Lifting Weights = Warrior?

Off Topic
61

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
The “300” thread reminded of something that has always baffled me…

Why do so many people who lift weights but never served in the military or fought (professionally or on the streets) talk about being warrior?

Do people really think that lifting weights and reading Sun Tzu qualifies them for warrior status?

I’m serious. I hear gym-goers contanstly talking about their “warrior philosophy.” It’s really annoying. Perhaps I am missing something.

Enlighten me: Why are you guys who never risked your life fighting or served in combat warriors?[/quote]

And being a skinny UFC figher or joining the military makes you a “warrior”? If you fight for what you believe in, you’re a warrior in my book. Following orders and shooting poor civilians in Iraq doesn’t exactly make you Musashi-fucking-myomoto.

Nobody is better than anybody else, regardless of there profession.

62

I do things with pride and skill. Everyday I go and work harder than a lot of people I know. I’d call myself a skilled technician, or if I wanted to stretch the term, an artist in my field. But I’m no warrior. Doing what you do well does make you a warrior.

If you make it through the day and you could have died doing it, only to have some of your mates dead, and tomorrow you face the same thing, then you can boast about being a warrior.

If not, shut up and and do the job they pay you to do, or pick up the heavy bar because you like the way it makes you feel or look.

63

[quote]Hannibal King wrote:
Following orders and shooting poor civilians in Iraq doesn’t exactly make you Musashi-fucking-myomoto.

Nobody is better than anybody else, regardless of there profession.[/quote]

The military is in a situation were it is hard to know who the enemy is. You are flat out wrong in saying they are killing POOR civilians.

Nobody is better than anybody else? Give everybody a blue ribbon because we are all equal. Then were is my 25 million I am as good as TO! Right!

64

In Japan, they had a warrior class. A societal caste of people who’s lives were dedicated to perfecting the art of waging war. After the “Warring States” period (WSP), this class of people continued to exist despite the lack of constant warfare. Until after the Meiji Restoration this class of people were called Samurai. This caste no longer exists.

Given that the end of general warfare in Japan did not coincide with the end of the Samurai, we can presume that those Samurai born after the WSP were not generally engaged in warfare. Are they not warriors for not having been bloodied on the field? They still prepared themselves for war.

In fact, it was after the WSP that the general ideas of budo (known as bushido in the West) came into existence as a concept. Though there was never a codified or generally accepted creed called Bushido/Budo, there were those who attempted to live by the ideals they saw as inherent to the existence of the true warrior. Those who pursue these ideals, are they warriors?

Are the modern day practitioners of Ninjutsu to be considered Ninja? Are people who play paintball to be called soldiers?

When I was a boy, my parents enrolled me in a martial arts school. For years, I trained in the techniques of hand-to-hand combat under a number of teachers. Over time I read many books detailing the warrior codes of various traditions and societies.

I played in full contact and kickboxing matches. I faced men with guns, men with knives, and women with hormones. I lived to defend my friends and others from those who would oppress and belittle them. I lived by the ideals of Budo, chivalry, etc, as best I could. I lived my life as though it could be taken from me at any second.

Did this make me a warrior?

After years of this type of living, I joined the U.S. Army. I trained, I drilled, I yelled, I shot, I did pushups. God did I do pushups. Then I went to war. I taught men and women to face the enemy and survive. I rose in rank and taught men and women to live by the “warrior creed”. Does this make me a warrior?

I worked with men from Delta, SEALS, intel, MPs, paperpushers, and truck drivers. I did this in the U.S. and in war zones. Are they warriors?

The definition of a warrior is a difficult thing to find. Everybody seems to have a different idea as to what it is. But, almost everybody can recognize one when they see them. Interestingly, it seems that so many people want to be considered warriors. On the same note, many basketball players would love to be considered the next Michael Jordan. But they’re not.

I’ve discussed what it is to be a warrior a lot lately in my personal life. I don’t consider many who wear the uniform to be warriors. But I have yet to see someone I’d call a true warrior who didn’t wear it at some point. There is an essence to a warrior that we can all recognize, but can’t quite put into words.

A person can wear the trappings of a warrior. Many can arrive spiritually at the same place as a warrior. But that does not make them warriors. There are those who fight truly difficult battles for a variety of causes. They are to be highly commended, and recognized as truly great human beings. Credits to humanity and their beliefs. But I do not call them warriors.

To me, and Webster be damned, a warrior is someone who finds their place in the cosmos and realizes their full potential, utilizing the arts of combat and conflict. Consciously, or subconsciously, this is what a warrior does. All others can touch this spirit, but they aren’t living it.

You don’t have to be spiritually or philosophically inclined to live the life of a warrior, as Musashi Miyamoto said, “the Way (of the warrior) is in training.” But despite that, the Way, is still a spiritual pursuit nonetheless.

I respect people from all walks of life and professions. There are many artists, authors, and teachers I look up to as people and mentors. But they aren’t warriors. Doesn’t make them less or more. We are all trying to reach the same place. We just choose different paths. Warriordom is but one of these paths.

If this is too philosophical, spiritual, or voodoo for you…deal with it. So is the way of the warrior. If it’s too confusing, let me know, I’m blonde- I don’t always make sense to others :wink:
-B

BTW, this is obviously just my opinion. I’m not the defining authority on the subject.

65

[quote]Chris Arp wrote:
Jonesy20 wrote:
Wow! you are absolutely right. How dare you prove me wrong. I want your HEAD ON A PLATE!

I just don’t want the US military to be lumped in with a failed political agenda. Our military is well trained,and very capable. This is a failed political occupation.[/quote]

Occupations don’t work. To the iraqi people, wether or not they liked saddam, we are still outsiders. I may not like bush, but if canadians decided to destroy our military and capture him, you can bet I would be shooting back. The only way for occupations to work is if the iraqi people want us there. some do, and some don’t.

Apparently not enough do. I am not saying wether the war is right or wrong, but you can’t really blame the iraqi’s for wanting to get U.S. troops out of their country. When we find the weapons of mass destruction we originally went there to find, I am sure that we will pull out and trundle home.

Like I said, I am not saying wether the war in Iraq is right or wrong. I am just saying occupations do not work unless the people want us to be there.

66

[quote]blondeguy wrote:
In Japan, they had a warrior class. A societal caste of people who’s lives were dedicated to perfecting the art of waging war. After the “Warring States” period (WSP), this class of people continued to exist despite the lack of constant warfare. Until after the Meiji Restoration this class of people were called Samurai. This caste no longer exists.

Given that the end of general warfare in Japan did not coincide with the end of the Samurai, we can presume that those Samurai born after the WSP were not generally engaged in warfare. Are they not warriors for not having been bloodied on the field? They still prepared themselves for war.

In fact, it was after the WSP that the general ideas of budo (known as bushido in the West) came into existence as a concept. Though there was never a codified or generally accepted creed called Bushido/Budo, there were those who attempted to live by the ideals they saw as inherent to the existence of the true warrior. Those who pursue these ideals, are they warriors?

Are the modern day practitioners of Ninjutsu to be considered Ninja? Are people who play paintball to be called soldiers?

When I was a boy, my parents enrolled me in a martial arts school. For years, I trained in the techniques of hand-to-hand combat under a number of teachers. Over time I read many books detailing the warrior codes of various traditions and societies.

I played in full contact and kickboxing matches. I faced men with guns, men with knives, and women with hormones. I lived to defend my friends and others from those who would oppress and belittle them. I lived by the ideals of Budo, chivalry, etc, as best I could. I lived my life as though it could be taken from me at any second.

Did this make me a warrior?

After years of this type of living, I joined the U.S. Army. I trained, I drilled, I yelled, I shot, I did pushups. God did I do pushups. Then I went to war. I taught men and women to face the enemy and survive. I rose in rank and taught men and women to live by the “warrior creed”. Does this make me a warrior?

I worked with men from Delta, SEALS, intel, MPs, paperpushers, and truck drivers. I did this in the U.S. and in war zones. Are they warriors?

The definition of a warrior is a difficult thing to find. Everybody seems to have a different idea as to what it is. But, almost everybody can recognize one when they see them. Interestingly, it seems that so many people want to be considered warriors. On the same note, many basketball players would love to be considered the next Michael Jordan. But they’re not.

I’ve discussed what it is to be a warrior a lot lately in my personal life. I don’t consider many who wear the uniform to be warriors. But I have yet to see someone I’d call a true warrior who didn’t wear it at some point. There is an essence to a warrior that we can all recognize, but can’t quite put into words.

A person can wear the trappings of a warrior. Many can arrive spiritually at the same place as a warrior. But that does not make them warriors. There are those who fight truly difficult battles for a variety of causes. They are to be highly commended, and recognized as truly great human beings. Credits to humanity and their beliefs. But I do not call them warriors.

To me, and Webster be damned, a warrior is someone who utilizes the arts of combat and conflict to realize their full potential as living beings, and find their place in the cosmos. Consciously, or subconsciously, this is what a warrior does. All others can touch this spirit, but they aren’t living it.

You don’t have to be spiritually or philosophically inclined to live the life of a warrior, as Musashi Miyamoto said, “the Way (of the warrior) is in training.” But despite that, the Way, is still a spiritual pursuit nonetheless.

I respect people from all walks of life and professions. There are many artists, authors, and teachers I look up to as people and mentors. But they aren’t warriors. Doesn’t make them less or more. We are all trying to reach the same place. We just choose different paths. Warriordom is but one of these paths.

If this is too philosophical, spiritual, or voodoo for you…deal with it. So is the way of the warrior. If it’s too confusing, let me know, I’m blonde- I don’t always make sense to others :wink:
-B
[/quote]

Well said! I am going with this post as the true explaination of warrior.

67

I have been serving as a grunt in the Australian Army for the past 6 years and have been deployed to a few places overseas in my time.
I do not see myself as a warrior but a professional in the career I have chosen.
I doubt there are any true warriors left.!

68

[quote]Chris Arp wrote:

Well said! I am going with this post as the true explaination of warrior.[/quote]

Thank you.
-B

69

Y’know, whatever they are, warriors are still just people.

They don’t have to be elevated to demigod status.

70

[quote]vroom wrote:
Y’know, whatever they are, warriors are still just people.

They don’t have to be elevated demigod status.[/quote]

I don’t even understand the debate. Why is anyone else trying to tell people how they should view whatever fight or struggle they have to go through in life? If someone works abnormally hard for something, or fights for it, they can call themselves whatever the hell they want. They still stand out among millions of people who seem to be extremely happy with just being “average”.

The real question is why are there so many average mutherfuckers out there worried about what the above average call themselves?

71

[quote]orion wrote:
Samurais later made a journey inwards to fight in their own minds instead of an outward enemy, like Zen Buddhism, poetry, etc…[/quote]

Upon returning from the Battle of Badr, the prophet Muhammad said, “We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.” They asked, “O Prophet of God, which is the greater jihad?” He replied, “The struggle within oneself.”

  • Hadith

Real power isn’t what you can do to others, but what you can do with yourself.

  • Me (Kailash)
72

[quote]Professor X wrote:

The real question is why are there so many average mutherfuckers out there worried about what the above average call themselves?[/quote]

Only the average ones whine about such things…and the above average ones don’t call themselves anything. Irony at its best I guess.

73

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
It’s a great activity, and very demanding. But it’s not combat, and it doesn’t put a person’s life at risk.[/quote]

But couldn’t we live through something, as if our lives were at risk if we’d fail or cop out?

When I say I’m going to do something, I do it. It doesn’t matter how hard it might turn out to be, even two or three or ten times harder than I anticipated, but I still do it. To have stood up and accomplished some things, I was either fucking insane or a warrior. Or both. You take your pick. (Examples by request.)

Everyone has all qualities, and everyone is a warrior when they have to be.

74

[quote]BH6 wrote:
I wouldn’t call myself a warrior, but I have seen Platoon so many times it gave me post traumatic stress disorder.[/quote]

hahaha!

75

[quote]duffman59 wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
The “300” thread reminded of something that has always baffled me…

Why do so many people who lift weights but never served in the military or fought (professionally or on the streets) talk about being warrior?

Do people really think that lifting weights and reading Sun Tzu qualifies them for warrior status?

I’m serious. I hear gym-goers contanstly talking about their “warrior philosophy.” It’s really annoying. Perhaps I am missing something.

Enlighten me: Why are you guys who never risked your life fighting or served in combat warriors?

The question you should really be asking is “Why do politicians who have never served in combat and would never send their own children to battle beat the war drum the loudest to send the young and the poor to learn to be ‘warriors?’”

[/quote]

Black Sabbath’s War Pigs… 'nuff said

76

But arent we all “warriors”??

We are all gonna die anyway… :wink:

77

[quote]blondeguy wrote:
In Japan, they had a warrior class. A societal caste of people who’s lives were dedicated to perfecting the art of waging war. After the “Warring States” period (WSP), this class of people continued to exist despite the lack of constant warfare. Until after the Meiji Restoration this class of people were called Samurai. This caste no longer exists.

Given that the end of general warfare in Japan did not coincide with the end of the Samurai, we can presume that those Samurai born after the WSP were not generally engaged in warfare. Are they not warriors for not having been bloodied on the field? They still prepared themselves for war.

In fact, it was after the WSP that the general ideas of budo (known as bushido in the West) came into existence as a concept. Though there was never a codified or generally accepted creed called Bushido/Budo, there were those who attempted to live by the ideals they saw as inherent to the existence of the true warrior. Those who pursue these ideals, are they warriors?

Are the modern day practitioners of Ninjutsu to be considered Ninja? Are people who play paintball to be called soldiers?

When I was a boy, my parents enrolled me in a martial arts school. For years, I trained in the techniques of hand-to-hand combat under a number of teachers. Over time I read many books detailing the warrior codes of various traditions and societies.

I played in full contact and kickboxing matches. I faced men with guns, men with knives, and women with hormones. I lived to defend my friends and others from those who would oppress and belittle them. I lived by the ideals of Budo, chivalry, etc, as best I could. I lived my life as though it could be taken from me at any second.

Did this make me a warrior?

After years of this type of living, I joined the U.S. Army. I trained, I drilled, I yelled, I shot, I did pushups. God did I do pushups. Then I went to war. I taught men and women to face the enemy and survive. I rose in rank and taught men and women to live by the “warrior creed”. Does this make me a warrior?

I worked with men from Delta, SEALS, intel, MPs, paperpushers, and truck drivers. I did this in the U.S. and in war zones. Are they warriors?

The definition of a warrior is a difficult thing to find. Everybody seems to have a different idea as to what it is. But, almost everybody can recognize one when they see them. Interestingly, it seems that so many people want to be considered warriors. On the same note, many basketball players would love to be considered the next Michael Jordan. But they’re not.

I’ve discussed what it is to be a warrior a lot lately in my personal life. I don’t consider many who wear the uniform to be warriors. But I have yet to see someone I’d call a true warrior who didn’t wear it at some point. There is an essence to a warrior that we can all recognize, but can’t quite put into words.

A person can wear the trappings of a warrior. Many can arrive spiritually at the same place as a warrior. But that does not make them warriors. There are those who fight truly difficult battles for a variety of causes. They are to be highly commended, and recognized as truly great human beings. Credits to humanity and their beliefs. But I do not call them warriors.

To me, and Webster be damned, a warrior is someone who finds their place in the cosmos and realizes their full potential, utilizing the arts of combat and conflict. Consciously, or subconsciously, this is what a warrior does. All others can touch this spirit, but they aren’t living it.

You don’t have to be spiritually or philosophically inclined to live the life of a warrior, as Musashi Miyamoto said, “the Way (of the warrior) is in training.” But despite that, the Way, is still a spiritual pursuit nonetheless.

I respect people from all walks of life and professions. There are many artists, authors, and teachers I look up to as people and mentors. But they aren’t warriors. Doesn’t make them less or more. We are all trying to reach the same place. We just choose different paths. Warriordom is but one of these paths.

If this is too philosophical, spiritual, or voodoo for you…deal with it. So is the way of the warrior. If it’s too confusing, let me know, I’m blonde- I don’t always make sense to others :wink:
-B

BTW, this is obviously just my opinion. I’m not the defining authority on the subject.
[/quote]

Best post - by a long shot.

78

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Professor X wrote:

The real question is why are there so many average mutherfuckers out there worried about what the above average call themselves?

Only the average ones whine about such things…and the above average ones don’t call themselves anything. Irony at its best I guess. [/quote]

On your blog, you call yourself: “A brash, invincible toughguy from Jersey who wants everything.” I take it you are average. LMAO.

79

[quote]Professor X wrote:
I don’t even understand the debate. Why is anyone else trying to tell people how they should view whatever fight or struggle they have to go through in life? [/quote]

Why do you worry about when people miuse works like “eating clean,” or “ripped”? Fuck it: Words mean whatever the speaker wants them to mean.

If someone is 6’, 135 lbs. and calls himself big, then he’s big.

80

Wow…so apparently a question which has been debated for hundreds and hundreds of years has been solved so easily.

A warrior isn’t any kind of complex ideal to attempt to live up to, its just some idiot punk who street fights or some kid who lets himself get shot at overseas so he can pay for school! Who knew it was so simple to figure out what a warrior was!
/sarcasm off

I think someone let a little too much of the macho crap in bootcamp infect their brain, especially since serving in the military doesn’t necessarily even mean combat…(driving a supplies truck makes you a warrior!)

Also, what the hell? Street fighting makes you a warrior? I’m pretty sure it just makes you a moron on the fast road to getting shot by some thug with a 9mm…oh well, I could be wrong.