tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4309995973524783370.post5307956007960830763..comments2018-09-12T01:05:17.489-07:00Comments on Practical Self-Defense / The Stay Alive Program: A Nation of SissiesDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18161008743491065239noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4309995973524783370.post-33914037708179597082010-01-12T18:24:48.662-08:002010-01-12T18:24:48.662-08:00The observations made in this post, while certainl...The observations made in this post, while certainly influenced by the nature of the environments the author frequents and the people that are attracted to those environments, are undoubtedly a real trend. However, they seem to be less symptomatic of the death of the warrior, but rather more indicative of a change in the way the non-warrior class of society is expressing themselves. <br /><br />Indeed, aside from the near mythical society of Sparta, the populations of most civilized societies have never consisted entirely of a warrior class. And with the advent of new technologies that protect against injuries, non-warriors are finding it increasingly popular to participate in what would have previously been considered dangerous hobbies. Meanwhile, the warriors, not celebrated as they once were, have succumbed to a somewhat fringe existence, seeking out conquest in solitude, performing heroic feats shared and rejoiced by only a few.<br /><br />That society as a whole has become infatuated with a life free of risk and challenge is a strong assertion and extraordinarily intriguing. Challenge and risk are intrinsic characteristics of nature that, in the wild, living things have no choice but to face. While I don’t know that its possible to conclude that people don’t want challenge and don’t want risk, it does seem that man has become quite adept at buffering himself from the natural world, and in doing so, made facing challenge and risk a matter of choice. Considering that, when given a choice, man is notorious for simply choosing whatever is easier, building society as we have is probably not the best means for fostering our personal growth. Yet, ultimately, it may be inevitable. <br /><br />It seems that choosing what is difficult is almost always something done by a rare few. America was once wholly populated by people of that breed, the rare few willing to abandon their homeland and risk it all on the American dream, and an unknown future. Like the fishermen who gave up everything to follow the wandering carpenter moonlighting as a renegade rabbi, there is something undeniably romantic about it, and no doubt why it is celebrated in all our classic folklore.<br /><br />For one who has made the decision to choose the life of challenge and risk, the blandness of modernity, unfortunately, leaves much to be desired. Often I find myself daydreaming of what it would be like to live in an era of bygone days, an era of warriors, an era where interacting with nature was not a matter of choice, but a necessity to live. But alas, here I am, typing away on a word processor, stuck in some drab office building, surrounded by desks, whirring machines and zombified human drones, while outside the snow flies and winter rages and the landscape of life moves without me.<br /><br />I suppose there’s nothing left to do but suck it up… and look forward to the next session of beatings in Kung Fu class, or the next mountain I summit, or the untracked powder I claim, the broken bones, the bruised muscles, the sore and aching body, the reminders that I’m alive.<br /><br />Celebrating your battle trophies from halfway around the world, <br /><br />Your Brother In Arms,<br /><br />Jared BoasenJared F. Boasenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01909344112767530412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4309995973524783370.post-48177546719365485882010-01-12T18:24:24.610-08:002010-01-12T18:24:24.610-08:00In enjoyed this post very much. And, as I am livin...In enjoyed this post very much. And, as I am living in Japan, it called to mind the demise of the warrior class here, which coincided with the Meji Restoration, a radical shift in domestic and foreign policy, beginning around the middle of the 19th century, that ultimately brought about the end of the samurai. Although it was initially the threat of war with the U.S. that begat this transition, it was capitalism and the hunger for power on a global stage that fueled the majority of this change. Nevertheless, the loss of the samurai did nothing to dispel the warrior spirit intrinsic in the hearts of men. <br /><br />Arguably, the fate the Japanese warrior was truly sealed at the end of WWII with Japan’s surrender. With the right to even maintain defensive forces stripped away, Japan became a castrated society. Cultural and worldly success became almost wholly limited to economic achievement, and avenues for expressing “manly” virtues rapidly disappeared. Now today, the image of a man portrayed in mass media is so emasculate, his gender is almost indiscernible. Yet, have the warriors in society truly become extinct?Jared F. Boasenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01909344112767530412noreply@blogger.com