Unconventional Wisdom: Complacency on the Battlefield

[MorGrendel]

Unconventional Wisdom: Complacency on the Battlefield

Let’s start in left field; Holly, one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends, remarked excitedly “that the grocery store is like a scavenger hunt.” She said this as she held up some radishes she thought were green onions. It amazes me that someone could find something as mundane as a grocery store, stimulating and thrilling.

Seneca wrote, “Constant exposure to dangers will breed contempt for them.” I think about this quote a lot. I used fight with my head on a swivel; I prepared for the unexpected from any angle. Now, cannons roar, shield lines collapse, and men are crushed in a swell of humanity, and I barely bat an eye. I traded adrenaline and natural athleticism, for experience and a grizzled awareness. It’s all about familiarity, the double edged sword between complacency and comfortably.

Being comfortable is not bad, but you should be cognizant of being too comfortable. When you are comfortable it is not that you are unaware of danger; you just choose to ignore it. At this point your body stops bruising, and you can turn your rhino-hide on and off. In hind-sight it seems to me that this is when people get hurt, and in most cases it caused by a lack of healthy fear (like that stupid thing you did on your bike). If you fight a great deal like Galatians do, this will probably take place between your forth and fifth year.

I would suggest changing weapons and changing armor, to keep your wits sharp. Always practice with a something unfamiliar, maybe even a little unsafe like a hole in your armor. At a war, if you need to switch to a familiar weapon, do so. You will not have lost a noticeable amount of muscle memory, but your instincts will be honed and sharpened due to the change of routine. Also change up the way you practice. If you are not stiff the next day, then you are not practicing hard enough. Always look to challenge yourself.

If you find yourself disenchanted with the sport, feeling you are not pulling your weight, or overly-obsessing about your count or the speed of the fight, it is time for a change.