I don't want to use this blog to rant about martial arts (those of you that know me are aware of the fact this happens nearly all the time anyway!) but I feel I can get away with one short mini rant....
'Only a warrior chooses pacifism, everyone else is condemned to it'
This phrase appears in the Japanese samurai classic the Hagukure. I see here an element of truth, as someone who has practised martial arts. These arts most often seem to free you from the need to seek violence. So many young men I see and meet are desperate to fight something, they want to fight each other, want to fight for girls, want to fight for freedom, want to fight to prove themselves and want to fight for what they believe in (whatever that may be). They are looking for a reason to fight, because they do not feel happy in themselves. Some people blame others, it is the state, the man, the big corporations, the fact is they are angry and want to fight, but they cant. They don't have any power, personal or otherwise, they cant fight the guy that obnoxiously hits on your best female friend in the pub, they cant fight the corporate executive who buys up heathlands and turns them into golf courses and they can't fight the overarching cultural shift that has left millions poor, sick and starving. All of this leaves a sour taste in the mouth, a feeling of individual worthlessness in a very large world.
I am not saying that there is one solution to this, indeed I think there are many. I only have experience from a martial arts perspective. I feel that several paths are open to a person to enable them to feel self worth, a personal power that gives them the ability to make their life meaningful.
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