How extremely relevant are MacArthur’s words, not just for a post WWII America, but for a 2018 America? In their own way, Thomas Jefferson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and others have vocalized the same sentient concern regarding the destructive potential of negative internal forces.

Internal forces often exceed external forces in their destructive aspect. As powerfully as MacArthur’s words ring true in a national sense, do they not also ring true for each of us in a personal sense? What about the internal threats affecting each of us that are of our own making?

It is a simple truth but often overlooked, mostly by dudes who think too little and run their mouths too much.

Great fighters are great thinkers.

Non-thinkers are the defeated.

All Karate Institute of America students, especially Black Belts, understand the critical nature of being an intelligent fighter. Yes, one must be tough mentally and strong physically, but the provenance of all great fighters and generals is their intelligence, i.e., their ability to think and execute. Great generals throughout history such as Sun Tzu, Hannibal Barca, Alexander the Great, Leonidas of Sparta, Philip II of Macedon, Julius Caesar, Scipio Africanus, Attila the Hun, Charlemagne, William the Conqueror, Genghis Khan, Frederick the Great, George Washington, Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, Geronimo, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Bernard Montgomery and George S. Patton, Jr. are just a few of those fighters who used their intelligence to win victories and cement themselves as warrior icons of the highest order.

Life throws us all kinds of curve balls. Problems pop up out of no where unexpectedly. Challenges erupt at the least opportune moment, and conflicts explode out of a clear blue sky. Such uninvited tribulations test our mettle, resolve, and will to remain calm, balanced, centered, to succeed, even survive.

In managing such events, we summon various strategies, techniques, and mechanisms to solve the issue(s) at hand. We may have family members and/or friends, perhaps even a stranger, offer to help us. But what happens when no cavalry comes to the rescue, trumpets blaring a welcome refrain of relief for our beleaguered and precarious plight? What then? The answer is simple but stark:

The Karate Institute of America and Kiado-Ryu Martial Arts subscribe to President George Washington’s admonition that,

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

Is this not one of the fundamental reasons why we study martial arts? Yes, the bullies of the world study martial arts, too, but they use it for aggression and subjugation of others who are neither strong enough nor capable enough to resist or repel their wicked intentions. If we are strong, if we are thoroughly prepared for war and the assaults of those who would take our freedom from us, there will be peace. It is when we are weak, incapable of defending ourselves or refuse to fight for our personal peace and sovereignty that we invite aggression and potential domination from and by others.

Alexander the Great was Ruler of Macedon in the third century B.C. Never defeated in battle, he is one of the most vaunted military leaders in world history.

The following quote from Alexander speaks directly to, and underscores, his understanding of leadership.

I am not afraid of an army of lions led by sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.