good ethics. Good ethics means using violence when there's no other choice. They know when and when not to destroy.

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Life is precious, and taking it should not be an easy task. Even for the warriors among us, it is a grave decision to make. Samurai enjoyed a double standard of their own, and they ruled with an iron fist over those beneath them. However, they did not draw their swords until someone needed to die and die immediately.

We are not samurai today, but we should abide by the same wise principle. My firearm will not be drawn unless someone needs to die immediately. I will not use it to threaten, and it will not be used because of my fear. No, it will be used to destroy, and I'll only destroy when given no other choice. That is part of the warrior's ethos.

I stay in Jeff Cooper's condition yellow at all times, and my firearm stays on me even when I'm in my house. In the old days, and even in modern movies about the past, people kept their tools on them. They were armed and ready at all times. A rifle would be on a mantle over the fire place as well. They understood the warrior's ethos.

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Another term I do not like using today due to its definition being warped is "hero." My life's motto is:

Stop playing or watching the part of a hero, and be one instead.

What is a hero though? A hero is a person who does the right thing even though it is the hard thing. The hero is the warrior who conquers his or her fears and drives forward into danger. They are the people who risk everything, including their lives and the lives of their loved ones, to do the right thing. Another saying I have is that liberty is worth any price, and I really mean it.

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Heroes understand the risks, and they accept them with a smile. They know what they are fighting for is worth any price.

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All of us have our own person dreams and nightmares, but my worse nightmares have a common theme. That theme is me being helpless or unable to move while I see some injustice being done. It is an injustice I personally have the ability to stop too. Someone I love will be getting hurt, or something needs to be done to protect people.

It's a nightmare because I'll not be able to act.

It reminds me again of the Jon Snow one man war scene where a dragon gets killed, or the scene in Saving Private Ryan where the coward slowly walks up the stairs as his friend is stabbed through the heart. That delay is maddening. I see such scenarios and rage. Would you please hurry up?! People are dying, damn it. Your inaction has severe consequences!

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I suppose there's a reason that's the recurring nightmare of mine.

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Have you accomplished everything in your life to die in peace? I'll always want to create more, but I have done enough. The battle never ends of course, but I would die with a smile on my face today. I'm at peace with my life because I know I've upheld my honor, and I've done "right" to others.

Warriors never give up though. We've all seen movies, some based off true stories, where the prey give up easily. Mass murderers and sociopaths always bring up how people beg for their lives. It's a common scene not simply out of Hollywood. When a person is trapped and knows no other way, they will drop to their knees and beg.

That is not the warrior's way. Warriors do not "die with honor." They die fighting. Years ago I clipped this image from a newspaper to save it, and the image has always perplexed me. Would you stand there at attention to be shot, or would you fight to the death? I'm fighting to the death. No one kills me that easily.

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As long as their fight left in me, I'm fighting. Do not jest about such serious matters either, for they may cost you your life. My friends don't sneak into my house at night to try and trick me. They don't pull pranks as this one ISIS fighter did either:

The men who pulled that prank deserved to die. I would have killed them too. Such life and death situations should never be turned into jokes. There's way too much at stake, and a warrior may end your life before realizing your jest.

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The images in this post are mostly from the martial arts school near me, Charlottesville Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Gordon Emery is the lead instructor, or professor, as his students prefer to call him. The school is training warriors. Clearly, from the first paragraph in the About Section on their webpage and the images on the walls that I have shared with you, they "get it."

They understand the warrior ethos.

Charlottesville Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offers a friendly and relaxed no-ego environment in which to train martial arts and combat sports. The top notch facility, the detailed instruction, the effective training and great class atmosphere is why most people sign-up as well as continue to train at our school. The camaraderie has grown into a great family, all helping each other make progress in martial arts as well as in life. Most of our students consider Charlottesville Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu their second home.

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Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. Those of us who have trained in martial arts understand that strength, quickness, and skill all matter. Strength and size are not everything however. If you underestimated Gordon because of his fit and thin build, you would be making a grave mistake.

At his school, women train with men. They should train with men too. Why? A woman's attacker will almost certainly be a man. She should be prepared for that fact. Women are no exception to the warrior ethos. They are warriors too. Stand me beside another man twice my size and strength, and then consider a woman half the size of a man. How does her gender change anything?

She's still a warrior. There's absolutely no difference between her and another man or a smaller man to a larger one. They can both train to be better warriors. The smaller man or the smaller woman can still easily beat the stronger and bigger opponent too. Strength and size help, but skill and quickness are best.

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The warrior's ethos has mostly been lost today. Most of the people around you are not warriors, and they simply seek to survive for another day. They would not risk death for their own lives let alone the lives of a stranger. Perhaps, given the right circumstances, they would die to save their child.

I'm not even sure how many would do that though. It seems we are surrounded by humans who are content on being farm animals. They are cattle. Instead of complaining about the current situation however, we need to fix it. It will be fixed by walking away from the present situation and building a better one in the future.

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That better future depends on furthering the warrior's ethos. We need to raise children who are warriors, and we need to train ourselves to be better ones. A peaceful world in which individual liberty is the norm depends on our efforts. Good people must do good. They must not simply try to do good. As Yoda's image above declares, there is no trying. Either we do, or we do not.

Remember that the fate of the world depends on it being done.

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