Buki o motsu otoko-tachi no do [武器を持つ男たちの道]
To study the way of men-of-arms is to inwardly regulate one’s mind according to the way and outwardly preserve the law (social & legal) in form.
Loyalty
Chūsei kokoro [忠誠心]
Loyalty is not given, it must be earned. Reciprocity does not warrant one’s loyalty nor is it persuasive in nature. It takes time to earn one’s loyalty and once earned requires honor and respect returned in kind. Think of the Japanese cultural term, “Giri [(義理)is a Japanese value roughly corresponding to "duty", "obligation", or even "burden of obligation" in English.].
Reciprocity
Gokei-sei [互恵性]
For reciprocity to work the receipt from another must hold a value to whom given otherwise it itself has no value. Providing things for the sole purpose of receipt of something regardless of value or no value to a recipient is the mark of evil and should be ignored. To give with the intent of receiving nothing in return is to honor the recipient, one’s family and oneself, the cornerstone of a great one.
“Leaving one’s gate, one sees the enemy.” - An Ancient
Samurai Virtues
Bushi [武士] Bitoku [美徳]
- Rectitude or Justice: rightness of principle or conduct; moral principle determining just conduct
- Courage: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear …
- Benevolence or Mercy: desire to do good to others; kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power
- Politeness: showing good manners toward others, as in behavior, speech, etc.; courteous; civil.
- Honesty and Sincerity: freedom from deceit or fraud; freedom from deceit, hypocrisy, or duplicity.
- Honor: honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions.
- Loyalty: faithfulness to commitments or obligations, and faithful adherence to a sovereign, government, leader, cause, etc.
- Character and Self-Control: qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity; control or restraint of oneself or one's actions, feelings, etc.
Man-of-Arms:
Ude no otoko [腕の男] used in lieu of warrior or samurai or bushi. etc.
In the presence of a legal system in action the term warrior can be utilized to convince a jury of guilt because it is associated with a mind of violence when “man-of-arms” is generic enough to be readily associated with those sanctioned to defend and protect the innocent as well as the self!
Pugilist (Kentō-shi [拳闘士]) also those who would be Men-of-Arms.
These words are for the understanding of those who would be, “Men-of-Arms.”
Sage, one of wisdom.
Bushi, gentleman warrior [武士]
When living the men-of-arms virtues one must live them from his or her own heart and thereby resist the natural influences of a group dynamic with the exception being a part of a whole such as the brotherhood of Marines.
Belief
Shin'nen [信念]
First and foremost, belief is subjective as is all eight of the above virtues. As one violence dynamic professional said, “It depends …”
I would assume, rightly so, that each and every terrorist committing some heinous crime was a true believer and felt their acts were and are righteous. So it is imperative one decide the validity of their beliefs with a mind-set that will always examine said beliefs with an open mind and acceptance of possible change.
People survive best in a group and it is important that group members agree on their belief system. It must be noted that at the moment of this writing this concept is at the forefront of a certain social fabric that seems to be unraveling thus exposing everyone to possible dangers not felt or experienced by the latest generation.
Be careful what you believe in and what you “FEEL” when diving into the deep waters of someone else’s beliefs especially if it sounds too good to be true.
Take and keep your own side first because you have spent a life developing your honor system with its identity and be very cautious when others come stand at the pulpit preaching the current special belief that is going to save us all and make things right.
Personality and Harmonious Character
Kosei to chōwa no toreta seikaku [個性と調和のとれた性格]
A person as an embodiment of a collection of qualities; marked by agreement in feeling, attitude, or action.
The aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person; moral or ethical quality; qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity …
Intention + Discipline + Behavior/Training + Practice + Habit = Character/Expertise/Understanding
8 Martial Traits of Mastery
- Intention: stepping onto a dojo floor
- Discipline: returning to the dojo consistently
- Behavior: working hard on the dojo floor
- Training: working hard with my dojo mates
- Practice: working hard outside the dojo
- Habit: living and breathing the dojo life
- Character: leading and guiding my dojo mates
- Expertise: diligently studying the spirit of the way
(Work in progress)
Of course, your dojo can input the definitions relevant to your philosophy of practice and I meant it to go even further to the deshi,or individual practitioners, to create their own definitions.
Giri [(義理)]
“Giri [(義理)is a Japanese value roughly corresponding to "duty", "obligation", or even "burden of obligation" in English.].
The characters/ideograms mean "duty; sense of duty; honor; decency; courtesy; debt of gratitude; social obligation." The first character means, righteousness; justice; morality; honor; loyalty; meaning," the second character means, "logic; arrangement; reason; justice; truth."
Often we hear of giri in martial arts circles due to the influences of the samurai legends of old Japan. In one quote it was said that giri is the burden hardest to bear. If one does not feel it, then one does not have it. It is looked upon as a debt that can never be repaid. Looking at the definitions for the characters/ideograms it is no wonder why it takes on such a meaning.
It is defined as "to serve one's superiors with a self-sacrificing devotion" by Namiko Abe. It is tied closely with the more feudal era culture and beliefs that have remained steadfast to present day.
Giri is difficult to translate adequately into western English cultural belief terms. It has been romanticized in movies and books such as "The Yakuza," where giri is a major factor in the story.
In the study of martial arts one cannot truly understand all the cultural nuances be they Japanese, Okinawan or Chinese. All three have connections and the final Japanese cultural meaning of giri is born of all three although now unique to the Japanese.
Giri goes both ways as well. Giri is a matter of two sides to one coin or as one might assume as yin-yang. For one to feel it requires the other or recipient to feel it and vice versa. If either one does not feel it then it is diminished even tho the one side can still find themselves bound to the other through giri regardless of the others feeling for giri.
Anytime there is a relationship involved the two personalities coupled with cultural beliefs and individual perceptions, etc. make it a most difficult part of any belief system.
Giri in a general sense may be related to better understand the concept to group or tribal survival dynamics. It can be related to social associations whereby loss can equate rejection and/or dismissal from the group or tribe.
Favors, concessions and obligations are all survival principles of humans for it is these and other principles, rules and/or social conditionings that are all from long, long, long ago when we were still cave dwellers who by our very physical limitations required to gather into tribes or clans just so we could survive the dangers of those ancient environments with all those predators both human and animal.
Giri is just another way to express that humans must adhere to the rules where favors, concessions and obligations that are mutually beneficial to the group, tribe, or clan for everything and that includes their very survival - even in modern times with literally no danger from any great plains wild life. Note: for some, that danger if still very real; for some, hunters often put themselves into such dangerous environments with at least the knowledge they get to go back to proverbial civilization when the hunt is done.
In my karate for self-fense, as it should be in any form of self-fense training, this type of knowledge is a way to self-arm for the use of persuasion toward influencing a possible adversary or opponent toward avoidance and deescalation. Dr. Robert B. Cialdini, PhD, wrote an excellent book on the subject that explains the system of principles and rules better than me. I suggest you take a read, study it a bit, read it again and then analyze that along with other self-defense literature to synthesize a new way to avoidance and deescalation. Beware tho, if you miss your mark as with almost any other effort in this vane you will find the repercussions to be devastating. Also, beware that nefarious duds can also use this same trigger device to get you to do things that you wouldn’t ordinarily do as well, the sword cuts both ways (yin-yang sub-principle to Philosophy principle).
Bibliography:
Cialdini, Robert B. PhD. “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” Harper. New York. 2006.
Bibliography (Click the link)
The bibliography link just shows a partial library of study 📚🤔
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