A true warrior

terryl965

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In your opinion what is the criteria for todays world that makes a true warrior? We all know what was 100's of years ago but what would you believe in today world could be seen as a true warrior? Qualities that make them into one.
 

dancingalone

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Perhaps I am being obtuse, but don't you have to fight in a war to be a warrior? At the very least, you should be a member of the armed forces or a mercenary (or a retired one), which would disqualify most here on the board.

On the other hand, I'd say that 95% of us here are martial artists. That is enough for me.
 

Manny

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A true warrior is a person who has good principles, loyalty,comitment in every aspects of life, who earns his money in a clean way and who cares about his family and the neigbor, who has a positive attitude in life.

Manny
 

Daniel Sullivan

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In your opinion what is the criteria for todays world that makes a true warrior? We all know what was 100's of years ago but what would you believe in today world could be seen as a true warrior? Qualities that make them into one.
To crush the enemy, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

Daniel
 

StudentCarl

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To confront (and not dodge) the challenges you face with courage; to give your best effort for those causes and not half-measures; to live honor and service so that your word is counted as gold and you are considered a stength in any line you are part of.
 

puunui

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To tell you the truth, I don't want the label "true warrior". I would rather people view me as just another guy walking down the street. I go out of my way to avoid anything that would identify me as a martial arts guy. No martial arts stickers on my car, I don't wear any sort of clothing with martial arts identifiers on it, don't walk around outside in my dobok.
 

Blindside

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In your opinion what is the criteria for todays world that makes a true warrior? We all know what was 100's of years ago but what would you believe in today world could be seen as a true warrior? Qualities that make them into one.

The only reasonable definition includes those members of society who train to or engage in actual war, and even there I think it is a connotation about those members of the military (or tribe or whatever) who actually do the fighting, somewhere there is a blurry line between the logistics guy and the guy on point. What are the qualities we look for? Tenacity, strength, courage, skilled at their craft, hopefully tactical and strategic awareness. And while we can admire those traits in others I have a huge problem making the leap from those who actually do engage in warfare and transferring that title to people engaged other endeavors. You will frequently hear comparisons with NFL games and "warfare;" that guy is a "warrior," heck, the whole "in the trenches" commentary is directly derived from actual warfare. Strong, yup, Tenacious, yup, Courageous, yup, Skilled, yup, Tactical Awareness, yup, are they warriors? Nope.

So admire the traits, try to live up to the ideals, but that won't make you a warrior.
 

Daniel Sullivan

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The only reasonable definition includes those members of society who train to or engage in actual war, and even there I think it is a connotation about those members of the military (or tribe or whatever) who actually do the fighting, somewhere there is a blurry line between the logistics guy and the guy on point. What are the qualities we look for? Tenacity, strength, courage, skilled at their craft, hopefully tactical and strategic awareness. And while we can admire those traits in others I have a huge problem making the leap from those who actually do engage in warfare and transferring that title to people engaged other endeavors. You will frequently hear comparisons with NFL games and "warfare;" that guy is a "warrior," heck, the whole "in the trenches" commentary is directly derived from actual warfare. Strong, yup, Tenacious, yup, Courageous, yup, Skilled, yup, Tactical Awareness, yup, are they warriors? Nope.

So admire the traits, try to live up to the ideals, but that won't make you a warrior.
QFT!

Daniel
 

Daniel Sullivan

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In your opinion what is the criteria for todays world that makes a true warrior? We all know what was 100's of years ago but what would you believe in today world could be seen as a true warrior? Qualities that make them into one.
Skill at waging war is what makes a warrior. Most cultures differentiated between warriors and foot soldiers.

Warriors were traditionally officers. Foot soldiers were either enlisted or conscripted. In most cultures, warriors were also a social class. The US doesn't have a warrior class. Modern militaries operate on a different model than societies that had a warrior class. The only reason that the definition has broadened is because in modern western society, there really is no warrior social class.

Never having actually served in the military in any capacity, I am not a warrior in any capacity.

Daniel
 

Nomad

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Service. Anything else is role playing.

True enough. But not all of us will or can serve in the military or police forces (which I believe was implied by this post) whether by missed opportunities or simply different decisions earlier in life.

Of course, there are many other ways to serve. Whether it's service to your country, your community, or so on. A teacher or a doctor, for instance, can serve (not all of them do!) an absolutely vital role without being in the line of fire. How about a scientist, trying to gain a clearer understanding of the world we live in, or develop a new drug that could help a huge number of people? All of these are, IMHO, different forms of service.

We can also attempt to live up to many of the idealized traits of a warrior. To go with an often romanticized and classic version of this from Nitobe; Benevolence, Justice, Courage, Honor, Veracity, Politeness and Loyalty.

Of course, we can also nearly endlessly debate the relative merits of each, or change the list up to include other terms or exclude those we don't particularly think are relevant in a modern context.
 

seasoned

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Re: A true warrior

"Kokoro" Mental Attitude

Battles are won or lost because of mental attitude. The deciding factor on the battle field, or in the street for the matter, is "Kokoro" heart, the will to win at all cost. It's not how many techniques you know, or how many push ups you can do.
 

Gorilla

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I was in the army during peace time. I trained to be a warrior! I never had a shot fired at me in anger. I was never a warrior! A true warrior is a man or women who has put his life in harms way on the field of battle(police officers and fireman also fall under this category).


The true warrior puts his life on the line for a cause greater than himself.
 

Archangel M

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True enough. But not all of us will or can serve in the military or police forces (which I believe was implied by this post) whether by missed opportunities or simply different decisions earlier in life.

Then you are not, nor will you ever be a "warrior".

Not to be flip or even disagreeing with your post, but the whole debate over if someone who hasn't put their lives on the line for something still deserves the title is more about ego and self-esteem (I want to be a "warrior" too...) than it is about accuracy of the claim IMO. I can go to Space Camp, become a pilot and buy myself a space suit but unless Im launched into space I wont ever be able to claim I'm an Astronaut.
 

Cirdan

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I don`t know, but whoever it aplies to probably wouldn`t be nitpicking over the definition in a forum thread for the 12th time.
 

searcher

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I see where the idea of having to participate in war could be used as a definition for warrior. But would that make the Gladiators of old not warriors? I do not think so. So, in turn, the "must participate in war to be a warrior" statement is flawed.

Soldiers are warriors? Does this include clerks, motor pool, and other non frontline soldiers? So, the "must be a soldier or retired soldier" definition is flawed.

Warriors in today's society? I don't think they exist. Many can try to use the term to make themselves feel superior to others, but that in itself is a reason they are not a warrior. Warrior is a dead term for society today. It is something we have not had for many years.
 

Archangel M

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I don`t know, but whoever it aplies to probably wouldn`t be nitpicking over the definition in a forum thread for the 12th time.

Personally, I think it's a good topic for a martial arts forum as there is plenty misuse of the term (IMO) within the arts.
 

Daniel Sullivan

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I see where the idea of having to participate in war could be used as a definition for warrior. But would that make the Gladiators of old not warriors? I do not think so. So, in turn, the "must participate in war to be a warrior" statement is flawed.
No, it isn't. Gladiators were not warriors by virtue of being gladiators. They were slaves made to fight for the entertainment of the crowd. Not the same thing. Some may have been warriors prior to their being made gladiators, but most were not.

Soldiers are warriors? Does this include clerks, motor pool, and other non frontline soldiers? So, the "must be a soldier or retired soldier" definition is flawed.
Historically, soldiers were not necesarilly 'warriors.' As we're on MT, I'll use the samurai as an example. Samurai were warriors. But the foot soldiers were comprised of constripted farmers and peasants who were not warriors. Being a soldier or retired soldier is not the definition of a warrior.

Warriors in today's society? I don't think they exist. Many can try to use the term to make themselves feel superior to others, but that in itself is a reason they are not a warrior. Warrior is a dead term for society today. It is something we have not had for many years.
In western society, there is no warrior class. Officers would be the modern military analogue of a warrior.

Daniel
 

Hudson69

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To be a true warrior you have to be a member (past or present) of the military or law enforcement; sorry firefighters, you are brave but you don't have the duty of charging into a gun fight as brave as you are for what you do. You can be the bravest, toughest, strongest, most skilled person there is but until you represent something else (Town, City, County, State, Country) something greater than yourself you are not a warrior; give of yourself to/for the public good(?).

In addition to this you have to have impeccable moral character, an understanding and sense of duty/honor, high integrity, the ability to make hard (just) decisions and the desire to be the best you can be in all aspects of life (not one of those pogues who are wearing a uniform for the pay & benefits).

There is more too it but this is the gist as I see it (again, my .02 only).
 

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