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Say No to the Killer Instinct
an article by
Dr. William Durbin
http://kempo.4mg.com/articles/killer.htm

Mr. Durbin received his doctorate from the University of Oriental Philosophy, a diploma mill that was closed by the State of Maine. The "university" was operated by Mr. Durbin's instructor, "Doctor" Rod Sacharnoski, who claims a PhD in criminal justice from Columbia Pacific University, another diploma mill that was closed by the Marion Country Superior Court in California.

Some people say that in order to be a good martial artist or an expert of self defense, it is necessary to possess a killer instinct. Yet the very people who need self defense skills the most are those people who tend towards gentleness and non-violence. Would a person who is truly gentle and peaceful even enter a Dojo, if he/she were actually convinced that he/she would have to develop a killer instinct? Yes! They are people who need self-defense skills, but skill alone will not get the job done; one must have the will to apply the skills. If you are afraid of water but have a need to learn to swim, it is logical that you will have to overcome your fear and enter the water if you are ever to learn to swim. You may learn to perform all the movements required of swimming, but until you jump into the water, you are only pretending to swim. A nonviolent person may only be nonviolent if they possess the ability to be violent or if they have people around them that possess the ability to be violent and are willing to protect the nonviolent. Without people with the ability to be violent when required, nonviolent people would not exist. Probably not. More important, what needs to be considered, is a killer instinct actually a positive attribute or a deadly attitude that needs to be expunged from a martial artist's personality. It is a positive attribute.

Let's consider what a killer instinct actually is and what it can mean to a modern martial artist, not from the macho point of view, like in the movies, but in a realistic point of view, dealing with legal repercussions. A killer instinct is a willingness to kill in order to survive. TKDTutor: True. In regards to sport, it is a willingness to enter into a competition with a disregard for the person you are facing, so that what happens to your opponent is viewed as his responsibility for entering the competition, so that the trophy can be won. False! A killer instinct has nothing to with competition. In a competition, you must be willing and able to do what the competition requires, but there are no legitimate competitions that require you to kill the opponent. You may have to punish the opponent physically, but the opponent accepts the risk of injury. A Judo player may be a police sniper who has killed from a distance, a special forces soldier who has killed in close, or even an ordinary person with a keen killer instinct, but no matter what happens on the mat, there is never even a fleeting thought of killing the opponent. A killer instinct make the player a tougher opponent, but it does not make the player a killer. It is this attitude that has led to the deaths of competitors in boxing rings, Judo tournaments, Karate competitions, and Tae Kwon Do matches. Says who! Even in the realm of professional boxing where millions of fights have occurred over the decades, deaths are extremely rare and they were not from a fighter wanting to kill the opponent, they were just the accepted consequences of participating in risky behaviors. 

In life, a killer instinct is a willingness to do anything to be called the winner. Says who! A killer instinct allows a person to kill if the situation requires it, but it does make a person a cheat, dishonorable, a criminal, or an indiscriminate killer. Winning does not require killing, except where your job requires it, such as in moral combat. This can lead to a very dangerous way of life, where anything goes just so long as a person feels like they have won what they are seeking. With this type of attitude a person would feel justified to kill in order to keep a girl/boy friend, succeed in business, or in many cases just to prove a point. It is the prevalence of this attitude which might actually explain the current level of violence in our society, rather than the violence we see in television shows and movies. Other cultures have as much if not more violence in their forms of entertainment, than America, most noticeably the Japanese, and yet they have a lot less violence in their society. This could be simply because they have a strong since of loyalty, honor, and community presence, while in America, we have an intense interest in self promotion and a win at any cost, competitive attitude. If all this is true, then we are screwed! We have millions of active and reserve soldiers who have had to live in a killer instinct mode for a year or more while in combat in the Iraq War. Now that they are back in the United States and walking among use, we must all be in danger. Just bumping into one of these killers in the grocery store may lead to the person suddenly killing us.

However, everybody in America is not competitive. True. In the business world, these people are called workers, not owners, managers, or leaders. There are many people who simply want to live their lives in peace, be the best they can be, and not become in conflict with anyone. True. But without warriors to protect them, they will be dead, or living a peaceful existence as slaves. And it is these people who would most be in need of self defense training and the philosophical instruction of traditional martial arts, where the training is geared towards self improvement and personal defense. While it may be true they need the training, without a killer instinct, they will not be willing to use it. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. You can teach self-defense to a pacifist but you cannot make him fight.

Some people then wonder, if a person learning self defense does not develop a killer instinct, how can they deal with a serious attack from a vicious assailant? Good question. And the answer to that question is the superior idea known as Honshin. Most martial artists are exposed to the idea of clearing their minds so that they can defend themselves effectively. This clearing of the mind is known as Mushin, and refers to getting rid of all extraneous thoughts which could interfere with spontaneous movement. TBad answer. More philosophical BS. Suppose a black belt is on a hot date. As he walks the date back to his car after a meal in a fine restaurant, they are attacked by carjacker in the parking lot. Does anyone really believe that while walking his date to the car the black belt is thinking about a possible attack and clearing his mind using mushin—BULLSHIN.

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