The "True Warrior"

[Naso]

Who's the true warrior in this image?

 

And why?


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p.s.
Thank Hangtime to remember me this image and the emotions behind it.

[leonid]

There's an old Japanese saying to the effect that the greatest samurai was the one who never had to draw their katana, or "sword".  Meaning, they entered a conflict situation, and were able to resolve it honorably without bloodshed.

That lone man before the tanks is, indeed, a great warrior.

Though a pacifist, I am also a martial artist of 14 years (Tang Soo Do), and I have never had to use my training in that time.  And I hope I never will, because then I will have failed.

[Naso]

Yes, that was the point  

I have 4 years as Tae-kwon-do and 4 as Aikido martial artist and my Sensei told me the same.

"The only fight you really win is the one you dont have to fight".

Or somethink like that (i am a bad translator  ).

[Udie]

 

Originally posted by Naso:
Yes, that was the point  

I have 4 years as Tae-kwon-do and 4 as Aikido martial artist and my Sensei told me the same.

"The only fight you really win is the one you dont have to fight".

Or somethink like that (i am a bad translator   ).

 I had a friend who was realy into Akido.  He was freakin awesome, almost Steven Segal quality. He would never show many ANYTHING that could be used to hurt somebody, said I wouldn't use it for the right purpose. He did show me a few defensive moves, which what I could tell is 90% of Akido. He would explain that your best tool was the pace the attacker set. I NEVER saw him fight for real, I did see him talk himself out of 3 or 4 fights though   I watched him "spar" a few times w/ a friend of his. It was a sight to behold, almost like they were dancing.


 He did show me 2 realy cool little tricks though. They had to do with what he called the kie (SP?) which is your center, physicly and mentaly ( i think).  Anyway, it took me a while to get that part, and how to get "centered" but after I did what he showed me that ANYBODY can do is truely amazing, he had my Mom doing the same tricks.  

 You get "centered" and you are more powerful than you can possibly imagine.  He told me to put out my right arm, straight forward from my body.  He told me to get "centered" then he grabbed on to my arm, just above the elbow and hung from my arm.  My arm didn't move at all! It didn't even feel like a 180 lb man was hanging from it. Ask Dnil, I'm week and skinny  . About 10-15 seconds into it, it tripped me out and I started laughing. That's when I felt the weight and dropped him.  My mother was able to do the same thing with me.

 The other trick was to get down on your knees, sitting on your feet. Get "centered" my friend would then push against the front of my sholders, putting his entire weight on them. I wouldn't budge until I started laughing at what was happening.

 One of these days I'm going to go learn Akido, it seems to be the best defensive martial art.  He always told me that the attacker sets the pace of the fight and that the harder he attacks, the harder he hits the floor   BTW my friend said he had never had to use his in a real fight either  


Udie

[leonid]

Naso,
You must feel fortunate to have studied under your sensei    I feel that way about my Sa bum (Korean for sensei).

Udie,
Aikido is an excellent martial art, and if you can you should pursue it  

[Naso]

Udie, i second Leonid in this, martial arts, and especially the aikido (for the strong philosophical component), are useful not only for fight but to the balance or your psiche and the opponents feel you are nor a willing threat nor an easy prey, and usually stop the aggressive attitude.

And ask your friend to show you the use of ki in the scream, once my sensei show me this, my hairs (in the entire body) get vertical, and i was paralyzed and defenceless for few seconds.

[AKDejaVu]

 

Who's the true warrior in this image?

There are two.  The obvious one is the man standing defiantly in front of the tanks.  The other is the tank driver that refused to run him over.

AKDejaVu

[StSanta]

Well, there is also the nitty gritty down to earth stuff.

I heard that in the US, there is a form of self defense that is identical to the one they teach Israeli soldiers, only more extensive. No unecessary movements, just plain disabling moves.

Of course, this would only be fulfilling from a self defense point of view, and not a philosophical one.

I want both. What do I go for?


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StSanta
JG54 "Grünherz"
"If you died a stones throw from your wingie; you did no wrong". - Hangtime

[leonid]

StSanta,
First of all, I take it you want both self defense and the philosophical stuff, right?

If so, then I'd say Aikido.  This martial art is extremely effective, because it deals with a lot of nerve pressure points too.  A master of aikido could make your arm feel like it's on fire with a simple twist and a thumb press on a point on your arm.  However, it is really a defensive art, because it primarily responds to attack, unlike my martial art, which can initiate an attack.

Also, the spiritual side of aikido is very strong throughout training.  In fact, most martial arts have strong spiritual complements to the physical training, because ultimately martial arts is not about thinking, but acting in the right manner for a given situation.  And when you free your mind of a lot of intellectual garbage, then you open a door to a different way of seeing the world.

AKDejaVu,
I agree there are at least two heroes in that picture.  But it wasn't until that unarmed man stood calmly before those advancing tanks in a gesture of passive dissent that those tanks stopped.  For the tankers to have stopped was also a brave thing, given the government they represented, but it was a response to an action.  Of course, this is nitpicking on my part, because in the end both that unarmed man, and those tankers put themselves in the other person's shoes  

[This message has been edited by leonid (edited 08-12-2000).]

[AKDejaVu]

We'll have to agree to disagree Leonid.  The scene showed two things... a man willing to stand up for a beleif and a military unwilling to destroy him for it.

AKDejaVu

[leonid]

That's fine, DejaVu.  At least we agree on something, and have enough respect for one another to let our differences lie.

[funked]

Santa, we call it "Glock-Fu".  

[Naso]

LOL, funked, i think is similar to our Beretta-fu.

[Maverick]

There are several Martial arts that teach both the moves and the fundamentals behind it. To be a Martial Artist means you are a believer of the fundamental philosophy and accept it. To learn only the movements is to be a thug.

The responsible teacher will mold the spirit of the student far more than the body and skills of the student. If the student is not willing to have his spirit molded, the instructor knows he has failed the most important part of the instruction.

The student who learns the lesson and is unable to avoid the fight has not necessarily failed. Some situations are forced on the individual who placed himself in harms way to protect others. The most obvious examples are Military, Police and occasionally Fire personell. Situations may require the use of the skills of the student that avoidance cannot prevent.

Mav

[This message has been edited by Maverick (edited 08-15-2000).]

[StSanta]

Maverick:

What I guess confuses me is that there are so many differet kinds of martial art, and all have variations in their philosophy. Some are extremely peaceful and advocate never fighting unless absolutely forced to, while others advocate striking hard when it seems avoiding confrontation is impossible, and striking before the opponent if possible.

It comes down to personal preference, I gather. I'm just a little at a loss ?

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StSanta
JG54 "Grünherz"
"If you died a stones throw from your wingie; you did no wrong". - Hangtime