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The Round Table / Re: Why do you want to be a Knight?
« Last post by jason77 on 2017-08-17, 22:58:46 »I know this thread is old but I've been thinking about this very question myself. I grew up in the martial arts and being 40 years old I still practice martial arts. The martial arts have always been the bedrock foundation of my own personal growth and development. It is therein that I made it through some tough times as a kid and later as a teenager and it blossomed into the basis of my own philosophy and spirituality. Martial arts is a path of violence and to me violence is the one constant which holds the universe together. The creation of the universe was violent, the birth of our own planet was in chaotic violence, early man survived and thrived through violence, our current nations were founded in violence, I lay my head and sleep well at night without fear of an intruder because most people fear the violent enforcement of the law, I also don't fear confrontation because I have spent my life training to embrace violence. I understand that violent people only understand violence and therefore it is my imperative to be better at it than them. A Knight understands violence and is prepared to live it when necessary. However, a Knight follows a path of Chivalry (whether it be romanticized or not) which tempers violence with acts of dignity and demands one to live in integrity towards his fellow man. Chivalry is a path of using violence in a productive manner instead of violence being a mere chaotic self-serving endeavor of exploiting others. I embrace violence but channel it through the chivalric ideals of justice, obedience to the rule of law, service unto others, protect the innocent, etc. For me, Chivalry is the perfection of one's character thus my personal slogan is "Vincit Qui Se Vincit - He who conquers, conquers himself." Similar to the Samurai's code of bushido the Knights code of chivalry can be the catalyst for physical, mental and spiritual development. The way of the Knight is strength in restraint and it is violence reserved for just cause. This is why I identify with the Knight and why I strive to embody just that.
