Large Fierce Mammal

“The more I’ve studied the application of fighting arts and delivering lethality, the more I came to eschew the posturings of “toughness” and implied violence. I always laugh at the old saying that you should never fight with an old man because if he’s too old to fight, he’ll just kill you. It carries a solid element of truth at its core methinks. Study your methods and tools, train, and don’t fight unless your predetermined limit is reached. Then it’s all in – the way animals do. Fighting is counterproductive and wasteful – NOT at one with the Way of the Wild as a point in and of itself, but as a necessary element of survival that must be learned by everything that walks, swims, slithers, or flies, each in its own way.” ~ Worldly Wisdom Wednesday – The Positive Side of Conflict

“If It Was Not Art, The Strong Would Always Win.” ~ Hanko Doebringer -1389

Source: The Swordmaster’s Grimoire

I’ve written extensively here over the years on the subject of physical conflict as expressed in the Nature of all things, many times making reference to the fact that, outside of predator on prey encounters, the kind of fight to the death scenario between creatures of like kind that Humans practice is rare indeed. This is because, in Nature and the Way of the Wild, the death of a creature is meant to serve a purpose higher than that another of its kind simply wants it dead.

Every creature in Nature must learn how to use its Naturally endowed force multipliers with competence and efficiency; first and foremost to avoid any combat that may end its life, but failing this, to ensure that the encounter will be short and decisive. The emphasis on brevity should be obvious – the more prolonged the battle, the greater the chance of failure for even the superior combatant. The predator seeks the quickest kill so that its exposure to the defensive efforts of the prey, and potentially crippling injury to itself, will be as abbreviated as possible. The prey seeks safety in situational awareness before the predator’s attack leads to contact, but in the gravest extreme is prepared to fight to the death, for sewn into its nature is the knowledge that this is where the encounter will lead absent immediate action of the most sincerely fierce kind.

“Chase the Rabbit, generally held to be among the meekest of creatures, and you will soon learn that its conflict resolution skills begin with fleetness of foot. Yet corner it and seek to take it in hand while it still draws breath and it will teach you of other skills – those of tooth and claw. As is said, the thorn defends the rose, yet it is peaceful and does not seek conflict.” ~ Sunday Musings on Problem Solving

Notwithstanding the widely held belief that the tools devised and wielded by Man represent force multipliers in and of themselves, I will remind you that they are merely the result of our Natural, and therefore most vital ones – a large and adaptive brain capable of imagination, and the opposable thumb on each hand permitting sufficient manual dexterity to craft those imaginings into reality. These are the attributes, expressed through the force multipliers that brought them into being, and the changes in mindset they engendered, that catapulted our ancestors from cowering foragers to the top of the food chain.

“We Man critters can imagine and build solutions to problems that Nature didn’t give us the speed, wings, teeth, fur, claws, armor, sense of smell, or eyesight to solve otherwise.” ~ Worldly Wisdom Wednesday – Archaic Revival

A most excellent example of this as it expresses itself in Man is the Art of the Blade; and I call it most unreservedly an Art for the same reason it was called thus by the Warrior Priest Hanko Doebringer in 1389 when he wrote, “If it was not Art, the strong would always win.”

And there it is, encapsulated in one tidy expression of timeless eloquence that is as true now as it was the day in the 14th century on which Hanko Doebringer published his interpretation of the teachings of the German Fencing Master, Johannes Liechtenauer. Famous for his teachings in the Art of the Long Sword, Liechtenauer’s teachings came to be referred to more generally by his students as Kunst des Fechtens, or The Art of Fighting.

Excellent schools still exist and continue to teach both the skills and mindset of Classical Fencing. Skills that come from a time before the study of Swordsmanship became an athletic contest for the mere scoring of points, but rather was intended as preparation of mind, body, and spirit for a lethal contest of blood letting in the face of a similarly armed and determined adversary. These schools don’t teach assassins. If you simply want to learn how to efficiently kill someone with a sword or dagger, they could certainly teach you that, but they won’t. The study of Swordsmanship is not a path to mayhem and murder, but rather one of harmony, true maturity, and social responsibility.

If your anger goes forth, withhold your sword; If your sword goes forth, withhold your anger. ~ swordsman’s axiom

Now when I speak of all this – of Classical Swordsmanship and the philosophy of the Art – most will be thinking I’m talking about knightly behaviour of the noble sort that nobody could ever think ill of. Beautifully crafted swords and daggers will be imagined along with favourite scenes from movies like The Princess Bride and Braveheart. There is nothing wrong with that as long as it is understood that these are expressions of art that imitate life, and let’s not forget, death. The reality of life and death is what we actually have to deal with – no more and  no less than those of our ancestors who needed to be schooled in the fighting arts for very practical reasons. Reasons that still apply today, and will continue to apply in degrees that will wax and wane in urgency as one age of history passes into the next.

You see, skill at arms; whether the weapon be a blade, a spear, a stick, a rock, or the empty hand;  is about the efficient and decisive achievement of mastery over an opponent who is doing his best to do the same to you, and not at all about using the threat of violence to impose your will upon another. The practitioner of the True Art acts in defence of self, or of those who may rightfully look to him or her for protection, and offers no offense to any who does not insist upon receiving such. Preference is given to avoid rather than fight, but come to that, to engage without hesitation and end any fight swiftly and decisively. To think and do otherwise is to be complicit in the downfall rather than the defence of one’s own society. One’s skill at arms promises death to the adversary, but in truth seeks to avoid killing – not because every life is sacred, but even more practically, because in the scheme of things, the opponent is more valuable to society alive than dead.

“One sword keeps another in the sheath.” ~ George Herbert (1593–1633)

So now, let’s take a step back and look at all this from a slightly different perspective. Not everyone in times past had possession of a sword or the skill to use it, even as this is true in today’s world. Even as today, not everyone has possession of a firearm for any reason, let alone personal defence. But there is one thing that was, and still is, universally found in most homes throughout the land – the knife. Such a mundane thing that everyone will need to learn the use of. A carving knife for the Thanksgiving Turkey, a serrated knife for slicing bread, and a paring knife for all those niggling little kitchen chores that call for a small, sharp, and agile blade. If you hunt, camp, or hike, you will carry a knife of some kind along with the obligation to know how to use and maintain it safely and properly. The knife is used and respected everywhere … but unlike the sword, somehow loses this status when it enters the realm of combat. Rather than a valid tool of defence against evil and injustice, it becomes the vile weapon of the brigand, the bully, the thug, the assassin, the cutthroat, and the thief in the night. The “coward” in a movie western who “pulls a knife” on the hero when he starts thinking he’s losing to him in a “fair” fight. But this is more flawed perception and fanciful imagining than truth. You see, the length of the blade is of no consequence. Only the intention and its attendant Art hold sway.

In Chapter Two of In Ferro Veritas, we’ll consult a man whose teachings are real, relevant, effective, and absolutely built on a foundation of harmony, true maturity, and social responsibility – and our gateway to what he has to teach us will be by way of the knife.

Meet The Knife Coach, next time on LFM.