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Darry
Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. -- Chinese Proverb
Historians point to the Kojiki as the first written record of the code of conduct that would later come to be widely known as "bushido" after the publishing of Inazo Nitobe's 1899 work, "Bushido : The Soul of Japan".
For hundreds of years, samurai lived lives of fealty and service guided by a code built upon a foundation of Confucian teachings, later folding in philosophies and dogma from shintoism and buddhism. It was a way of life that held above all else the value of loyalty, mastery, and honor to the grave.
In today's society, the concept of living with principle is foreign. We have become a culture driven by reverence for consumption and dangerous nationalism. Loyalty is a simple matter of handing your two dollars and fifty cents to the sales clerk at the gas station so you can walk out with a magnet to slap on your bumper printed in the motif of the American flag. In the scene, we casually toss about words like "brother", or "family", when in reality so many of us view our contemporaries as resources - not Jeff, the guy that likes Smash Brothers, but Jeff, the only guy in the area that plays Gen. So we're friendly to Jeff, not because he's funny, but because we need match practice. We win tournaments and give post-match interviews about growing the scene and helping the community, but the truth is that before we even got into our car, we asked the folks that have been to this tournament previously for the dollar amount of the last event's prize pot, because if it isn't at least such and such amount, we aren't coming.
Five hundred years ago, faced with surrender before a foe unworthy, a man would lay open his belly with a short sword, a sword he carried only for that moment, so that he might be embraced by death clad in his honor. Today, some of us might have a hard time just spelling the word "honor".
Men and women that stand for something have a habit of transcending. There is a strength imparted by integrity and character that can not be stolen away, and can not be imitated. Placing your name beside a virtue is a potent act - one that can make you one beastly mother at the arcade.
The code of bushido holds seven virtues in the highest esteem. They are :
- Rectitude
- Courage
- Benevolence
- Respect
- Honesty
- Honor
- Loyalty
Each of these tenets, held in their own regard, can level up your game. So much of Street Fighter is less your physical dexterity and more your will. Shaping your manual skill around higher principle allows that skill to reap rewards and become even greater.
With rectitude, we make a stand for doing the right thing. We don't damage our community with theft of equipment, with skipping local events because they aren't financially alluring. We invest ourselves into a scene, stimulate its growth, and then become better players, as the level of competition fostered by a stronger environment gives us stiffer competition on which to sharpen our ability.
What better than courage? Courage is dipping your entire crotch in brass and accepting that money match that your brain's logic center is already decreeing a loss. Put on your big girl panties and charge the trenches - even if you lose your money, you gain two things far more valuable : experience and respect. Disclaimer! Don't go throwing around a hundred dollars in a match you're going to lose. There's courageous, and there's also USDA Grade A moron.
Every scene has asshole players. They know they're assholes, and they think it's a plus. It isn't. What friends they have, what people will actually seek them out to play, are exactly the sort of people we've mentioned before - users and leeches draining match knowledge and favors. I don't play with people I don't like. Practicing benevolence is a good way to ensure that people are choosing you to play with, giving you rides to tournaments when you need them, letting you borrow equipment, and loaning you five bucks to pay your venue fee when you come up short. Going the other route is a fine Sunday morning for having so-called comrades stock up on your play style and use that knowledge to send you to losers with a shrug.
Respect goes hand-in-hand with benevolence. I know a lot of good players. I also know a lot of good players that other players can't stand. What investment of personal loss do you bear for showing simple respect to a beaten opponent? Have some sportsmanship. It's a good way to make sure you don't end up a Youtube meme.
You know who I love? That guy that's constantly talking about how he beat someone he's never even played. Getting known as a liar is a great idea in a scene notorious for being a tough crowd. Honesty is such a simple thing. Why bother with lies to begin with? Who are you trying to impress? There's a whole sub-article here about how a compulsive need to hone your image with other men via lies might indicate a latent attraction. Rather than paying out a couple thousand dollars in therapy bills to come to a realization you knew all along, just come out of the closet and start being honest with your fellow players. Or, you know, start out truthful?
Seeing players lack loyalty is one of the things that disappoints me personally. I may be in a minority, but coming into a new scene a few years ago, I remember the dudes that were nice to me from day one, gave me tips, helped me pass time with conversation. Care to guess the odds of me being completely coincidentally pressed for time and unable to stop by your place when you ask me for a ride to a tournament when you couldn't be bothered to talk to me until it became obvious I knew how to play the game? To me, lacking loyalty means you lack character. Some things stand above the game. "Brotherhood" isn't a word you should throw around lightly.
I saved honor to last, because it's such a finicky little bird, and because its woven so tightly in with all the rest of these tenets. Without honor, it becomes impossible to manifest any of the other virtues of bushido. Honor is what whispers in your ear to choke fear and find your courage when you're challenged to that money match. Honor is what gives you pause when you see that tournament edition stick laying on a table with nobody nearby, nobody watching, no identifying marks on the stick to keep anyone from knowing it isn't yours. Honor reminds you of the time your regular session buddy bought you lunch at a tournament when he puts out a Facebook request for strong arms to help him move out of his apartment.
There is a melodrama, unnecessary and silly, in posturing. If someone asks you why you play Street Fighter, it isn't a weakness of personality to say, simply, "For fun." This shit is fun, and it's only a game. However, Steve Martin once famously said, "When your hobbies get in the way of your work - that's OK; but when your hobbies get in the way of themselves... well."
Take a moment to realize that Street Fighter is just another thing you do. Yet like all else you do, your success within it is related directly to your character, alongside your hands. There are so many players out there with training mode championships that fall apart in a tournament setting.
Bushido's raw magic lies not in its content, but in the principle of its principle. Merely standing for something, choosing a path and saying, "This is me," takes all else that is you - reading and writing poetry, racing dirt bikes, collecting stamps - and holds it in the kiln, giving it a bright finish. I wouldn't presume to judge you inferior for falling short of these ideals, by choice or otherwise. Indeed, though it pains my self-righteous idealism to say so, there is no short supply of top tier players that seem to have almost none of these traits.
For the rest of us, though, there is a reckoning. Is that what we want? To win at any cost? Or to have fun, make friends, to be held in high esteem, and to promote our beloved games? A samurai's life was not measured in martial prowess, in the battles he won or his skill with a blade. These things were the measure of his station, but the measure of his worth lay in his beliefs.
Take time today to ask yourself the simple question of where you stand with what you stand for. Being a good dude gets you invited to sessions with stronger competition. Everyone wants to play with the guy that picks up a sixer of beer. You can almost feel the surge through your body and almost hear the Final Fantasy-esque victory music as you level up following a win in a money match that you were apprehensive to accept. Doing someone a favor is a prime way to secure some match-up practice a day before a big tournament, down the road. Take some time and simply ask yourself what it means, to you, to live with principle. Then ask yourself why you aren't doing those things, if you aren't.
You don't need to commit hari kari if you lose. Just buy the guy that beat you a drink.
Then get him drunk and steal all his secrets!
Reader Comments (26)
another article that beautifully applies real life ideals to hobbies in a way that can be done for more than just street fighter.
I respect the fact that you pointed out that there are plenty of champions that arn't in touch with their values in life in such an honorable way.
keep the thought's flowing
I stopped reading when I read that lying is a bad thing because you might be gay. That's a stupid thing to say.
Darry, don't know if it means anything. Honestly maybe it shouldn't, but as a English teacher i just want to say what a beautifully crafted and heart felt article this is.
When people ask me why i play street fighter. I end up saying two things. No other game gives me the feeling i get from this one, and that the people in the scene can be some of the most amazing stand up people ever. People seem taken with the second part more. They find it odd, because i think a lot of people view anyone playing any video game as just some immature d bag. They will not come out and say it, but some part of them feels that way.
Its ok, i get it. I know other people get it. In the end i hope i can help it grow in some way. Might sound silly but i want the kids i am teaching to grow up with SF with any fighting game really. I want them to understand the meaning that can be found in it. I want them to meet those stand up people.
Great stuff Darry god i love IPW.
"as a English teacher"
O RLY?
J/k =)
Almost skipped this one due to length but I'm glad I didn't.
Very well written, Darry. Thanks.
@masarap
Yep bad grammar and all lol.
Really good article
Great article. And a definite must-read for anyone who wants to get involved in their local scene.
TLDR version: Begin with weeaboo history lesson, move into morals / proper social conduct, common sense issues, transition into fighting games, all with the overtone of a typical stoner who thinks he's really deep, but everyone around him just wants him to shut the fuck up because nobody is listening to what he's babbling on about.
1/10 for trying too hard.
well written and thoughtful. good stuff darry
I'd rather read the The Book Of 5 Rings.
LOL @ the hateration from luminol.
Another well-written Darry joint here. There's a lot to discuss, but I just want to nit-pick one aspect of the article that bugs me: the idealizing of money matches. Money matches, to me are a total waste of time and resources for all but the best players. Money matches are all about ego, attention-whoring, and bragging to cats that you have "balls enough to money match." Or trying to take a shortcut and make a name for yourself at the expense of other players without earning it in tournament. The money match culture is one of the dumbest things about the scene today.
"Put on your big girl panties and charge the trenches - even if you lose your money, you gain two things far more valuable : experience and respect."
Tournaments are far better arenas to earn both. If you get bodied in a money match, I'm liable to think you're an egotistic idiot for challenging a better player. You lose respect. And really, anybody trying to hustle pocket change in fighting games is probably a bum IRL. I'm just saying.
Courage is getting out of your basement, signing off xbox live bullshit and going to a tournament (or better yet, an arcade) where you don't know anybody, and stepping up to the sticks. Courage is getting in line to play a top dog in the arcade, even though you know you are going to be scraped. That's what I respect. Not giving wannabe hustlers a reason to not share information about a game. Not creating this culture of one-upmanship that alienates new players and makes the scene look like a joke.
I dunno about Trobb, but money matches to me are hella intense. That's dough and pride you're playing for.
At first, I was a bit puzzled the way you started your article. But it all came together at the end, very well written.
Btw, when people do ask me why I play Street Fighter (most times I mention it, I get blank faces) I just shrug and tell them to go to a tournament. This is where it gets you hooked.
You gotta be kidding me with this junk. Look up some real Japanese history instead of some idealized/romanticized crap based on a Kurosawa flick and then maybe get back to us lol. I've read some GREAT darry articles, and I'm not just looking to hate here, but I gotta go with luminol's assessment here...
I think that while the "historical references" may not be everyone's cup of tea, I think that the article taken by itself and boiled down to its gist is still really good. Several times I found myself nodding my head in agreement, or smiling as I remembered a similar experience in my own life.
tldr: Skip the samurai history, but stay for the scene-building.
Well written article, it's just the content is just a bit off base. Trying to compare samurai-esque values to video games is a bit far fetched. I think it would be easier to just say don't be a douche. People will want to be around you if you're kind and respectful, nothing more. No one likes being around cock-bag douches who spout insane amounts of garbage. You really didn't need to bring up old school samurai values to say this.
Street Fighter is a video game and nothing more. People play to win, there's nothing honorable or dis-honorable about it. If you take this game as seriously as this article suggests, you need to find something else to take up your free time.
An interesting read to be sure. Can't hurt to apply some of bushido's tenents to the scene or anywhere else really. They're good virtues; doesn't matter where they come from. Still, I would never encourage my 2 hours a week fighting game friends to accept a MM from a grizzled pro. While I appreciate the candor of the article there are parts I take issue with (I echo the sentiment of the 2nd commenter, although I read the whole piece) but I assume no malice here. The haters were predictable. Always quick with what they think is wit; nothing to add to the discussion. Can you spot the retards who fit this pattern?
I enjoyed the read, but the beginning of the article had me thinking I was on the wrong site. You pulled it together in the end though.
This is the first time I have ever commented on IPlayWinner. I want to say how this has caused me to reflect on who I am and how I act. I consider your words from the perspective's of both gamer and father. If the virtues you describe are cultivated in the fighting game community, then you can expect that your community will grow beyond measure. Thankyou for sharing your article, it is appreciated greatly.
^ oh god... do you vow to change your ways every time you see a sappy movie too?
ACT LIKE THIS, ACT LIKE THAT, IT MAKE U BETTA.
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OH WOW MY LIFE IS CHANGED FOREVER I HAD NO IDEA. WHAT A FANTASTIC READ GREAT ARTICLE AS ALWAYS DARRY YOU'RE SUCH A GREAT WRITER AND THINKER /notauthorsfriend
Before some of you take the time to nitpick detail after detail of this article, keep in mind that while certain individual ideas within this article may raise questions for me as well, the overall demeanor does not. It's a common message that Darry conveys in a unique way, and this sort of thing can't be said enough.
Those of you making jokes and trashing this. *shrugs* Haters gonna hate. Keep coming up with more super cool YouTube-esque zingers. Maybe when you're showing off your internet hurr hurrs from the iPhone your parents bought you, one of your fuck knuckle friends will actually read the article and learn something.
last post: aaah the cool, refreshing irony... lol
Instareview of this article: Supa dope
"Five hundred years ago..."
Whoa. How's that saying go? If your weren't there, you just don't know.
Dick riding a facet of Japanese culture that died with the samurai over a hundred years ago? Weeaboo! Weeaboo! You win, you win, you lose, you lose. You don't need some ancient eastern philosophy to curb the saltiness of your losses, or to help you level up. Play better. Lose less. It's pretty simple. If you want to make friends, I feel that's another subject entirely.