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Old 01-02-2004, 10:10 AM   #12
Thalib
 
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Dojo: 合気研究会
Location: Jakarta Selatan
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 504
Indonesia
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Do symbol The way of the warrior

You know Seibert-san, it's starting to make sense to me now.

Budo is not self-defense.

A samurai raises his sword up high leaving himself open comitting to the attack. On the battlefield, he does not think about defending himself.

Usually the person that goes into the battlefield wondering if he's going to stay alive through the battle is the first one to die. If one thinks this, one might as well not enter the battlefield. If one thinks of self-defense, one might as well runaway or retreat.

In another case, if a person comes into battle prepared for death, believing or even knowing what he is doing is right, he will usually live to see another day. Facing the blade, he is unphased, keeping his calm and relaxation all the way through. If he died, he and his comrades will believe that he had died an honorable death.

I'm not going to get into if the Samurai code was true or was the idealism put into place during that period. Let's save that for another thread. The case above is in the correlation of "not defending the self".

Last edited by Thalib : 01-02-2004 at 10:13 AM.

When I have to die by the sword, I will do so with honor.
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