Classical Warrior Virtues and the Martial Way
The Martial Way is a way of ethical living that emerges through the combination of several philosophical outlooks. Of these philosophies, none are so pronounced as the traditional warrior ethos. In fact, the entirety of the Martial Way is built upon this as its foundation – all other contributing philosophies serve to reinforce the expression and ideation of warrior ethics. This ideological hierarchy mirrors the emergence of the Martial Way as it evolved from exclusively a way of warfare into a way of living for personal development.
Every society needed a warrior class as means of survival. Failure to field effective defenders meant guaranteed extinction at the hands of invaders or usurpers. The men charged with such a critical role were entrusted with substantial power by their respective societies. They were the ones who had the weapons and training with which they could defend their society – or to conquer it. Hence, just as the security of a society required a warrior class, so did an effective way of ensuring this same group did not turn around and take over. Warrior classes must possess a sense of loyalty and duty to their respective cultures to prevent them from abusing the power granted to them.
Aside from the need to ensure loyalty to their nation, members of the warrior class required traits that ensured that they were effective warfighters. War demands command and control. It also cannot be successfully waged if soldiers cannot be trusted to carry out their orders or to fulfill their obligations. For this reason, the warrior ethos enshrined loyalty as a core virtue – loyalty not only to the country but also to each other in the warrior group. Wars have always been waged by groups of fighters, and how well they work together make all the difference between survival or failure. Warriors depended upon one another to survive battles and other hardship – thus loyalty to the group is paramount in warrior cultures.
Stemming from loyalty is Honesty, another essential warrior virtue. This is a critical trait for a warrior to possess, as a soldier who was dishonest meant bad intel for commanders and disaster for cohesion as a fighting unit. Honesty is a direct prerequisite the warrior virtue of Trustworthiness. In matters of life and death, warriors must foster trust among each other in the group if they are to ensure survival.
Discipline is the virtue most often associated with warrior classes, and for good reason. It is a vital component of an effective warfighting group. War is immensely stressful, and so a soldier must be able to perform their duties regardless of mental or physical hardship. A developed sense of discipline is critical for overcoming such stressors. In addition, warriors are most effective when operating as part of a command hierarchy, and so discipline is the basis for creating and maintaining it. Most somberly, discipline is what aids soldiers in making the ultimate sacrifice should it be necessary.
All classical warrior cultures place a special contemplation on death. Death is inevitable for everyone, but few professions deal with it so directly than those of the warrior classes. All classical warrior cultures place a focus on impending death and mortality. Warriors have a special relationship with death in that they seek to find solace in its nearness. This solace leads to comfort and acceptance – an important attitude to have if one is to overcome the fear of death. This is why death is so central to the warrior ethos. The most effective warfighters are those who are unhindered by the fear of dying. Warriors face deadly situations regularly, and sometimes their duties require the knowing sacrifice of their lives. By enshrining the acceptance of death as a virtue, warriors cultures foster more effective fighters. It is an effective way of short-circuiting the human instinct to avoid danger and death.
Overcoming the fear of death is a key component of courage. Courage is easily the most easily the most important virtue for warriors. To be effective in battles, one must overcome the desire to avoid danger. Every person feels fear, and so the warrior must develop the capacity to circumvent this feeling. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the fortitude to overcome it. Courage marks the difference between a warrior who fulfills their duty from those who flee and fail. So vital is courage to effective warfare that warrior cultures foist great shame and punishment upon those who fail to express it. In many warrior cultures, cowardice is as heinous a crime as treason and is dealt with accordingly.
Even as the Martial Way emerged out of the class of warfighters, it retained these core warrior virtues. Loyalty, Courage, Discipline, and acceptance of one’s mortality are all traits that serve well in any profession or walk of life. As the Martial Way evolved, it absorbed philosophical concepts that further enriched these traits, and added richer ways to express them. However, the warrior ethos remains the bedrock upon which the Martial Way is built.
The Martial Way is a powerful and rewarding way of living derived from the martial arts. To learn more about the history, development, cultivation, and application of the Martial Way, check out my book NOBLE ECHOES: Gifts from the Martial Arts for Modern Life. Available in paperback or Kinde e-book.