Confederate General Thomas Jackson addressed the cadets of the Virginia Military Institute in 1861. During his speech, he used a familiar idiom: “The time for war has not yet come, but it will come, and that soon; and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.” The Mighty Stonewall, by Frank E. Vandiver.
In essence, it means that if you are going to fight, you must remove all thoughts of a peaceful resolution and forget about the idea of making it out alive. It means that if you go to war, you will win or die trying.
Not exactly a popular concept in our culture today. Like everywhere else in the world, we have “pockets” of violence. Places where you just don’t go. However, most of us are relatively safe in our day-to-day lives. All we have to worry about are things like road rage and the occasional unneighborly neighbor. Wars, violence and murders happen to other people. We don’t really have to think about that kind of stuff, right?
That's what a lot of people think which is why we are so shocked at public shootings, home break-ins, aggressive, antagonistic people...and war.
When my late wife and I were dating in the early 80s, I went to her house one night to pick her up for dinner. I found her completely inconsolable over the death of a high-school friend. But this wasn’t a car accident or illness. You see, a young man had abducted, raped and killed her. In exchange for life in prison, he told police where he hid her body; stuffed in some barrel. Parent’s dreams destroyed forever, a life snuffed out. The police said there were no signs that she fought back.
One of the reasons people start training in a martial arts school is to learn self-defense. In my opinion there is often a disconnect from reality in the sense that a person’s training will allow them to come out unscathed in an actual confrontation. Some dojos take this misguided philosophy one step further and claim that people can defend themselves without having to hurt their attacker. This is a notion based on the idea that all people are relatively good even if their intensions are bad. It’s also a terrible misunderstanding of violence offered by those who have clearly never had to deal with an actual threat.
When new students come to our dojo, I tell them about all the benefits to martial arts training: fitness, mental clarity, friendships, etc. But I offer no illusion about what this training is for…survival. And when people are ready, I put them in situations while, though controlled, educate them very quickly about the notion of doing a few fancy moves or tying somebody up in a nice little package until the police arrive. If you expect to use any type of training to defend yourself or others, you have to train as though your life depends on it.
In our school, our students constantly experience the pain of physical contact through supervised and vigorous conditioning. In striking and grappling classes, we teach aggressors to try to punch the face of a defender in a manner they might encounter in the street. Students get thrown into padded walls. If someone goes down with multiple attackers (randori), they have to fight their way back up. Train the way you intend to fight for real.
My aikido teacher, Isoyama Sensei (Shihan), gave me present before I left Japan. It is a piece of his own artwork, the symbol that is the namesake of our system, jissen. It has two meanings: to put something into daily practice, and “real combat.” In essence, put combat training into daily practice. Train every day like you are going to war...mind, body and spirit. Pray that you never have to. Go out of your way to avoid conflict and confrontation. Be respectful and humble. But if it happens, be prepared to throw your scabbard away and give it everything you have. I had another teacher who instilled the same mindset. His advice if we had no other option but to fight: "Never give the bum a chance." That's why martial arts can never be a sport for me.
Like so many aspects of martial training, this type of attitude and philosophy will affect other parts of your life. Living each day with an inkling that it may be your last makes you appreciate the day a little more. Learn how to defend yourself in a manner that suits you, and practice with intent. If your training, no matter what it is, is just a hobby or an interesting way to spend an evening once or twice a week, that’s all it will ever be.
Dave Magliano
Tatsu Dojo
Jissenkan Budo
Dojo Cho
Comments