Warrior Spirit Taught or Instinct

[Rich Parsons]

Is the Warrior Spirit taught or is it instinct?


Can anyone learn it or be taught?

Is it inside everyone and only needs to be awakened?

Are their special tactics and techniques that a person can use to train or teach others?

 

[jfarnsworth]

My best guess is that it is a little of both. I believe we were born with an instict to try and survive however I also believe through training we are taught how to channel our insticts. That's my guess.

 

[Rich Parsons]

So you would have voted for option two?

 

[markulous]

I had a big long message typed out then realized what I was rambling on about was basically the same thing jfarnsworth said.

So I would agree with you.

 

[Cruentus]

I vote option two.

I believe that very much like self defense, "warrior" instinct is inside all of us. What happends in our modern world is that we grow further and further away from our instincts, and become out of touch with our instinctual selves. Depending on how far away we are from our own instinct, it could take some coaching or instruction to be able to strip away our excess baggage from the modern world to find our instinctual selves again.

I believe that a "Warrior" instinct is the instinct to preserve ourselves, our families, our morals/beliefs, and our way of life. I think we all have the instinct, but it gets buried.

 

[Makalakumu]

Originally posted by PAUL
I vote option two.

I believe that very much like self defense, "warrior" instinct is inside all of us. What happends in our modern world is that we grow further and further away from our instincts, and become out of touch with our instinctual selves. Depending on how far away we are from our own instinct, it could take some coaching or instruction to be able to strip away our excess baggage from the modern world to find our instinctual selves again.

I believe that a "Warrior" instinct is the instinct to preserve ourselves, our families, our morals/beliefs, and our way of life. I think we all have the instinct, but it gets buried.

I voted for two because I think the warrior instinct, as meaning the ability and motivation to kill, lies in all of us. This instinct, I believe, is a primordial tribal throwback to days when difference was bad and usually was treated with death.

I disagree with Paul over a point where he stated that the instinct was buried by todays society. I wouldn't say buried. I would say redirected. With all of the flag waving and patriotism now day, I would say that our collective warrior spirit is being manipulated by our leaders for their benefit. This instinct runs strong throughout the world.

 

[don bohrer]

Those that display no warrior spirit whatsoever often amaze themselves and others at what they can do when defending loved ones. So I would have to say its in there, burried deeply and may never surface in a life time of dojo training, inspired coaching or ultimate desire, but put a family member in danger... bam!

don

 

[Black Bear]

Maybe it would help to define "warrior spirit" first?

 

[loki09789]

This may be a tacky analogy, but I think that the warrior spirit is something akin to potential energy, everyone has it - to varying levels - but the accidental/incidental and chosen circumstances of a person's life will dictate how well applied and what type of application will appear in - like kinetic energy.

Someone endowed with loads of 'warrior spirit', but growing up in a gang tough area with minimal parental/adult guidance runs the risk of becoming a successful hardened criminal.

Someone fighting for safe working conditions or civil rights, or some social cause may utilize the WS in this arena of battle

Teachers in 'bad' schools' fighting to give students an education and a positive role model could be using the WS

Obviously, the soldier/sailor... uses the WS, at times.

But there are many people who are not challenged or tested to extremes (relatively speaking - everyone has a 'worst experience' of somekind) and will therefore never need to test the depth of their will to survive, thirst for challenge, or strength to stand for a cause.

Paul Martin

 

[Cruentus]

Originally posted by Black Bear
Maybe it would help to define "warrior spirit" first?

I don't know what the exact definition is, but I have my opinion as to how to define it.

I believe that a "Warrior" spirit is the inner drive to preserve ourselves, our families, our community, our morals/beliefs, and our way of life.

I don't think that being a warrior means simply killing another human being, or an inner drive towards war. A murder isn't a warrior, in my opinion.

 

[Black Bear]

So really we're talking about self-preservation, family and community preservation, with a hint of possible altruism?

Exists instinctually, partly cultivated by socialization.

 

[James Kovacich]

Warrior spirit has some to do with fighting ability and that some are born with. This can also be trained.

The spiritual side of warrior spirit comes many years solid training under good instructors. An example could be that we so many great old instructors teaching the way that they were taught and some of their students would not stand a chance in professional competition.

Some with warrior spirit may even not beleive in the spiritual side. An example come be many of todays professional competitors who beleive that TMA is weak.

So it comes in 2 forms. Physical abilities to "impose ones will" on another and old school martial training.

Side note: I have an uncle that is an old school Kenpo black belt and I probably would find it difficult to seriously touch him. Thats another example of "learned."

So I would say that it is 50/50, dead even. Half natural and half learned.

 

[Crazy Chihuahua]

I took "Warrior Instinct" to mean the ability to participate in combat if need be, and the self-control and discipline to know when to fight and when not to....If you were to say the "Killer Instinct" I would have voted option one. I think there are some people who just do not have it in them to take a life.

 

[Black Bear]

You see, everyone's using the word in a different way, which is why no one can agree if it's an innate or acquired trait.

By the way Crazy Chihuahua, I assume you mean "Warrior Spirit" in your last post. Anything that is an "instinct" is by definition innate.

 

[KenpoTex]

To me the phrase "warrior instinct" is synonymous with "killer instinct," or, the mental proclivity toward violence. This, in my mind at least, is not necessarily a negative thing as long as you don't go around killing everyone you meet. It is just a throwback to our animal instinct of self-preservation. I believe that some people are born with a bigger dose of "warrior instinct" than are others but I also believe that you can be conditioned to manifest this attitude. For example, the training basic-trainees undergo in the military. I could go on but I think I made my point.

 

[Black Bear]

On the other hand, if you look at the works of Konrad Lorenz and David Grossman, you'll see that a lot of researchers consider it unnatural for intra-species aggression to be lethal, and that things like desensitization and operant conditioning are necessary in order for it to occur.

 

[loki09789]

w/o a working definition this could get real confusing.

Paul M.

 

[Black Bear]

It already has. People on this thread are obviously not talking about the same thing.

 

[loki09789]

(In my best R. Lee Ermey impression)

WELL, TAKE CHARGE, THERE, BLACK BEAR!

COME ON, MADAME CHAIR PERSON, ARE YOU CHAIRPERSON OR A CHAIR.

DO YOU LIKE BEING A CHAIR...

OH NO, DON'T TRY, THAT WOULD BREAK MY F*&&ING HEART....

The PM has spoken (Hey that works in so many ways...)

 

[Cruentus]

I have a solution...just wait.