I read an article when first starting to become interested in owning a handgun, regarding similarities between CHLs and Samurai. Of particular interest was Zen and the concept of bushido. The article's author was more interested in the force continuum, and that a katana was the signature and most lethal weapon of a samurai but by no means the only one. However, he touched on a point I think is relevant; the true warrior is a paradox.
The true warrior hones his skills until his weapons become a part of him. He learns, and perfects every skill which could help him in combat, from bare-hand fighting to grappling to stealth and concealment to the use of weapons to psychological factors affecting their opponent. The true warrior is, himself, a deadly weapon.
However, the true warrior avoids combat for its own end. The true warrior understands that combat is sometimes necessary to achieve an objective, but that the taking of a human life is a final solution to a problem, and therefore is the last option. The true warrior, in fact, sees combat as distasteful and even horrifying as does anyone else, and shuns the barbarian who enjoys the death and destruction of war. And for the true warrior, there is no higher ideal than to lay aside the sword.
I think, given an ideal world, no-one would carry concealed. The world is, nowever, not ideal, and people carry because they feel they must. Those who carry must therefore embrace the paradox; they must become the weapon (there's the Zen thing), and must be skilled in many forms of combat, in many scenarios, with many weapons. They must be willing, at a moment's notice, to end a life. However, they must also regard violence as the last option, and deadly force as the end of all things. They must use and be the weapon in order to create a world in which weapons are no longer needed.
The true warrior hones his skills until his weapons become a part of him. He learns, and perfects every skill which could help him in combat, from bare-hand fighting to grappling to stealth and concealment to the use of weapons to psychological factors affecting their opponent. The true warrior is, himself, a deadly weapon.
However, the true warrior avoids combat for its own end. The true warrior understands that combat is sometimes necessary to achieve an objective, but that the taking of a human life is a final solution to a problem, and therefore is the last option. The true warrior, in fact, sees combat as distasteful and even horrifying as does anyone else, and shuns the barbarian who enjoys the death and destruction of war. And for the true warrior, there is no higher ideal than to lay aside the sword.
I think, given an ideal world, no-one would carry concealed. The world is, nowever, not ideal, and people carry because they feel they must. Those who carry must therefore embrace the paradox; they must become the weapon (there's the Zen thing), and must be skilled in many forms of combat, in many scenarios, with many weapons. They must be willing, at a moment's notice, to end a life. However, they must also regard violence as the last option, and deadly force as the end of all things. They must use and be the weapon in order to create a world in which weapons are no longer needed.
