warrior mentality
When I was a soldier in the Special Forces, life was very simple. He trained, took orders and executed them. My entire purpose for living was laid out before me. I clearly knew and understood that my purpose, my job, and my place of existence at that time was for one thing and one thing only…combat. Everyone around me knew that and understood the same principles as me. Right? Not at all; there were some even in the Special Forces Community, who didn’t see the big picture and never seemed to be where they belonged. During a combat deployment to Southwest Asia, my former team sergeant and good friend once made a comment to me that would change my life and finally allow me to visualize and verbalize why there is a difference between warriors, those who want to be warriors . and those that are not.
My squad sergeant and I were relaxing after returning from a long mission and watching the movie “The Hunted” with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio DelTorro. In the film, Del Torro played a special operations operator who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and sought the help of his trainer and mentor Jones. The symbolism of the wolf was used in the film. Watching the movie had stimulated a side conversation about “warrior psyche” between me and my squad sergeant. He explained to me that of his more than 20 years as a soldier (15 of them in Special Operations); there were very few men who really understood what it takes to get the job done. He referred to several of the men and leaders we were serving with as “Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing.” He referred to some of us as Lobos. He then explained that everyone else was just sheep or cattle per say.
A sheep is the ordinary person in the mill, who only cares about surviving and living his own life. They always take the easy way out or the safe route and tend to follow the rest of the pack. A wolf is a hunter; they hunt to survive, to feed, because they have to. They can work in packs or alone, and they understand that sometimes to survive they have to get a little bloody. They are not afraid of risk, because they understand that risk is part of life and survival. Then there are those sheep that maybe feel a bit ashamed of who they are and to protect themselves they try to disguise themselves as wolves. I had never really thought of my role as a soldier that way before, but it made sense. Some of us choose what we do; because it is in us, our nature is to compete, push ourselves and fight. Some of us can channel it and then there are those who can’t. Often it is these two groups; those who can channel and those who cannot, who fight against each other.
It’s in the sheep of the metaphor, following the leader, not being vigilant and simply avoiding adversity in order to survive. They are born like this. Then there are the sheep in wolf’s clothing. These are the ones who try to fit in with wolf packs through self-serving rhetoric and speech or by placing themselves in positions they are simply not equipped to handle. In combat, these are often the officers and NCOs who choose to walk away from “good fights”, they know they will get the job done because they are afraid of the sacrifice. These are the guys who train because they have to, not because they want to or because it’s part of their genetic makeup. These guys, when faced with the real challenges of combat, always wear themselves out. Sheep in wolf’s clothing are the most dangerous to themselves and those who serve with them.
I will give another example of sheep in wolf’s clothing in the world of martial arts. There are several of these guys who train, practice and teach a pretty “fluffy” version of martial arts. These guys are sheep in wolf’s clothing. After all, the sole purpose of martial arts is perfection in the execution of combat techniques. I recently received a review of my book on Amazon. the reviewer started the review praising my warrior philosophy at the beginning of the post; because he was referring to Sun-Tzu and Musashi. So I started tearing my book to shreds with insults about the information published in the last part of the book; because he did not agree with the flowery ideas that are often preached in modern training studios today. Many of these “sheep in wolf’s clothing” boys like to be trained in theoretical methods and ideology, which cannot be tested and are not practical.
My book focuses on real, practical techniques used by Special Forces soldiers in combat. I’ve also had a lot of good reviews; but the negative reviews I have received were both “traditional” martial artists. After taking a look at these guys’ profiles and some of their written work; I wasn’t surprised to see that these are the guys; that they believe they can kill someone in combat with a touch or flick of the finger, and that they can fire mystical balls of energy from their limbs to kill and disable their enemies. These guys are the definition of sheep in wolf’s clothing. They believe that simply by placing themselves in the world of martial arts they are true warriors. However, they lack the proper mental framework. These gentlemen will continue to talk about their theory of magical powers and tickling touches and will never risk putting it on the line.
Finally, for those who are new to martial arts and want to know the real deal. A warrior fights in combat, in the ring or in the cage, because he has to in order to survive. They will not die if they do not fight or engage in battle; but they will not be able to exist with any satisfaction in their lives. They will indeed know, there is no peace. Fighting is what they are, they are born to do it and they live for it. True warriors are always trying to perfect their methods and techniques, and trial and error is part of that process. When you hear someone who claims to be a warrior and yet starts preaching theory and things that can’t be proven; or refusing to show credible evidence that they are applicants and indeed a “sheep in wolf’s clothing.” A true warrior wins peace through battle, training to teach and participating in it.