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 | Martial art supplies and information. In the history of war and defence, some really weird things have happened, and some other that may leave us today perplexed. We have to place these historical events in a just perspective and light, according to the moment of history in which they occurred; otherwise, me may interpret them quite incorrectly. In the world of martial arts a certain code of conduct is instilled in every participant: martial arts are not just combat techniques but a way of life. All in all, a martial art is a lifestyle. But not every fighter understands the facts of war and combat in the same way: in some cases, combatants may use every trick available in order to survive, while in others, not even surviving to keep fighting is tolerated. A kamikaze pilot who survived the battle of Okinawa, in 1945 reported that after taking off with his plane in order to attack the U.S. invasion fleet, his plane suffered a malfunction and he ditched, surviving the crash. He returned to his base to volunteer for a second mission, but was severely reprimanded by his commanding officer for not having committed seppuku or hara-kiri - that is, ritual suicide according to the Bushi-do, the code of the Japanese Samurai warriors - after the problem with his aircraft, even despite the fact that he was more than willing to try again. And all this happened within the context of a nation struggling to survive, with few qualified pilots at hand. In Western nations during medieval times, armoured knights would often tramp with their horses over their own fellow soldiers - killing and wounding them - just to get close enough to someone in the enemy forces of equal rank and social status to have a nice fight with. But the most painful defeat ever suffered by any army was probably that one that the Egyptians at the orders of Pharao Meneptha inflicted over the Libyans, about 1.300 B.C.: almost 6.400 prisoners of war were castrated, and the Pharao went back to Karnak with the odd bounty, a fact which was gladly cheered and remembered in many, still existing monuments. Clearly, the rules of martial arts had not been agreed then yet. |
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