There you are, watering your front lawn and casually looking around at your neighborhood. A young girl is crossing the street trying to catch her rolling ball. You notice a car driving down the road, and the driver hasn’t seen the small girl coming around the parked car. What do you do? You spring into action and pull the girl off the road in the nick of time.
Martial artists in today’s society are modern warriors. No, we aren’t riding to the next county to steal their cows or horses. I mean warriors in the ideal sense — the noble knight or brave soldier. Many of us are not professional soldiers, but we are a part of our local community. We are the guardians of our neighborhoods.
As martial artists, you should rise to the character expectations of all warriors. We are not thugs or bullies. We are pillars of the community who meet danger with action, not flight. Here are some ideas that wrote using free association:
Helping Others
- Help others, especially those who can not help themselves
- Be prepared for disasters with food, supplies, medicine, guns, and ammo.
- Know CPR and first aid. Be willing to perform it on others.
- Stand your ground and protect your honor and beliefs while not infringing on the integrity or views of your neighbors.
Defend the Good
- Maintain your morals and beliefs regardless of the situation
- Remember that not everyone has the same beliefs as you. Americans and warriors both protect everyone’s rights to have or not have religion.
- A secular society maintains fairness, self-responsibility, and openness.
- Do not stand for the trampling of rights of smaller groups. One day, you may be in a smaller group.
Servant Leader
- Keep yourself responsible for your actions.
- Take actions that are responsible, noble, and just.
- Help others selflessly.
- Lead by example and with service.
This list may be high-handed and a bit self-righteous, but that is how one must live to be considered a warrior. I believe the notion of Americanism to be the warrior’s mindset. We seek individualism through protecting our fellow Americans. Since the beginning of this nation, we have fought to keep ourselves independent yet supportive of each other. If you compare that to the tales of King Arthur’s Knights, Robin the Hood, or the masked heroes such as Zorro, you get a sense of a warrior’s mentality. Since we train to defend ourselves, we also train to protect others. Our Life Skills curriculum re-enforces these values through stories, self-directed assignments, and goals. It is the critical element that keeps our warriors from degrading into bullies.
Disagree, let me know in my comments.
