Our lady Reader, Fire sent me a link to another example of doctrine and “science” in the hands of armchair theorists and sportsmen to negate and judge the real experience of a combatant. The content and tone of the video and the other themes examined by the producer, the Tolkien traditionalist, is so fascinating that I will be viewing some more of this channel—particularly since it is not infested with so many commercials as other Youtube channels on history and combat.
I was so impressed about the comment stream, that I took the rare measure of leaving a comment:
“Nice video, Sir. Will over skill is a very rational outcome to the experienced fighter. I have eye seizures that start in my hypothalamus. The neurologists think it had more to do with 15 years of extreme sleep deprivation than the boxing and stickfighting concussions. I am a horrible wrestler with zero jitz skills. When at a BJJ seminar in 2009, while experiencing eye seizures I spent a half hour lying on my back while top NAGA grapplers applied chokes that I did not and could not defend against. They were nice enough not to break my neck. Every time they got sick of trying to choke me out while I smiled in pain relief, the seizures returned. One of the instructors was a doctor. He was of the opinion that I am immune to blood chokes due to these seizures which reduce blood flow to my brain for months at a time. Rogan might be able to break my neck, but he could not choke me out. What If I was a young tweaker with a strong wrestler's neck? Also, light guys are hard to attack at the neck because the body does not serve as so strong an anchor as it does with heavier men. In boxing and stickfighting little wiry guys are harder to KO than big men.”
Note how these super jock MMA studs, even the guy experiencing it, could not process the actuality of insane tweaker combat with their highly ritualized, rule bound technical pursuit of money and fame in the cage. More follow the science and deny the reality American douchebaggery.
Traditional Tolkienist
Score one for the tweakers!
In before you comment, re the Theoden was the real hero video.
If I recall correctly, in a recent podcast you mentioned that pre-civilization societies —tribes, clans, etc., do not kill their own as punishment but at worst exile them —which of course could be a de facto death sentence.
The videographer argues that theoden was right to want to execute wormtongue as a traitor to the realm; that it was theoden’s right and maybe duty to execute wormtongue. I think the narrator even suggests that killing wormtongue might be justifiable ‘for reasons of state’ —to prevent worm from releasing any state secrets. But that might just be me and my Jason Bourne saturated mind hearing things.
So Aragorn’s counsel is the more traditional more pre-civilizational more human scaled while Theoden’s rage is more pro-state and pro-system.
I personally know of a story about it taking 6 grown men to try to contain a man in the middle of a psychotic break. We are much stronger than our conscious mind allows us to be.
when I was young I chanced upon a mail order course by a Strong Man named Mike Dayton. It was effectively a step by step manual on inducing a state of berzerker fury. When I watched the video you linked I could entirely identify what the younger, smaller dude was doing as I've since working on it have done that several times myself. More often than not my would be opponent(s) has banked off and left me alone.
The scariest part of that is those few occasions where I've found myself driving away with no recollection of what I may have done and I've got no evidence of having had much of any damage inflicted on me