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Old 03-05-2011, 07:41 AM   #22
Mark Freeman
Dojo: Dartington
Location: Devon
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,220
United Kingdom
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Re: Fighting Mind vs Warrior Mind

Quote:
David Orange wrote: View Post
Graham,

Have you ever been in the military or worked as a law enforcement officer?

I haven't, and I would never kid myself that I even comprehend the "warrior mind" or that I could employ it. I would certainly never call myself "a warrior." To me, when people without military or police backgrounds talk about "warrior mind," they might as well dress in Gandalf robes and go about talking with Aslan: fantasy, in other words.
Hi David,

I'm not sure that the question you pose to Graham is a fair one. In that being a member of the forces or a LEO does not automatically give anyone the 'warrior' mindset. It does (potentially) put you in the line of fire in your daily work, with the opportunity to display and act in a 'warrior' like way. I do agree that those in the armed forces may well be the closest to actually achieving the true warrior mindset, in that life and death may be the choice they make to give or take away in an instant.

"In Search of the Warrior Spirit" by Richard Strozzi Heckler is a good book I read on this, have you seen it?

I just watched an interview with Geoff Thompson that David S posted here recently. He is someone I would say is neither soldier or LEO but I would quite happily judge as a having a warrior mindset.

I'm with you, I don't kid myself that I am a warrior (although I do strive to be a peaceful one ). But from a purely Aikido point of view, my teacher is constantly berating students who are not able to do what he is demonstrating, because they are employing a 'fighting mind'. So I get where Graham is coming from with this point. It is impossible to recreate what my teacher is doing with any desire to 'fight' as 'non-resistance' is the goal and ultimately the means of control over the other.

It is an interesting subject and I think Graham is doing us a service by positing points for discussion. I smile when he is dismissed out of hand, mainly because there is truth in what he says, it's not always in the language that everyone wants to read it in.

regards

Mark

Success is having what you want. Happiness is wanting what you have.
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