Want to be a warrior? Me too. A couple of articles from the net got me thinking.

There is beautiful, philosophical side to martial arts. MMA has it too – even though it’s popular to wash over it with a testosterone-driven gladiator mentality.

Rodney King, from the Crazy Monkey Defense crew, addressed some of this in his post on his Embodied Warrior blog, called The Everyday Warrior – How MMA Can Be A Positive Force In The World

… [W]hen one speaks to these men in modern martial arts today, about going beyond the physical- about using the vehicle of (Mixed) Martial Arts as a way to become more as human beings, to make a positive difference in other men’s lives- an uneasy silence befalls the air.

True warriorhood is the ability to deal with ones dark side … and to admire ones positive side. This requires a philosophy that sees the physical expression of martial arts as a doorway to a purposeful personal enlightenment and transcendence above the narcissistic needs of the self.

I’ve had the good fortune of dealing with both extremes in the fighting/MMA sub-culture. Some guys are just in it for the physical, technique driven, beat-the-crap out of you part, and that’s fine by me as long as you have a positive energy behind it. I love rough-housing just for the sake of play.

On the other hand, there can be a philosophical, spiritual side to a warrior. It doesn’t have to be a new-age let’s hold hands and heal the world type of spirituality either. There is a refinement of character with physical discipline, and martial arts can bring a new appreciation of the frailty of human life and the reality of death.

People can point fingers at the MMA forums and fans, saying they are immature loud mouths who crave violence. I can’t say that their wrong – because many probably are. But there is more to it. Anyway, a nice article.

Also, over at the Art Of Manliness, there is a post titled, “The Hard Way.” To me, it emphasizes how the path of least resistance, easy living and hacks are chipping away at our life. As my old Sensei might say, “There are no secrets to the art. Relax and keep drilling.”

The author of the post says it succinctly:

We’re missing out on a fundamental truth of manhood – doing things that are hard molds boys into men of strength and character.

Again, worthwhile read. Bushido isn’t dead in MMA, it’s growing.