Amused Mastery

Fear is an important component of winning an altercation.  The fighter who becomes guided by fear will inevitably fail.  Battle itself is inherently horrible.  Blood, pain, and loss are inevitable results of conflict and their surety will frighten all but the most hardened opponents.  As such, it is crucial for a martial artist to learn to instill fear in their opponents and fight their own fear responses.  One of the surest ways to thoroughly unnerve an opponent is to cultivate an aura of amused mastery in battle.

Who would the reader least like to fight?  The person who sweats, gulps, and throws a half hearted punch? or the person who smiles, slaps the cigarette out of your mouth, and kicks your legs out from under you?  The latter person embodies amused mastery.  Such individuals rarely ever need to fight, because they have developed their skills to such a degree that physical confrontation no longer evokes fear.  They engage with confidence, as though fighting is a game.  Opponents who are driven by fear or anger quickly avoid these individuals or face certain defeat.

Amused mastery as a concept originates in the seduction arts as a general principle of dominant male behavior.  The man who can dominate a social situation with a smile on his face is guaranteed to wet panties.  Women respond to this attitude so positively because it highly correlates with reproductive fitness.  The ability to weather conflict with grace and charm is a universal aphrodisiac for women and every man should invest time in learning how to better master their emotions and skills to embody amused mastery as a lifestyle.  However, this blog concerns itself with larger matters than female approval.

In the martial sense, amused mastery serves a larger purpose than reproduction.  It serves the goal of self preservation, irregardless of whether any woman notices or cares.  The person who can maintain a cocky, competent, fearless attitude in the face of certain death is a consummate leader and a formidable enemy.  One of the most rewarding challenges a person can face is the honor of painful austerity to test their capacity to maintain optimism and competence in the face of a dangerous threat.  There is no greater reward than to prevail over a hopeless situation by one's own strength and cunning.

In this way, approach all of life's austerities with the attitude of a mountain climber testing his skill against a treacherous pass.  Stay calm, consider your hazards, and act decisively during moments of truth.  There is comfort in succeeding and failing by one's own choice and redemption in taking responsibility for the consequences.  Learn to smile and make eye contact when you feel like retreating.  Focus when you feel distracted.  Laugh when you are driven to anger.

This attitude will manifest in combat through techniques which infuriate, frighten, and confuse opponents.  Disarm an opponent's knife and slap them with the broad side of the blade, drawing no blood.  Do a spinning back kick to interrupt a straight punch.  Stand perfectly still when approached by multiple opponents and calmly examine them for weaknesses.  Attack only an opponent's arms until they can't block attacks.  These are just a handful of ways to exemplify amused mastery, all of which require great skill, strength, and emotional control to execute.  I enjoin the reader to examine amused mastery as a guide for the adequacy of their training as well as an ongoing personal challenge when faced with conflict.