He hardly looks like a warrior, doesn’t he? Yet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate of England during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), was a warrior, as we all are, frankly.

In fact, each of us goes to war every day, battling issues specific to our karma. No one is immune from the fray, from being forced to fight both our external problems and internal demons. It’s part of life in this world.

Martial Arts competitions offer a wonderful opportunity for those so disposed to perform their craft and show their expertise. In the Black Belt weapons division—where the bo was featured—there has been no more elegant, dynamic and powerful performer than Mike Bernardo. Back in the 1980s and 1990s when karate tournaments flourished, he was “the” quintessential bo performer and champion.

The following 1990 video, taken from YouTube, showcases Bernardo’s performance in the Weapons Division of the New England Open. It was and remains a stellar example of performance excellence. As you will note, it has the elements of precision, power, perfection, variation, intensity, vocalization, beauty and grace of movement.

Bruce Lee was, indisputably, the catalyst for the growth of martial arts throughout the world in the latter part of the 20th Century, and he was certainly the most influential martial artist in modern history. Who is there who has not been positively affected by him, his art, his movies? If there is one person who can be considered “the” icon of martial arts, it is Bruce Lee.

Lee was a thinker. That’s what made him exceptional. Anybody can be a thug or a bully but great fighters are great thinkers. Martial art skills aside, it was Lee’s ability to think and apply new ways of doing things that distinguished him from the rest of the pack. The old ways, he surmised, were not necessarily the best ways.

Life lessons come to us from all avenues of the human spectrum. The movie Heartbreak Ridge starring Clint Eastwood offers a poignant lesson for all of us, a lesson which, if applied, can certainly enable us to live a better, more productive and substantive life.

In the movie, Eastwood plays the role of Thomas Highway, an aging Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant, tasked with straightening out a Recon (Reconnaissance) Platoon in the Second Marine Division, a platoon comprised of a bunch of out-of-control, defiant and arrogant losers, which is hardly the case of any real Marine unit of any size but, nonetheless, it makes for a good movie, however unrealistic the plot.

One would think that after thousands of years of human civilization, man would get the idea that appeasement is not a self-defense strategy. How many times has appeasement been tried and failed, not only in the social collective of world history but in peoples’ personal lives as well?

The answer is that appeasement never works. Bullies who force themselves on others are never appeased. To them, appeasement is a sign of weakness and a green light to attack and destroy and then keep on attacking and destroying. Verily, appeasement is no self-defense strategy. It is, however, a tried and true formula for personal defeat, humiliation, subjugation and destruction.

The year 2020 has been interesting, to say the least. We have seen a pandemic, a recession, and social tensions—long simmering under the surface—rise to the forefront of the world’s psyche.

Many have lost their livelihood. Too many have lost their lives. All of us have had our lives altered in ways we did not foresee only a few short months ago. Still, I consider myself exceptionally fortunate. While all of this has happened, I have kept my job, have been able to provide for my family, and I do not know anyone who has been sick.