Being a true warrior means first of all defeating your ego, having no more enemies and making your martial skills available to those in need. Let's take some examples.
The ego in martial ethics
In China the concept of " wude " has always existed, that is of morality through the control of the mind, through respect, virtue, courage, patience, humility, trust, perseverance .
In Japan we find the code of conduct called " bushido ", made up of continuous self-improvement, loyalty, courtesy, honor, rectitude, benevolence, truth.
The ancient Indoarian peoples also had codes of conduct that we find, for example, in Pashtun warriors: respect, benevolence, loyalty, justice, protection of women and of the motherland.
Among the sacred texts of India the Bhagavad Gita stands out, in which Krishna supports Arjuna, the faltering warrior, teaching him to do his duty and to fight without ego, without hatred, without fear, without resentment .
Knowing how to win, how to lose
" The important thing is to participate " De Cubertin reminds us through each Olympiad. As you know, knowing how to win and knowing how to lose are not such obvious things.
For modern society based on competition, the quest for victory is almost a must and can create a lot of stress, worsening performance rather than improving it.
The true martial artist must know how to go beyond all this, respect every adversary and recognize in defeat a great opportunity for growth .
In this perspective it is much more profitable to lose against a strong opponent than to win against a weak one. The desire for victory and the fear of defeat are emotional and mental traps that prevent us from enjoying performance and making the most of the potential progress of the martial experience.
How to modulate strength in martial arts by managing one's emotions
Competitiveness and ego
Competitiveness is sometimes the crucial issue: children are often driven to be competitive by their parents, who seek some sort of redemption through their children, preventing them from experiencing martial growth with the right spirit.
It must be said that a fair and healthy dose of competitiveness, well controlled by two important guardians, good humor and respect, can help in growth.
Everyone has the right to aspire to the maximum and this aspiration should take the form of a total commitment, but there should be no expectations such as proving to be the strongest, receiving appreciation, satisfying parents or teachers, venting one's anger.
The ego of the student, the ego of the master
It is good to keep an eye not only on the students' ego but also that of the teachers, who sometimes feed on the esteem and dedication of their students.
But what is really to be avoided is the teacher who pushes his students to the limit in order to obtain recognition for their school.
No one can win on any occasion and the world will always be someone stronger than us. The ego urges us to believe that we have "arrived", therefore it triggers a process by which we will cease to commit ourselves to the maximum, as we will always have to do, remembering that what we do not know will always be greater than what we know, and that anyone the simplest person can teach us something or give us the inspiration for a new development .
Also in yoga the ego often wins: this is how to save oneself from this poison
