Honor is central to warriorship.
Forrest E. Morgan
Several people have disagreed with my assessment that the warrior is more than someone who is trained and experienced in the art of warfare. I maintain that to be a true warrior you have to have more than martial arts training or military training; you also have to have character, integrity and honor. In fact, according to Forrest E. Morgan in his book Living the Martial Way, honor is one of the key traits of warriorship.
Honor is basically your personal integrity. It is having strong moral character and strength, and adherence to ethical principles. If someone is lacking these character traits, can we truly say that he is a warrior, or is he just someone who has been trained to fight and kill? There are many members of street gangs who know how to fight and are efficient killers, but are they truly warriors?
Well, by now you know that my answer to that is a resounding no! It takes much more to be a warrior than the willingness to fight. True warriorship involves a lifestyle which is much more complicated than that. It involves honor and living a life of service to others. It involves character and integrity, and a dedication to justice. And yes, at times it does involve being willing and able to fight, but fighting is only a small piece of the warrior lifestyle. You can be a fighter without being a warrior, but you can’t be a warrior without honor.
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