A force for good in people’s lives;
Says what needs to be said;
Does what needs to be done;
Protects the innocent;
Receives what is given to her;
Continues to develop her art, her body, her mind and her spirit;
Is responsible for her actions;
From self-love moves out into the world in love;
Makes choices that nourish her on all levels – whether it is food, literature, companionship or work;
Heals with food, herbs, breath, massage, meditation and movement;
Knows that compassion sometimes looks uncompassionate;
Honors herself and others;
Is respectful to her masters, ancestors, family and the Dao;
Marshalls her time to be of best use and service to others;
Is patient, waiting on the Dao, and therefore has impeccable timing;
Conducts herself with honor and respect and humility;
Reads from scriptures to nourish and heal and share;
Listens with her whole being;
Is always ready to be of service;
Doesn’t complain;
Is in command of her energy and her boundaries;
Seeks to be clean and clear and pure in her heart and her actions;
Treats all beings with respect, gentleness, compassion and honesty;
Is natural and lives simply and honestly;
Does not waste resources;
Freely walks her destiny;
Treats fear as a teacher;
Trusts the practices and doesn’t stray from her truth.
Knows the soft overcomes the hard;
Accepts both the dark and the light as the Taiji teaches;
Acts with purpose in all things;
Seeks precision in her art, her words, her thoughts, her actions;
Sees her students as teachers;
Trains hard, fights easy.
Wisdom
A soldier fights, a warrior protects, a martial artist serves.
We can go through this life as a victim or as a warrior. It is our choice.
If we are handed a bag of stones, we do not have to pick it up and carry it.
Most of all, a Yang Warrior strives to live these principles all the days of her life with the goal of progress, not perfection.
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*There have been books, movies and operas made over the centuries in China of the Woman Warriors of the Yang Family [Yang Men Nü Jiang, 杨门女将] during the Song Dynasty. I’ve picked up the phrase to mean a warrior of the Yang Family Style of Taijiquan martial arts that I study and teach. It is solely and wholly my understanding as influenced by my studies and training with masters and teachers in martial arts. If I fail in my principles or character it should not in any way reflect upon any of them.
Sep 26, 2011 @ 09:38:46
More quotes on being a warrior from other warriors…
“I’ve learned that courage and compassion are two sides of the same coin, and that every warrior, every humanitarian, every citizen is built to live with both.” –Eric Greitens
Dec 09, 2011 @ 06:40:09
there is no coin…there is only one sephere