What is a Warrior?

[Feanaro]

To me a warrior is a (wo)man who is devoted to war. Trained in the use of weapons in warfare with the mindset of a fighter when he needs it. He knows how to employ himself and others in a fighting situation. He must also know how to fend for himself and should be able to teach others these same skills.

And an ideal warrior must also hate violence and be first, and foremost, a peace maker. He should not love, glorify or seek violence. He is a man who is polite and level headed when dealing with others because he realizes the horrible consequences of using force against another human being. But he is also willing to use force.

A warrior believes in the service of his nation and his fellow man before himself. He puts the group far ahead of his own concerns. He would rather die than betray or fail his country and gladly suffer anything for his country.

He holds himself to a standard above everyone else. He strives to be perfect in every way. He will not accept failure in himself. He is a man of his word who could be trusted with anything. He can be counted on to render aid to a friend no matter what the personal cost.

He need not be any of those things after "an ideal warrior" to be a warrior. But a great warrior and human being is that, I believe.

 

[Soap]

CTgunteacher- I agree with your statements somewhat. I was thinking the same points in my head as well. But I look at it this way, a man should not be a tradesman/businessman/etc. exclusively, nor a warrior exclusively. The "warrior" is simply a part of the complete man. The productive worker portion is a part of the complete man as well. I spend most of my time cultivating my finance skills, but yet I still practice gun handling.

I will only say this about defending those who are too lazy to defend themselves, THR member ahenry said this to me: That is an okay attitude, but it makes a person a piss poor neighbor. If you take that attitude, that is fine. I agree that the lazy have no claim to the productive's gunhandling skills nor their tax dollars.

I don't particularly want to be a "warrior," or "live the martial life," though if America needs me to fight, I will do so willingly. I would fight because America remains the last, best hope for a free and prosperous world, and I and my family deserve to live in such a world. I don't find it especially glamorous, nor do I think the traders and others who build society (rather than defend it) deserve the derision sometimes heaped upon them by the "warrior caste," whether they be real warriors or the all-too-prevalent armchair/Internet warriors.

I agree with this as well. But even you state that you would go fight if America needed you. IMHO this attitude makes you a warrior. It is simply a facet of yourself that you may have to bring out from time to time. In short, in modern society I don't believe there is a true warrior caste, but rather, it is a facet of the complete man.

 

[OEF_VET]

Feanaro....well put.

 

[mrming]

I am an ignorant young pup... and seem to have a rather different opinion.

Warrior: one who is dedicated to the persuit of a particular skill or skill set, and frequently seeks out improvement of said by direct conflict with others.

Honor: Not screwing over the weak, and willing to attempt to defend others when they are royally outclassed.. for absolutely no good reason. Probably has to include not knowingly causing harm for the sake of ones own benifit.


Man: Dunno. Liars? Bigots? Haters of that which does not conform? Wish I could say lovers of women, and guardians of the physical strength entrusted to us.. but I can't. Suppose its one of those completely over-used adjectives. I'm 22 and pretty much refuse to apply it to myself because of how I've seen it mis-used. I wonder how much of my generation feels the same..

 

[ShaiVong]

I don't think I can really say anything that hasnt already been said, so I'll be brief.

To me a warrior is a man who steps forward to battle a foe who threatens his way of life. Especially a man who sells his life dearly, and fades from this world upon a pile of foes with a sword in his hand and defiance on his lips.

The Emperor protects.

 

[JShirley]

Vaughn, I would say A warrior is one who is willing to fight or die for a cause. As Art points out, whether a cause is "good" or "just" is subjective. Ask a My Lai villager about the "good" Americans...

On other boards I've been a member of, there seem to be two major schools of thought on the "What is a warrior" question: one school says warriors have to be military (or, extremely, military seeing combat), while the other school says mindset is the determining factor. I have stood in the second camp. After having joined the Army, and training as an infantry soldier, I still stand in the 2nd camp.

I hate Wordsworth! He always seems to be struggling, and is so blatant, so unsubtle. I'd rather read Kipling or Tennyson.

John
Ninpo Ikkan!