the things worth believing in

From the Budo Shoshinshu:

One who is a warrior should have a thorough understanding of these two qualities. If he knows how to do one and avoid the other then he will have attained to Bushido And right and wrong are nothing but good and evil, for though I would not deny that there is a slight difference between the terms, yet to act rightly and do good is difficult and is regarded as tiresome, whereas to act wrongly and do evil is easy and amusing, so that most naturally incline to the wrong or evil and tend to dislike the right and good. But to be thus unstable and make no distinction between right and wrong is contrary to reason, so that anyone who understands this distinction and yet does what is wrong is no proper samurai, but a raw and untaught person. And the cause of it is small capacity for self-control. Though this may not sound so bad, if we examine into its origin we find it arises from cowardice. That is why I maintain that it is essential for a samurai to refrain from wrong and cleave to what is right.

Now in the matter of doing right there are three degrees. For instance, if a man goes on a journey with a neighbor and his companion has a hundred ryo of gold which, in order to avoid the trouble of carrying it with him, he deposits with this man till he comes back. And he does so without telling anyone about it. Then on the journey this neighbor is taken with a sudden illness from over- eating, or apoplexy, or something of the sort, and dies of it, so that there is nobody at all who knows anything about the money. But the other out of pure sympathy and compassion and nothing else, and without a single evil thought, immediately informs the relatives and returns all the money to them. This is a man who does what is right. In the second case, suppose the man who had the money to have been one who had only a few acquaintances and was not intimate with anybody, so that no one would know about the money he had deposited and there would be none likely therefore to make inquires. And if the other was not very well off he might regard it as a lucky windfall and think it no harm to say nothing and keep it for himself. But then a sudden shame would come over him for having harbored such a polluting idea and he would put it from him at once and return the money. This is doing right on account of shame that proceeds from one’s mind. Then there is the case where somebody in his house, either one of his family or of his servants, knows about this money, and he is ashamed of what that person may think or what may be said of him in the future and so returns it. This is one who does right from shame connected with other people. But here we may wonder what he would do if nobody knew anything about it. Still, we can hardly pronounce him to be a person who, though he does not know what is right, does it.

However, generally speaking, the rule for the practice of right conduct is that first of all we should feel shame at the contempt of our family and servants, and then at the scorn of the wider circle of our acquaintances and of outsiders, and thus eschew the wrong and do right. This will then naturally become a habit and in time we shall acquire the disposition to prefer the right and dislike the wrong.

Again in the way of valor, he who is born brave will think it nothing to go into battle and come under a hot fire of arrows and bullets. Devoted to loyalty and duty he will make his body a target and press on, presenting by his splendid valor an indescribably fine example to all beholders. But on the the other hand, there may one whose knees tremble and whose heart palpitates as he wonders how he is going to manage to acquit himself decently in all this danger, but he goes on because he is ashamed to be the only one to falter under the eyes of his comrades as they advance, and because he fears loss of reputation in the future. So he hardens his resolution and presses on in no way behind the naturally valiant one. Thus, though he may be vastly inferior to the born brave, after several of these experiences he becomes used to it and finds his feet, and so eventually his courage is confirmed and he grows into a warrior by no mean inferior to the born fearless. So both in doing right and in producing valor there is no other way but a sense of shame. For if people say of wrong that it does not matter and do it, and merely laugh if they see a coward and say that it does not matter either, what means will there be of disciplining this kind of person?

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I am reading a book titled: Philosophy, Risk and Adventure Sports by Mike McNamee. In it he writes:

It seems humans now want safety, security, control and predictability in a lot of areas of life. We want technological risks to be as small as possible. Bridges, cars, atom reactors, aeroplanes, should be safe. We want other people to behave in a responsible and predictable manner in traffic and transport. At the same time people want to take risks. But risks should be taken in the right or relevant manner. We do not want to get hurt or die by uncontrollable and irrelevant risks. Risks must come in the right or relevant way. If I go climbing I want the rope to be secure, the equipment to be dependable. I know that there are risks in climbing but they must come in the right way, be relevant. And which risks are relevant? The relevant risks are those that can be predicted, controlled, mastered and dealt with by me through use of my skills. It is like the relation between truth and knowledge. My belief that it is snowing on the North Pole at a certain time may be right. But unless it is the snowing on the North Pole that causes my belief we do not say that I have knowledge. If I guess something and I am right my belief is true, but I do not have knowledge of it as such. Knowledge demands more than mere justified belief. In a similar manner my risk taking should be related to the relevant risks in a certain manner. I think people need challenges of the right sort and they want to master risks, in a relevant way. This is typically what we do in nature or environments that pose definable challenges to us. I think we need to develop a society where this is possible.

I am reading this book because at one time I was an “Adventure Sports” type; climbing cliffs, rappelling off of bridges and jumping out of planes. I don’t participate in those much activities anymore. Why? Well it’s not out of any fear of risk or physical inability, I just sort of grew out of it.

I believe those hobbies were more of a “testing ground” than a hobby for me than a “calling”. I got into them in my early 20′s. That period of uncertainty between high school, college and the working world. That grey area in American culture between adolescent and man. These challenges allowed me to test my fears and my ability to face them. I think that they had a direct influence on the course of my life. Before them I probably would have stuck to the “safe side” and lived a life of office work in a field I was competent in but didn’t “love”. Taking those risks allowed me to take other “risks” in my life. I enlisted. I changed my career path into law enforcement and found my calling.

I also like to read this stuff because so much “philosophy of sport” can be translated into self-defense and “warriorship”. I can see how the authors points on the differences between “truth and knowledge” can be applied to those fields.

How many people adhere to training protocols and”techniques” based on the assurances of their instructors that they will be effective? If the teacher has prevailed in combat because of his skill than there is “truth” to his words, but until YOU can apply them you will not have “knowledge” of that truth. That’s why training as close to reality is so important.

Likewise, the authors points about acceptable risk has direct application to self-defense. What risks are you willing to take? What sort of experience, training and equipment will give you the confidence to change that level of acceptable risk, and do you possess the “knowledge” that your training and tools will make any difference?

Sometimes downplaying your intentions until you have enough back-up to deal with a situation is a good idea.

Engaging moving targets is something that you will routinely face when you are competing against the “living”. There are various methods out there for engaging moving targets, I am going to show you one of the simplest “rules of thumb” used for hitting them.

In the USArmy a technique is taught that is known as the “single-lead rule“.

To hit a target moving laterally, the firer places the trailing edge of the front sight post at target center. The single-lead rule automatically increases the lead as the range to the target increases.

As the distance increases the spatial relationship between your sight post and the target increases. This illustration shows how this works. The front sight post will cover about 1.6 inches at 15 meters and about 16 inches at 150 meters.  Since the center of the front sight post is the actual aiming point, placing the trailing edge of the front sight post at target center provides a .8-inch lead on a 15-meter target and an 8-inch lead on a target at 150 meters.

This is rule will give you a dead-center hit on a 15-meter target moving at 7 miles per hour at a 25-degree angle because the target moves .8 inches between the time the rifle is fired and the bullet arrives at the target. A 150-meter target moving at 7 miles per hour at a 25-degree angle moves 8 inches between the time the weapon is fired and the bullet arrives.

If the target is moving faster or you can see that your rounds are impacting behind the target you can shift the trailing edge to the leading side of the target to increase your lead accordingly.

Please note that this is a combat shooting technique and not designed for precision shooting. It was developed by the Army to enable soldiers armed with rifles to better hit targets in an environment where more precise range, speed and lead calculations would be difficult, if not impossible to determine. This rule will  assist you in getting hits on the majority of high priority combat targets at reasonable engagement distances.

The Army’s research abstract that explains why they decided to develop this rule can be found HERE.

Previous doctrine outlined four different points of aim for laterally moving personnel targets (FM 23-9). Determining which of these four lead rules to use required the soldier to estimate the range and speed of the target. Given this fact, hitting moving personnel targets within an exposure time of a few seconds is probably too complex a task for most soldiers to master during limited training. In an attempt to simplify established procedures for engaging moving targets, nine different lead rules were subjected to a trigonometric analysis to determine the theoretical location of bullet impact (Evans & Schendel, 1982). The following five variables were considered in this analysis: target speed, angle of movement, target range, size of the front sight post, and velocity of the 5.56mm Ml6AI projectile. A single lead rule was found which is appropriate for all target speeds, angles of movement, and target ranges out to 200 meters. By aligning the trailing edge of the front sight post with the center of the target, all IRETS moving targets could be hit. Given the fact that a single lead rule was desired to simplify training and maximize the number of high-priority target hits, this lead rule is taught for all moving targets in the new ARM program. Prior to engaging moving field-fire targets, soldiers are given moving target dry fire training. In addition, soldiers fire at a 25-Meter Scaled Simulated Moving Target (see Appendix H). This paper target allows soldiers to practice the lead rule with stationary targets prior to engaging moving targets. Soldiers then walk down range to inspect their targets. If rounds hit within a dotted silhouette which is offset from the solid silhouette at which one aims, the round probably would have hit the target if it had actually been moving.

More good stuff by Todd Jarret. Moving targets are an acknowledged weakness in my training. Simply put,  I just don’t have access to moving target set-up’s. Perhaps I will try some homemade remedies to that this summer.

Movers like this are tough enough; and these competition arrays move in predictable patterns. When you consider the human ability to make random direction changes, then add in  your own movement (not even mentioning fear and adrenaline) and you can see one of the reasons behind the results of these “cop’s cant shoot” studies that pop-up every now and then.

It’s a whole different situation when you compare the worlds of competition, with the immediate, life and death decision making world required of a soldier or LEO. The skills displayed by Mr. Jarrett here are definitely a huge advantage over…well almost anybody, but these skills don’t get applied on a “stage” in real life. You have to combine skills with policy, law, and tactics, and you have to balance your training time and budget to cover all of them accordingly.

Take todays lesson more as a “rule of thumb” rather than a hard and fast rule, but I recommend that when you are stacking on a door that all operators have their muzzles pointing outboard or away from the wall. This allows everybody to immediately engage a threat that may exit the door or approach from outside the structure.

If you have your muzzle staged “inboard” you run into the issue of possibly having your weapon pinned if the guy in front of you backs into your arms. You also have the danger of “lasering” the man in front of you if you try to transition over to the opposite side.

As I said this is just a tip; you may have a situation where you find stacking “to the inside” advantageous. I have done it on occasion when I knew I was going to make entry to a particular side. If the guy in the above illustration knew that he was going to move to the right upon entry than he may find it “flows” smoother to stack inboard because he wouldn’t have to perform a “U” sweep to avoid lasering the man front of him. The most important thing here is that you at least consider the issue. It is always better to make a conscious decision than to be caught by surprise.

An excerpt from Gen. MacArthur’s Thayer Award Acceptance Address at West Point. The entire speech can be heard here.

A working knowledge of how to construct an emergency shelter is an important survival skill. I found this nice video that shows how to construct one.

The spruce root as cording was an interesting tip. Although I would have to get better at my tree identification skills to make that one work. I know its a pine/evergreen.

Image by sandy richard via Flickr

An important point made by the instructor is the necessity of a good axe. I don’t know how many campers or hikers routinely carry one due to the size and weight, but it may be a good idea to consider what you would use for the purpose. Those cable saws are nice..I have owned one or two but they certainly are labor intensive and time consuming to use.

One of my interests is Bushido and the Samurai. I found this passage in the Bushidoshoshinshu, a book written by Daidoji Yuzan Taira no Shigesuke. This work was widely read and discussed by warriors of the middle and late Edo period and became one of the sources for bushi thought and behavior throughout the country, along with such books as Hagakure and Tengu Geijutsuron.

These books and others were discussions of what a warrior ought to do and how he should behave in the fulfillment of his duties, a combination of military thought and social etiquette. The core of this passage is the idea that “the worth of a man” is to be found in his day to day behavior, not in the extreme and relatively rare occurrence (even for the Samurai) of actual battle. As in my previous post, the idea is to perform small acts of courage as often as possible to be familiar with the feeling when the “big one” arrives.

When speaking of Bushido, the three qualities considered essential are loyalty, integrity and courage. When these three virtues are perfectly combined in one man, he is called a samurai of the highest quality. It is easy to link these three in one breath, but a weighty matter to understand them in one’s heart and then put them into practice. Thus, it has been said since ancient times that it is rare to find a samurai of the highest quality even among a hundred or a thousand warriors. In this connection it is an easy thing to discern a warrior of loyalty or a man of integrity, as these qualities appear in one’s everyday behavior. But there is some doubt if a man of courage can be distinguished in this uneventful period of peace. Such a doubt, however, is not justified. The reason is that the courage of a warrior is not exhibited for the first time when he dons his armor, takes up spear and halberd, faces the field, and is locked in battle. A man’s ordinary life at peace reflects his courage or cowardice just like a mirror.

Why is this so? A man born with a sense of courage will advance in high spirits all that is good, and avoid in the same way all that is bad. In his dealings with his lord and parents he will make his endeavors with unparalleled loyalty and filial piety. Having the least bit of spare time, he will put his mind to Learning, and not be negligent in his practice of the martial arts. Being careful to avoid extravagance, he will dislike wasting even a penny. One should not think, however, that this is due to a mean or shabby spirit, because for necessary things he will spend without regret sums with which others would not part. As for places or activities forbidden by his lord’s house laws or disliked by his parents, he will not go to them no matter how much he may want to, and will desist in such activities no matter how difficult they may be to stop. In all events he will not turn his back on the desires of his lord or parents. He will protect his health fully and will keep in mind the desire to perform at least once in his life a great meritorious deed. Having such a disposition, he will be deeply mindful of his own constitution and be moderate in his desires for food and drink. He will give wide berth to and be very prudent in matters of sex, that primary deluder of men, and, other than that, will endure anything. All these evidence a man’s courage.

A coward, on the other hand, will respect his lord and parents only on the surface, and in reality will not value them at all. He will give no thought to the house laws of his lord or to the aversions of his parents, but rather will walk about the places he shouldn’t and do things he ought not, putting his self- indulgence before anything else. This man will enjoy sleeping in the morning and sleeping at noon, and will greatly dislike anything connected with Learning. Even in his performance of the martial arts, which are the calling of a warrior, he will be completely lacking in discipline. Practicing a little of this and a little of that, he will speak knowingly of his pride in the arts, regardless of his lack in them. He will waste, without a thought of the future or the past, the little bit of stipend he may receive, spending any amount of money on sumptuous meals or useless and idiotic things. With anything else he will be stingy and tight-fisted. He will not even consider repairing the enameled lattice cords of the old armor he had received from his parents, much less wanting to update or repair the deficiencies in his absolutely necessary armory and saddlery. Such a man gives no consideration to the fact that when becoming ill he would not be able to serve his lord and would cause his parents anxiety and hardships. Thus, he indulges in gluttony and overdrinking, giving himself up to lasciviousness, and chipping away at the fiber of his existence. These all arise from a weak and irresolute mind, a mind unable to endure things for long. One would not be far off the track in judging them to be symptoms of a cowardly, weak-hearted warrior.
Thus, one can distinguish with no confusion the brave man from the coward, even in times of peace and tranquility.

-Bushidoshoshinshu

What I find interesting in this passage is the idea that a persons character can be seen best in his/her day-to-day living and that a person of “everyday character” will most likely “stand fast” and fulfill his/her duty when the time comes.

A man’s ordinary life at peace reflects his courage or cowardice just like a mirror.

Our thoughts and actions are inexorably intertwined. Cultivate “courage” in your everyday life and chances are you will act accordingly during crisis as well.

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I believe that judgment IS a requirement in this life. I don’t support “pre-judgment”, making a decision before considering the facts, but the “who am I to judge” crowd is wrong. “Judge not, lest ye be judged” doesn’t mean we shouldn’t judge. It means that we should consider our own faults before passing judgment on someone else. When a society starts thinking that there is no right or wrong…good or bad…then anarchy reigns and things like justice, peace, honor, truth, courage, integrity and “good” begin to fade away.