One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.
Miyamoto Musashi
The warrior lifestyle involves much more than the ability to fight and defend yourself and those you love. It involves developing your character, living a life of honor and integrity, defending those who can’t defend themselves, taking care of the elderly and your family; in short, it involves service to others along with perfecting your character. Many people seem to get hung up on the literal definition of the term “warrior.” The literal definition, which can be found in most dictionaries, defines the term “warrior” as someone who is trained or experienced in warfare.
As far as the warrior lifestyle is concerned, this definition falls far short of being complete. Throughout history, when the term “warrior” has been used, it has carried with it a deeper meaning than simply “someone experienced in warfare.” Warriors have been revered for their character as much as their martial arts skills. The warrior was seen as a man of character, integrity and honor, not simply someone who knew how to fight, or who was experienced in fighting. It is true that the warrior should be skilled in the art of war or in the martial arts, but this is only a small part of being a true warrior.
Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate, stated that the ultimate goal of karate is the perfection of one’s character, not the perfection of one’s martial arts skills. Being a true warrior involves balance. The warrior strives for excellence in every part of his life, not only in developing his martial arts skills, but also in his everyday life. The warrior must endeavor to perfect himself spiritually and mentally, as well as physically. While it is true that the martial arts play an important part in the life of the true warrior, the martial arts are only a part of the warrior’s life.
There are many other parts of the warrior’s life which must also be addressed if he is serious about living the warrior lifestyle. Character training is definitely an important part of being a warrior. Without character training, so-called “warriors” are nothing more than thugs, trained to fight, but with no knowledge of what is worth fighting for. To educate someone in the martial arts without regard to their character, is simply training a menace to society. The ancient martial arts masters knew this and refused to train those who they felt lacked the character and integrity needed to be given these dangerous skills.
Character was important to the masters of old and was considered before someone was trained. Today, the martial arts have become big business and anyone with enough money can obtain as much training as they want, no matter how poor their character may be. Are these people warriors simply because they have purchased years of training and know how to fight? Are gang members, who know how to fight, warriors? Well, if you go by the literal definition, your answer would have to be yes, but if you go by the definition that I use for the true warrior, the answer is definitely no.
My definition of a true warrior is someone who has the ability and will to fight to protect himself, his friends, his family, and his ideals, while at the same time, seeks the perfection of his own character through a life lived with honor, integrity, and an unflinching dedication to what is right according to his own code of honor. The ability to fight is only a small part of this definition. The true warrior must develop more than his martial arts skills; the qualities of the true warrior go much deeper.
Warriors should exhibit the best qualities among men. The true warrior makes a firm decision to try to perfect his character and to live by a strict code of ethics. His word is his honor. His duty stays fresh in his mind. He lives life a little more seriously than most, but at the same time lives life to its fullest. He sees through the veil of appearances covering most parts of this world, but does so without looking down on those who are less perceptive.
Family and friends are important to him, and they know they can always count on him for protection and help in their time of need. He bases his decisions on his code of honor, and because of his training, he instinctively knows right from wrong, and chooses what is right. He knows that at times there is a difference between what is right and what is legal, and what is wrong and what is illegal. As Lao Tzu taught, “Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.”
The true warrior is able to hold his head high with honor because he knows that he lives his life authentically and to the best of his ability, with honor and integrity. His code is ingrained in his spirit and is a part of his being. Warriors walk alone much of the time, as they prefer solitude to the company of lesser men. The warrior is a man who aims for excellence in everything he does. These are the things which make someone a true warrior and the development of these traits leads one to live the warrior lifestyle.
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