I recently finished Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era and it raised some thoughts on warriors, warrior-scholars, and “everyone else”.
In the book there are two “top tier” warriors – Musashi and Kojirō with (to my understanding) Musashi being more the wandering warrior-scholar (a Ronin - a samurai with no “paycheck”) and Kojirō who gets hired to teach fighters for one of the lords.
Kojirō only wants fame and recognition and has the natural talent to attain it. He cares about public perspective. Musashi is more interested in the journey of learning and perfection of all aspects. He is falsely slandered several times but stays on his path. Musashi fights to test his progress whereas Kojirō fights to prove himself to others. This is my interpretation and I could be way off base.
I see similarities between clout-chasing Instagram shooters and the ones more interested in an exchange of information/application of skill/skill on demand.
As I read this book which has story lines of merchants, bandits, farmers, etc I wonder to myself about these various characters “why wouldn’t everyone want to be a swordsman, ronin or not?” and it made me reflect on all the different types of people out there and the levels they (and I) am at. Being a shooter is not necessarily analogous to being a warrior but those of us who go about daily life carrying defensive tools (ranging from pistol to pepper spray) are more warrior-slanted than those who do not.
What is it about us that makes us fighters? Why do some people not have that trait?
Those who do have some element of the warrior trait: why is it that some work at being skilled while others care only for being heard & seen and perceived as “right”?