Yamamoto Kansuke - The Infection of Arrogance
“‘A little bit of military training can be the cause of great injury.’”
“Remain relentlessly focused on the truth of battle, and the truth of life. Lying to oneself, remaining willfully ignorant, is a disease of the mind that might infect others.”
What is the result of arrogance?
#BruceLee said, “before I learned martial art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick.”
Things may seem simple at first. Once you gain some #knowledge, you realize that things are actually quite #complex. However, once you gain #wisdom and great #competence, you find that things become quite #simple again.
#Overconfidence is a dangerous thing. Being out-of-touch with reality, thinking you are far better than you actually are, and then plunging yourself into a high-stakes situation is #reckless.
Particularly with “#militarytraining” which can equate to learning “#selfdefense” in the modern age. Many children go to #bullshido #martialarts schools and, thanks to their parents paying good $$$, end up getting #blackbelts at 14 years old, without any full contact sparring or fighting experience. This is foolish - if the child gets into a true life-or-death scenario (a real fight), the child will be overconfident and #arrogant, and may end up seriously injured if lucky, and if not, possibly dead.
#Samurai believed in remaining relentlessly focused on the #truth of #battle, and the truth of life. #Lying to oneself, remaining willfully #ignorant, was looked down upon as a disease of the #mind that might affect others who you might need to rely on one day.
#Soliders and #policeofficers must train diligently, exhaustively, and daily until the day they hang up their weapons and move on to the next phase of their lives. People that rely on a certain craft, such as #business, trades, etc. for their livelihood, should #striveforexcellence and aim to become #betterthanyesterday, every day. This is the wisdom of the #Samurai.