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VIOLENCE, PASSIVITY AND THE WARRIOR'S MIND
Author: RICHARD RYAN
The Japanese have a saying: The fastest swords are seldom drawn. I've found it to be true in martial arts. Some of the most dangerous human beings on the planet are also some of the nicest, humblest and most gentle people you'll ever meet. Martial artists likejeet kune do proponent Lamar Davis II, weapons expert Kelly Worden, goshindo master Dana Abbott and sento founder Walt Lysak Jr. have an incredible capacity for destruction, yet each demonstrates extreme levels of self-control, especially in conflict situations. They abhor senseless violence. For them, force is the final option, not the first.
Mastering any martial art demands a price of all who travel that path, and the journey changes you on a primal level. You can't achieve a high level of skill without possessing a great deal of self-discipline, self-control, introspection and personal enlightenment. Disciples must face the demons of the human condition—fear, anger and ego—and bring them under the control of the self. True mastery can't be achieved without first subjugating your emotions, weaknesses and dark side.
Many people believe the martial arts are synonymous with violence. In some cases, it's certainly true. Some people use the arts to dominate others or placate fragile egos and personal insecurities. However, they aren't true martial artists; they're thugs and bullies who just happen to be learning new and better ways to beat up people. No matter how skilled they become, their Achilles' heel will bring them down.
I'm always amazed when I meet someone who believes violence and aggression will make him more of a man—or martial artist. He's the guy who constantly boasts about his martial arts skills, picks fights or tells others that he'd kill this or that person if they ever "got into it." When he spars, he relishes each opportunity to take advantage of a weaker opponent and makes sure everyone sees him administer the beating to the less-experienced person.
When facing someone of equal or superior skill, however, he often backs down or cheats to gain the advantage. He thrives on the fear his reputation inspires in others. His whole identity is caught up in how tough or dangerous other people think he is. But if you take that image away or put him on the receiving end of a beating, his entire psyche tends to crumple.
Psychologists have determined that otherwise-normal people (except the mentally ill) who are overtly aggressive and those who are extremely submissive or passive suffer from the same thing: fear. They just have different ways of dealing with their insecurities. The passive personality becomes introverted and submissive, whereas the volatile personality becomes extroverted and even more combative.
I actually feel more sorry for the volatile type because they usually don't have a glimmer of understanding of the reason they're so violent and aggressive. In reality, all they'd have to do is pop open a high-school psychology book to learn that overly aggressive behavior patterns in otherwise-normal people point directly to problems with the very fears and insecurities they're desperately trying to hide from others.
The other extreme type is the passive mind-set person. The exact opposite of the volatile person, he often exhibits meek and introverted personality traits. When taken to the extreme, this makes people more like "sheeple": They rarely confront situations head-on. You may have run into this type in the martial arts. They're the ones who often get lost in the esoteric aspects and are drawn to the practice of arts that emphasize mysterious powers such as chi—although they seldom offer to demonstrate their superhuman abilities.
On the surface, there's nothing wrong with being more passive. It's certainly better than being a person who likes to hurt people for his own amusement. However, such attitudes are just as problematic as overly aggressive tendencies when it comes to learning the martial arts. Passivity breeds hesitation and indecision under pressure, and it can lead to less-than-desirable training practices that will take you off the path to mastery of the reality-based fighting arts. Passive practitioners tend to avoid conflict and often train with less realism than their more aggressive counterparts because they shy away from contact and competition in favor of more passive interactions.
Taken to an extreme, passive attitudes can give rise to doubts about whether you really could do what it takes to survive. In doing so, you're setting yourself up for indecision in a crisis, and indecision is a luxury a warrior cannot afford. The bottom line is, you must be willing to use violence to stop violence if necessary. If your life or that of another is hanging in the balance, there's no room for hesitation or psychological or moral conflict.
Great levels of martial arts skill can be achieved only by adopting a Zen-like mind-set that's neither too aggressive nor too passive. You neither seek violence nor avoid it; you accept whatever may come without prejudice or judgment. You're in control of yourself, and you're willing to do whatever is necessary to solve the problem—be it through action or inaction. Those who've traveled this path would agree that the true value of the arts lies in the mastery and development of the self, which ultimately leads to self-acceptance, self-knowledge and even inner peace.
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