I have trained in the martial arts for far more than 20 years, so I think I can legitimately speak about a Samurai. I studied under the best of the best on three continents, and trained with teachers who can only be called Masters. However, it was not until I saw my own son going through cancer treatment, that I can finally say I have met a real Samurai.
And I wish I hadn’t.
Many people use the word “soldier” to describe someone facing cancer. A soldier, however fights wars and protects or dies for his country. War is something man-made, that humankind can control. It is collective – it is defense for a group of people, sometimes for the right to live on a certain land. A heavy price that young people pay with their lives, and even if they win the war, they are still defeated. For war brings out the worst in humanity, with the horrors of humankind, the worst and the lowest that men will fall to, the base of human existence.
The Samurai were the warriors of premodern Japan. In modern times however, the Bushido or the warrior code of the Samurai were passed down and is still preserved in Japan today. Unlike a soldier, a Samurai is a single individual fighting, but now he is fighting not to defend a land – he is fighting to defend himself. It is a physical self-defence that perhaps, like a soldier, will never have the chance of survival without mental perfection. The Samurai aims to protect himself against the worst kind of enemy, using the only thing he has to protect himself with, i.e. his body and mind. The Samurai has his Master, his Sensei or teacher that will teach him, that not until he conquers his own personal enemies, using the power of his own mind and body, will he be able to defeat his external opponents.
Samurai’s had to have several traits in order to become a samurai.
They had to have valour
They had to have loyalty
They had to have simplicity
They had to have sincerity.
And they had to have courage, “without courage there is nothing, especially on the battlefield”
Cancer is not a battle. It’s an enemy. The kind of enemy you cannot control.
And unlike the enemy the soldier faces as a collective group, the Samurai or cancer patient is ultimately fighting this enemy alone. Yes, the Samurai has his or her own supporters, cheering him or her on from the side – these can be his or her parents, siblings, spouse, family, friends, community but its his own personal enemy. The samurai also has his Master or doctor and nurses, to help train him or guide him and without their guidance, he will never be able to defeat this enemy on his own. But ultimately, it’s a personal self-defence, like the Kumite battle, the cancer patient gets up and faces alone, with courage and valor.
Against the cancer enemy, all the Samurai are winners. They stand for the ultimate Bushido, facing an enemy with courage and valor. And unlike the war the soldiers see, against the enemy of cancer, these Samurai don’t see the most vile and base of human acts. They are often met with the highest level of human kindness possible. They see love, they see hope, they see true happiness in their saddest of moments, they see goodness, they see devotion – they see the best of humanity that life has to offer, and not the worst. And I should know, as a supporter of this Samurai, we’ve seen it.
After 20+ years of fighting sempai, learning with sensei’s and meeting masters, I can say that I now have unfortunately internalized and understand the true character traits of a Samurai.
And I wish I didn’t.
