Thoughts on "Primitive" Warfare and its Relevance Today

What are the hallmarks of "primitive" warfare? Headhunting, torture, cannibalism, human-sacrifice, ambushes and raids being the norm... Usually conducted by peoples characterized as tribal, aboriginal, bloodthirsty, desperate, impoverished, fanatical, evil, sick, warlike, barbaric and/or backwards. Often people think bows and arrows, clubs and swords... but the weapons are an indication of the culture's technology, not its war practices.. So what is this "primitive" warfare and is it really primitive? (Keep in mind these are very generalized terms.)

Iroquois warrior scalping the defeated 

Unlike the more formalized warfare of so-called advanced countries (with their intensive agriculture, stratified societies, technological advances, and infrastructure built over the generations), primitive warfare tends to be a low-intensity, constantly on-going, and an extremely violent activity. As British colonists described it, it's often a "skulking way of war". The Pilgrims and Puritans were put off by the native inclination to fight with raids and ambushes. In New England, native warriors often shot their bows or guns from behind trees, and constantly moved and dodged to avoid the return fire. When melee combat was engaged, they would charge in to take heads. However, while vicious and not dictated by any formalized codes of conduct, their form of warfare often resulted in fewer casualties than the Europeans (as well as East Asian and South Asian warfare). Rarely, but evidently, wars sometimes led to extermination. Many Pre-Colombian archaeological sites are testament to just how brutal warriors were to opposing villages when they were able to actually overrun the defenses (and when war escalated to such heights). The aboriginal people throughout the Americas, Africa, S.E. Asia, and the Pacific were notorious for their constant and brutal tribal warfare, often involving headhunting, cannibalism, torture, and human sacrifice which are considered so taboo in today's society. Ironically, white colonists have been guilty of scalping, decapitation, quartering, and torture as well while the Chinese were also no strangers to slaughter, cannibalism, and decapitation. But those are older examples of brave warriors using low-tech weaponry to attack one another... what about today?

Let us look at the atrocities in Liberia and Sierra Leone. In this case, warfare definitely turned into a very barbaric activity (notice I did not say degenerate into..). Modern war, with all its firearms, artillery, airstrikes, etc., is extremely deadly, more so than traditional wars fought with primitive ranged weaponry and melee weapons. When so-called "primitive" warfare is combined with "advanced" weapon technology, and under the guiding hand of modern military strategy and doctrines, the result is indeed frightening. The civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone are perfect examples. These two countries were once considered some of the more prosperous and stable nations in West Africa, and both became "hell holes" where the barbaric practices of "primitive" warfare was commonplace. Cannibalism, infant sacrifice, child soldiers, decapitations, raids, and guerrilla-style warfare co-existed with AK-47s, RPG-7s, PKMs, DShK machine guns, etc. Had the RUF been better trained and able to neutralize Freetown's air support, they would have definitely overwhelmed the demoralized Liberian forces as well as the complacent UN forces. But rather than dismiss their primitive tactics and practices are evil and barbaric, let us look at why the RUF did what it did.

RUF fighters

War is brutal as is without adding in human sacrifice, cannibalism, massacring enemy civilians, etc. It is my belief that the strategists behind the RUF purposely used these primitive tactics as a form of psychological warfare. Just as many smaller tribes in the American Northeast despaired when they heard the Iroquois were coming their way, so did the residents of Freetown when RUF forces were reported to be only an hour away. Why? If they could expect humane treatment in the take-over, then perhaps they would not have been so demoralized. But like the Iroquois in colonial America (and before), the RUF employed human sacrifice, kidnapping, cannibalism and other practices to scare their enemies shitless; both were also not known for hospitality to the defeated. Now, obviously, there is a thin line between cultural practices producing desired psychological effects, and strategically intended affects leading to widespread barbaric practices. I am not saying the Iroquois were just like the RUF. However there are strategic parallels; the high level of barbarism is useful in war. Sadly, when these tactics are used in conjunction with the more efficient killing tools of today's battlefields, the results are probably much more devastating than our ancient ancestors could have ever imagined. Instead of constantly shifting alliances and boundaries, incessant warfare, and extreme brutality ...you get all out massacres of civilians, widespread rape, looting, and famine - and in the long run: destroyed environments, infrastructures, economies, and societies.

Amputee from Sierra Leone

We all seem to have the capacity for such insane levels of brutality. The white US soldiers that attacked neutral Native American villages and cut down everyone, young and old, man and women - they were people's family members, fathers, son, husbands, etc. back home... The Japanese soldiers that so brutally slaughtered and raped the other Asian peoples they conquered in WW2 were dads, brothers, husbands, sons, etc. The RUF fighters committing heinous atrocities were normal everyday people from the cities and farm fields eking out a living prior to the war. I wonder if, especially in poorer parts of the world, we'll see more and more of these ancient (or primitive) tactics utilized in modern military strategy. Despite being able to see the role and usefulness of such acts on the enemy psychology - I really hope not.




Well, that's all for today... serious thoughts on history, war, blablabla...
       Expect a product review for the next post!

*all images are taken from Google Images and are not mine.

So... what IS combat?

I'd like to look at combat like this...

Firstly, it's a violent physical conflict (usually) between humans.

This can be further divided into Social and Predatory violence. Social violence includes sport fighting, defending one's ego, duels, drunken brawls over petty insults, fighting over a girl (or a man), etc. In contrast, Predatory violence is hunting down a deer, jumping an unsuspecting victim, putting down two bad guys in a firefight, fucking up a mugger who attacks you, hacking up a man with a machete, etc. There are definitely overlaps and grey areas but the dividing line is intent. The intention of Social violence is to ascend rank, assert control, defend honor, express emotions, and prevent the ego from harm via violent means. The intention of Predatory violence or the defense against it is to incapacitate and or kill the enemy. Fuck the pacifists, human beings have both ingrained in our DNA. Man fought, and continues to fight, for glory, money, honor, ego, women, social standing, etc. Man killed, and continues to kill, for food, wealth, protection, offense, etc.

Fighting is in our blood.

Let's not shit on the pacifists too much. Yes, we as humans, perhaps only for the better cohesion of social groups, have some beautiful and extremely virtuous aspects to our psyche. Yet, we all have the penchant for violence when pushed far enough - some of us don't need much of a push, and some need to see family and friends in grave danger - but the latent capacity for violence is there. Don't let someone tell you that martial arts is about peace and harmony - its purpose is to give you a set of principles and skills that allow you to be a more effective and efficient combatant - combat being violent. However, many fighting societies and cultures have put in place rules to prevent skilled fighters from going out and selfishly hurting or killing others... be this the Knight's Code of Chivalry, or Bushido, or the Geneva Convention, or whatever... just a thought.

..and another point.

We use weapons. 

I like weapons. They allow anyone to do more damage than normally possible. You'd think if we spent the last 100,000 years ONLY using our bodies for combat, we'd have sharper knuckles, harder temples, and tougher ribs... honestly, since man became man, we used stone tools and sticks... and if you look at today's melee weapons, they seem MOSTLY descended from the stick and the blade. A doubled edged knife is a dagger, a long long dagger is a two edged sword, a long single edged blade is a machete, make it longer it's a saber or some sort of chopper. tilt it downwards and it's a kukri or kopis, curve it down and it becomes a falx or billhook or aruval. Give it a longer handle and its a glaive, or da-dao, or katana. Similarly with the stick, give it a weighted head it's a club - make that weight sharpened and it's an ax. Make it longer, a cane, and longer still, a staff. Give that staff a blade, it's a spear. Give that spear an ax head as well and it's a polearm or halberd. There are myriad variations. At one point, javelins, atlatls, bows, and crossbows were primary ranged weapons - for hunting animals, four and two-legged. Today we also have air-powered and fire-powered guns, for hunting animals, four and two-legged. Artillery, bombs, jets, tanks, and choppers are mostly in government run militaries - which in most cases is a good thing. But anyways, our combat evolved with weapons, and weapons evolved with combat and technology.




Those are my thoughts on combat as a human practice. Much of this was formulated from reading the works of others, and some are connections I made myself. Feel free to comment, or simply to ponder and decide if you agree, disagree, would add more, or whatever...

Introduction to Seven Stars

The Journey
Hi. This is a blog dedicated to my journey in martial arts. This phrase, "martial arts", is to me an enormous field, and is a passion of mine. In its entirety it's comprised of (to me): physical self-improvement and mentality, survival, hand to hand combat, firearms/ranged fighting, certain specialized skills, leadership, and strategy. One could spend their entire lives perfecting one of these aspects, but to me, a complete understanding is most desirable. I hope to be proficient in all of these someday. In the meantime, one can only continue to work hard at it, and take the journey one step at a time.

Seven Stars
The name Seven Stars comes from the "big dipper" constellation. It is said the founder of the Chinese martial art of Mantis Boxing once said that he wished all those who could see the seven stars could learn his style. It obviously was and, when taught/learned properly, still is a very complete and ever-evolving set of fighting principles, famed for its use of "hooking" hands to dominate the stand-up grappling aspect of unarmed combat. While I too hope that all who are interested in my musings will find this blog, I am no master at fighting. But to me the Seven Stars also correspond to the aforementioned facets of the martial way.

What I'll Be Posting
So enough fancy language and introduction... what exactly am I going to post on here? Well, in short, I will mostly be posting martial arts related thoughts such as: reviews on weapons and gear, thoughts on specific techniques, research on different fighting styles, war history, etc.etc. Sometimes it will be in proper, formal language, and sometimes I might get lazier and just type as I talk. Remember, these are my thoughts and opinions.

Why the hell... ?
Good question. Why would I spend the time to do this? I intend to create for myself a training manual. But unlike the old Chinese training manuals which were sometimes cryptic or often understandable only to those who have progressed deeply in the style, this will be an easy to follow, comprehensive manual of the conditioning, mentality, context, skills, principles, gear, weapons, tactics, and strategies of a modern day "warrior". To repeat the jargon above, all "seven stars" with be presented. The creation of this manual is a laborious process of understanding, ability, and note-taking, and I figure if I can gather my thoughts on a blog, I might even get some useful suggestions, criticism, and feedback.



So thanks for reading this blog! Comment if you'd like... but keep it respectful and constructive.