A lot of people in the martial arts focus very heavily on the mechanics and the technologies of combat, of fighting. Learning how to successfully fight is important so that we can use our skills to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Learning the strategies of fighting can teach general strategies for success.

However, groups that focus on fighting without balancing it out with sensible philosophies and ethics and values risk degenerating into a very dangerous mindset. A person who works so hard at being a fighter risks being confined to the mindset of a fighter. If you can imagine someone who views life as a series of fights that are either won or lost, you can understand where I'm heading with this. We need more than just fighting skills.

Once upon a time, there was a group of people, a caste in a society, the Warrior Caste. This group loved to win. They loved to fight and to improve their methods of fighting. They reached a point where, if no fights, no battles, no wars were occurring, they would go out and start fights or create conflicts out of petty incidents merely to do something. Fighting was their purpose in life, and if they weren't fighting, they were drifting through life without purpose.

There are two groups that can fit in this description. One is from the science fiction show Babylon 5, and refers to a society called the Minbari. In turn, this society was partly based on another society, feudal Japan. The caste, of course, are known to us as the samurai, and during the Tokugawa period, the warriors either had to change into something else, continue fighting, or go underground. Later, in the Meiji era, the fighters were faced with the permanent extinction of their caste.

One of the things I admire about Stephen K. Hayes' To-Shin Do program is the inclusion of values, ethics, mind sciences, and philosophies that make it more than just fighting. Fighting is not "in style" these days, and hasn't been in style since the Old West in America. Specializing in fighting, therefore, can lead to a serious problem regarding skill building and opportunity. One learns all these fantastically destructive skills for what seems like no reason.

Part of the problem in other areas of the Internet and in the martial arts in general are groups that focus so heavily on fighting, on being members of that fighting caste, that they lose sight of the skills of personal development and self-development. Learning how to fight and learning how to damage, maim, or kill without learning why or why not is a risky proposition at best. Some of the more aggressive personalities on those forums are fighters with fighter mentalities. Others are cowards who would like to fancy themselves as fighters, and delude themselves into thinking they're great fighters... legends in their own minds, in a way.

Why are we different? Those of us here who truly focus on the big picture, on the goals we've set, namely helping ourselves, our friends, and our communities, have learned to take the skills of destructive power and the strategies of winning and learned to make them effective in other areas and specialties. A fighter may not be needed all the time, but a priest, a confidante, or a friend will never find themselves out of work.

Please don't misunderstand me- fighting skill is vital to self-protection and protection of others, but developing fighting skill ONLY has a terrible price. Given a choice between being an outstanding fighter and a lousy human being (such as a drunk, an abusive spouse, or a paranoid lunatic) or being a good fighter and a great human being, I'll choose the second, because I've lived the life of the first, even though it was a short period of time (3 years), and let me assure you that it's a terrible, sad, and very lonely existence.

I had an instructor once who was a fighter with a fighter's mentality. He was also a prison guard, and had some of the most self-destructive views I've ever seen in a human being. He was an alcoholic who preached politics to the kids' class, talking about how the President of the United States was a pot-smoking, dodge drafting, no good (insert expletives here)- to a class of 6-8 year old children.

It's better to be an okay fighter and a great person, because you'll have more friends, and in this day and age, the more true friends you have, the better off you are. It's also a much happier lifestyle.

Chris Penn has been training for five years with various instructors around the Northeast. He wishes to acknowledge fine instructors such as Stephen K. Hayes, Bud Malmstrom, Jack Hoban, and Mark Davis, who have all played important roles in his development. He would also like to thank Peter Steeves, the person who got him into ninpo in the beginning, and the F&M Ninpo Society for keeping the spirit alive. Mr. Penn can be reached at cspenn@bu.edu for questions, comments, and jokes.