The Warriors Mindset

Early humans were insufficient creatures in comparison to their beastly counterparts. They relied upon their superior intellect to insure survival. Through the development and use of strategy and weaponry they improved their natural condition to overcome predators and their most primal fears. In time, as this new understanding of violence began to extend to their fellow man, the warrior evolved as a protector and a force of balance for his clan or tribe. There is no difference today in that we, as martial artists, must understand how our skills extend beyond the traditional context of combat. We now must find relevance in our urban-based life. We must start by addressing these fears in relation to not only our purpose but also to the dangers inherent in learning to harm other human beings. Socially we have become desensitized to violence through the different kinds of media (newspaper reports, television, movies). We need to realize that our youth have been dangerously distanced from an understanding of human mortality. Killing, it seems, bears little difference in meaning today than movie violence or a video game.

In "The Denial Of Death", the author asserts that death is the ultimate human fear. All animals must die but, the burden of being human is, we realize this fact and never loose awareness of it. Many psychologist feel that most psychological difficulties stem from our refusal to accept death and the desperate measures we take to avoid this realization. The degree to which we resolve this fear runs the full spectrum from the Buddhist monk's peaceful acceptance to the obsessive-compulsive's paranoia however, reality remains the same: Either we control our fear or the fear will control us.

As martial artists, we must admit to this fear. First, we must realize that we have been collectively taught to ignore death. We believe it is only natural to do so, thinking, "If it's going to happen anyway, why worry about it?" Unfortunately, this logic is extremely dangerous. It further separates us from our natural instincts. No longer hunting for survival we have removed ourselves from the carnage of the food chain we belong to and have forgotten the mechanics of death. We buy our meat wrapped up on styrofoam trays and wear leather goods without any realization as to where it comes from, the fact is something must die for our survival or comfort! When our elders grow old and sick they are shipped off to die conveniently out of sight. The probability that most of us will ever have to defend our land or family in a life or death combat is rarer still. The end result is that we live most of our lives with out having to contemplate our mortality. Fear of harm or possibility of death is why we train in self defense. It is our obligation to re-sensitize ourselves to this truth and remember that we will die. The warrior's death-awareness is not a preoccupation with death but is a means of understanding our own greatest limitation. By remembering that a time has been fixed for us on this planet, by knowing what we stand to lose, we can be poised to seize the fruits of the present.

We must realize:

    * What we are training to defend.
    * Violence is unpredictable.
    * Regardless of our ability we can be killed.

We must never allow our training to exist unquestioned.

To forge a realistic self-defense program, we must recognize that we have a natural inhibition against harming other humans. Studies have proven that we are reluctant to hurt our own species. Despite the bravado of the armchair warrior and the image of violence portrayed in movies, the true self-defense artist understands that it is one thing to practice gouging the air but quite another to actually do it on a human eye. Without proper conditioning, the subconscious mind will limit conscious intention, and natural inhibition will defeat training. The greatest error in learning self defense is to assume that nature will take over in a hostile encounter and that everything will be all right. The most effective method for overcoming the inhibition to harm others lies in "Operant Conditioning". It teaches reflexive responses to a specific stimulus. For the self defense artist such training should cultivate resolute offensive reflexes against the stimulus of aggression. Training should not only emulate the movements of combat but also incorporate the psychological nuances of violence. In the book, "On Killing", Lt. Col. Dave Grossman cites the example of military snipers who practice shooting a head of cabbage filled with ketchup. The snipers are rewarded with badges and weekend passes to encourage the same behavior in combat. That is a perfect example of a simple exercise: A little creativity and a simple prop like ketchup make it gruesomely realistic to remind the sniper of the true nature of his task. Repetition encourages desensitization. Reward ensures repetition. My most profound psychological martial training has come from instructors who made me gouge raw meat with my fingers, smash melons with my hands, break wooden dowels with my arm locks and pounded me to the point that I thought I would die. These exercises forever transformed me as I realized I can defend myself in mortal combat, and more importantly I feel reluctant to ever use my true skills. Reality has made me responsible.

Col. Grossman's research also deals with the psychological implication for teaching soldiers to kill. He cites heightened reflex-conditioning methods for improving firing rates (the success with which soldiers fire at the enemy) from 15% in WWII to 50% in the Korean War to 90% in the Vietnam War. While that proves the effectiveness of operant conditioning, we must proceed carefully with this knowledge. In undoing the natural mechanisms of inhibition, what risks do we expose ourselves to? What is the cost of learning to harm our fellow man? A thin line exists between the reality that our mind has grown comfortable with and our underlying finitude. With the exception of the psychopaths that lurk in society, most humans who are made to harm others feel the burden of having acted like a god among men. It is irresponsible to pursue these abilities with out considering the outcome. Although our first responsibility is to cultivate technique, we must prepare for the effects of violence and create a psychological support network in our mind to integrate the experience positively.

"War is an environment that will psychologically debilitate 98 percent of all who participate in it and the 2 percent who are not driven insane by war appear to have already been insane - aggressive psychopaths - before coming to the battlefield."

This debilitation is directly affected by the range at which violence occurs. Closer ranges, including hand to hand and the "sexual range" of grappling are the most offensive. You cannot deny the effect of your actions when you are close enough to feel the splash of blood, the spasms of a death throe or the opponent's final breath. Modern military conditioning seeks to facilitate the act of killing by maximizing the soldier's distance from the victim. Increasingly powerful weapons allow the soldier in the trench to be replaced by the sniper, and the sniper to be replaced by the fighter pilot. When soldiers are technologically separated from their victims, the psychological effects of violence are greatly lessened.

The self defense artist is not afforded those luxuries. While a length of pipe, a stick or an umbrella may serve as a makeshift weapon, they do little to distance you from the effects of their impact. You must understand just how brutal your techniques are. A joint lock in training, with its understanding of leverage and the aesthetics of its geometry, is far removed from the grotesque protrusion of a jagged bone through flesh. My teachers have helped refine my technical fighting abilities; but none had prepared me for coping with the fear of death, the exhilaration, and remorse of harming another human being. A true warrior must know and understand the consequences of his actions.

Emotional distance can also be cultivated. For the soldier, this includes "social distance" and "cultural distance" where emphasis is placed on racial and ethnic differences to dehumanize the victim. The language of war is riddled with terms like "Jap", "Gook", and "Slant". The news media refers to "collateral damage" instead of death and wars become campaigns as the carnage is lost in clever euphemisms. We hear that 214 people died in a bombing, scarcely flinch and continue to eat our dinner. The warrior must realize that propaganda and stereotypes are irresponsible shortcuts to true contemplation. The benefit of overcoming inhibition pales in comparison to the risk of developing discriminatory thought. The objective of the warrior should be to adapt to circumstance and not to approach it with a preconceived resolution. We must remain open to the uniqueness of each experience all the while staying connected with the universal qualities of all humans.

"Moral distance" or the emphasis on the superiority of one's cause is perhaps the only form of psychological distancing that is applicable. The self defense artist can cultivate moral distance by, defining his limits before conflict arises, increasing his awareness of the value of life, and becoming empowered by the challenge of protecting what he values. By affirming that you did not initiate the circumstance, you become morally empowered to retaliate. Remember what you are training to fight for. If you feel threatened, you are entitled to defend yourself. According to nature, your instincts obligate you to survive.

To ensure a healthy recovery from a situation in which you must harm someone, an understanding of the psychological stages involved is essential. These are divided into five distinct areas:

    * Harming
    * Exhilaration
    * Remorse
    * Rationalization
    * Acceptance

The act of harming is a mechanical issue best left to your martial art training.

Exhilaration is a natural initial response. You will feel a rush. Expect it. Never be ashamed of it. Exhilaration staves off remorse and triggers it. By understanding that exhilaration is normal, you have taken the first step toward avoiding fixation with the adrenal rush of hurting and come a step closer to resolving remorse.

Resolution of remorse comes through thought, prayer, meditation. Ask why have you acted the way you have. Prepare yourself for guilt. Remorse is the result of emotions overriding your ruling power. Remain logical. Obey your training. Your intelligence must control your emotions.

Rationalization and an understanding of your natural inhibition will lead you to acceptance.

Acceptance is when the warrior can constructively acknowledge the validity of the act of harming. A failure to cultivate your rationalization skills will place you at risk of overindulging in the remorse stage or of becoming hypersensitive to the act of harming another human being.

Each stage includes its own dangers. The self defense artist must meditate on them. For some, the rush and the chemical produced by the body during a crisis can become very addictive. More common is a fixation with remorse. Acceptance is often prevented by self-pity, and rationalization is prone to sheer failure as logic and reasoning break down. All these failings can lead to trauma.

Col. Grossman argues that the most powerful therapy for trauma stemming from combat is the recognition and acceptance of the public through memorials and parades. This provides veterans with closure. The Vietnam War is an excellent example of the danger of fighting an unpopular war: Soldiers were condemned for their participation and deprived of any sense of honor. As a result, rates of post traumatic stress disorder went through the roof as compared to the Persian Gulf War where our soldiers were honored, praised and made into heroes. The martial artist is not privy to those forms of closure. An act of urban violence and rage holds little public importance, yet for the individual it is as traumatic as any war experience.

Authority and the chain of command in the military are the greatest safeguards against abuse of operant conditioning. For the martial artist, the equivalent is your ruling principles. Rational thought reduces guilt, and strategic preparation enables acceptance. Only by having pre-evaluated all your limits can you remain confident that you will act responsibly and effectively during a combat situation. Meditate on your ideological and moral issues before the conflict, not after. Don't wait until you are at knifepoint to contemplate the moral ramifications of your degree of force. By having obeyed your pre-established principles, you defer responsibility to logic and avoid many of the pitfalls of emotional interpretation.

Ultimately, the warrior lives a life of preparation for crossing the barrier of mortality. Once the true frailty of the human animal is exposed, you cannot go back in your understanding. You must anticipate the effects of violence, neither enjoying the exhilaration nor indulging in remorse. As a martial artist, you must explore the ideology, psychology, and physiological reality fully in order to functionally serve the family and society you seek to protect.