Do You Ever Want to Play the Role of Warrior?

[Quintus Curtius]

From the opening pages of Ernst Jünger's brutal and fascinating Storm of Steel, a book based on Jünger's 4 years of experience on trench warfare on the Western Front in WWI:

The train stopped at Bazancourt, a small town in Champagne, and we got out. Full of awe and incredulity, we listened to the slow grinding pulse of the front, a rhythm we were to become mightily familiar with over the years. The white ball of a shrapnel shell melted far off, suffusing the grey December sky. The breath of battle blew across to us, and we shuddered. Did we sense that almost all of us - some sooner, some later - were to be consumed by it, on days when the dark grumbling yonder would crash over our heads like an incessant thunder?

We had come from lecture halls, school desks and factory workbenches, and over the brief weeks of training, we had bonded together into one large and enthusiastic group. Grown up in an age of security, we shared a yearning for danger, for the experience of
the extraordinary. We were enraptured by war. We had set out in a rain of flowers, in a drunken atmosphere of blood and roses. Surely the war had to supply us with what we wanted; the great, the overwhelming, the hallowed experience. We thought of it as manly, as action, a merry duelling party on flowered, blood-bedewed meadows. 'No finer death in all the world than ...' Anything to participate, not to have to stay at home!

I just bought this book today. Can't wait till it arrives. Just reading some snippets from it made want to wipe the sweat from my brow.

It is the most militant, unabashedly aggressive, fantastic war memoir I have seen yet. And I've only seen excerpts from it.

But from what I've read so far, I feel like picking up a Mauser rifle, donning a Stalhelm and leaping into the trenches to help Junger fight off the French poilus and British Tommies.


.

 

[Evgenius]

There's no real, purposeful danger in modern life. Nothing worth dying for. Not for atheists anyway. That's why radicalism is such a draw for young Muslim men, volunteering to fight and die in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria...the list goes on.

uh, what about fighting against this ridiculousness? Hell, you don't even have to step out onto the battlefield these days. You could just change minds with the persuasiveness of your arguments.

 

[The Lizard of Oz]

A truly great memoir of war from a brave and gentle man:

"With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa"

 

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Well after all, Runsonmagic, I'm an ordinary man,
Who desires nothing more than an ordinary chance,
to live exactly as he likes, and do precisely what he wants...
An average man am I, of no eccentric whim,
Who likes to live his life, free of strife,
doing whatever he thinks is best, for him...

 

[The PerSev]

Never, I have family in the military.

One could be pedantic and argue that being a soldier is not the same as being a warrior.

A soldier is a government employee and follows orders. It's a job.

Being a warrior is about having a calling. Warriors don't fight for a cause, for ideas, or to defend their nation. They fight because it's fun. It's a game, and the words "game" and "job" are usually regarded as antonyms. Warriors in today's world are probably more attracted to martial arts and competitions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship than to military service. A warrior fights to test his mettle, not for ideas, and certainly not for a government.

Bingo.

Much ink has been spilled over the fact that the warrior is deep down a pretty humane, honorable guy. That's utter drivel. The path of the warrior is the path of willful violence unto others. Because you want to, not because you're ordered to.

Miyamoto Musashi was a warrior, the best of his time in Japan. He fought all those duels and battles for one reason and one reason only: to prove he was the best. That's it. Not in defense of his homeland, not for a Great Cause like democracy or the defeat of fascism or communism, not for anything else.

There have always been few 'true warriors', and this is especially the case in the the modern day West. Even among the elite SOF units, true warriors are hard to find. It's not a question of toughness or skill, which those men certainly have, it's a question of the way you look at the world: the warrior thinks like a predator, and wants to be at the top of the food chain.

That isn't to say I'm passing moral judgement on the warrior. If that's your thing, go for it. But today people only adapt the image of the warrior when it's convenient, like Marcus Luttrell for instance.

 

[germanico]

Miyamoto Musashi was a warrior, the best of his time in Japan. He fought all those duels and battles for one reason and one reason only: to prove he was the best. That's it.

All that fighting and training and meditating and hes still a little attention whoring bitch.

 

[Sp5]

Boswell's Life of Johnson

We talked of war.

Johnson: "Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea."

Boswell: "Lord Mansfield does not."

Johnson: "Sir, if Lord Mansfield were in a company of General Officers and Admirals who have been in service, he would shrink; he'd wish to creep under the table."

Boswell: ""No; he'd think he could try them all."

Johnson: "Yes, if he could catch them: but they'd try him much sooner. No, Sir; were Socrates and Charles the Twelfth of Sweden both present in any company, and Socrates to say, 'Follow me, and hear a lecture on philosophy;' and Charles, laying his hand on his sword, to say, 'Follow me, and dethrone the Czar;' a man would be ashamed to follow Socrates. Sir, the impression is universal; yet it is strange. As to the sailor, when you look down from the quarter deck to the space below, you see the utmost extremity of human misery; such crouding, such filth, such stench!"

Boswell: "Yet sailors are happy."

Johnson: "They are happy as brutes are happy, with a piece of fresh meat, --with the grossest sensuality. But, Sir, the profession of soldiers and sailors has the dignity of danger. Mankind reverence those who have got over fear, which is so general a weakness."

Scott: "But is not courage mechanical, and to be acquired?"

Johnson: "Why yes, Sir, in a collective sense. Soldiers consider themselves only as parts of a great machine."

Scott: "We find people fond of being sailors."

Johnson: "I cannot account for that, any more than I can account for other strange perversions of imagination."

 

[berserk]

Yeah, I have a strong desire to compete, win and dominate, but the battles of the modern world are meta-physical.

 

[The Lizard of Oz]

Boswell's Life of Johnson

We talked of war.

Johnson: "Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea."

Boswell: "Lord Mansfield does not."

Johnson: "Sir, if Lord Mansfield were in a company of General Officers and Admirals who have been in service, he would shrink; he'd wish to creep under the table."

Boswell: ""No; he'd think he could try them all."

Johnson: "Yes, if he could catch them: but they'd try him much sooner. No, Sir; were Socrates and Charles the Twelfth of Sweden both present in any company, and Socrates to say, 'Follow me, and hear a lecture on philosophy;' and Charles, laying his hand on his sword, to say, 'Follow me, and dethrone the Czar;' a man would be ashamed to follow Socrates. Sir, the impression is universal; yet it is strange. As to the sailor, when you look down from the quarter deck to the space below, you see the utmost extremity of human misery; such crouding, such filth, such stench!"

Boswell: "Yet sailors are happy."

Johnson: "They are happy as brutes are happy, with a piece of fresh meat, --with the grossest sensuality. But, Sir, the profession of soldiers and sailors has the dignity of danger. Mankind reverence those who have got over fear, which is so general a weakness."

Scott: "But is not courage mechanical, and to be acquired?"

Johnson: "Why yes, Sir, in a collective sense. Soldiers consider themselves only as parts of a great machine."

Scott: "We find people fond of being sailors."

Johnson: "I cannot account for that, any more than I can account for other strange perversions of imagination."

Thank you for quoting this beautiful passage from the greatest book written in the English language.

And of course Dr. J is, as usual, right both in general and in every particular.

 

[The PerSev]

I lift, I train in martial arts, but these outlets are like video games - a simulation of the real thing. It feels a bit silly to write about, but I've learned to honor whatever desires come up. I'm curious if others have felt the same way, or found an outlet for this.

I don't know where you live or what your financial situation is, but you should try hunting. Or better yet, poaching. The more challenging the better. It can teach you many skills that are useful in combat. Many of the most succesful snipers throughout the decades hunted in their youth. In fact that's what sniping is, poaching humans.

If you get to the point where you can stalk and kill(with a bow) a coyote with even a semblance of consistency, you're basically a ninja. I can't.

Yet...

 

[seawolf007]

I truly enjoy learning about and living the aspects of a warrior.

I study Krav Maga/ Jiu Jitsu which simulates a fight, after every sparring session i feel at ease with my animal / warrior self.

I Enjoy hunting and the kill associated. I bowhunt because you experience the kill so much more close the more dangerous the game the better.

I enjoy fishing and free-dive Spearfishing is one of my passions, the rush from sticking a 50lb cobia off the back of a bullshark the combination of kill and danger and physical chalenge bring out the warrior within me and i feel content afterwards.

I am a sailor , Solo-sailing is my thing . Being alone at sea requires you to find strength within, there is nothing more self-empowering than being alone at sea hundreds of miles from land and having to deal with it all both pysically and emotionally alone . This has changed me, i return feeling like a warrior every time.

Riding motorcycles feeling the pavement under your feet and the thrill and adrenaline of the speed , brings similar sensations that the above items do.

Studying warriors of the past and reading about their lives , and implementing their ideals into my life.

Fucking the shit out of a beautiful women and conquering her and dominating her brings similar notions.

Weightlifting is a form of preparation for the above .

--------------------------------------------------

Sometimes, beneath the shimmering surface of my memory,
I sense the deeper memories of generation after generation of hunters.
For tens of thousands of years I have kept a faithful record of my hunting,
so the children of my children’s children will know and remember.
And more permanent than any painted stone..
is the memory that lies at the heart of my every cell,
the memory of my hunting, the history of my tribe.
And when I wake beneath the modern sky,
full of smoke and sound,
as from a dream I believe I lost my way back.
For I cannot forget I am a hunter
and I am from a race of hunters
and there is no place for hunters in this time.

-------------------------------------------------------

 

[Icarus]

I Enjoy hunting and the kill associated. I bowhunt because you experience the kill so much more close the more dangerous the game the better.

You'd probably enjoy pigsticking:

 

[seawolf007]

I Enjoy hunting and the kill associated. I bowhunt because you experience the kill so much more close the more dangerous the game the better.

You'd probably enjoy pigsticking:

Yes Boar hunting is something i have never done (yet), I am currently in Estonia and hope to Bag a Russian Boar before i leave. I have friends back in Texas were i grew up that insist real men do it with a knife.....i must find out for myself!

 

[Hotwheels]

 

[Goldmund]

I enjoy fishing and free-dive Spearfishing is one of my passions, the rush from sticking a 50lb cobia off the back of a bullshark the combination of kill and danger and physical chalenge bring out the warrior within me and i feel content afterwards.

Oh man, spearfishing was one of the most exciting times I have ever had in the sea.

Off the coast of Florida I speared a bunch of grouper fish and ate them for dinner.

On that same hunt, I also caught a lobster and had to swim back to shore with that fucker trying to claw me.

What a good day.

 

[soup]

Goldmund- that's a cool story about the lake and your grandpa- you could probably that talking to a chick.

 

[Goldmund]

Believe me, I name drop my Native American heritage all the time...girls get crazy with that shit.

 

[seawolf007]

There is a place upstate where I go a few times every spring and summer.

It's a lake that I found using google earth--a two mile hike into the hills, through the woods (no trail), completely isolated.

I go there alone with fishing equipment and take that shit as serious as I can.

I gut and clean the fish right there on the lake side before heading back. I return back to civilization bloodied, dirty, and satisfied from the hunt.

It certainly fulfills my desire to kill.

I would like to get into bow hunting at some point and track down some deer. My grandfather is Native American and he taught me how to track animals when I was young. That shit is amazing...its like having super powers.

I will be chasing Elk in the bitteroots of Idaho in september. I backpack in and live out of a spike camp for a few weeks. I did it solo last year...maybe this year too. Public land only cost is the tag. I killed a 6 foot black bear on my last trip spring 2014.

I am a corn fed white boy but when i was a kid out west of the pecos in west Texas i had a mentor that was damn near full indian. Made my first bow kill with him. tasted raw mule deer heart at 16 Years old ....i have never been "normal " Since. I am a hunter . I enjoy the kill. But i appreciate my preys sacrifice.

-SeaWolf

 

[germanico]

Made my first bow kill with him. tasted raw mule deer heart at 16 Years old ....i have never been "normal " Since. I am a hunter . I enjoy the kill. But i appreciate my preys sacrifice.

-SeaWolf

Kill and die, the warrior ethos.

 

[jake1720]

Closest thing to danger without actually being totally stupid is trying to make a lot of money in business (extreme sports also, though I currently don't do these). I plan on saving close to upper six figures or seven figures and gambling the rest to try to get excessively rich with high risk finance and business decisions.

Then when it all goes to shit take my "fuck you" fund and run away overseas

It's more of an intellectual war, but I find it fun being that I'm fairly smart.