Skills
Become the Berserker
Sep
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Master of the Sword
Guts doesn’t have much in the way of appreciable skills outside of, well, combat. It’s basically the only thing he does. But he does it so well! Now, I have good news for you, and bad news. We’re going to start with the bad, just to get it out of the way: You’re never going to effectively wield a blade as large as the Dragon Slayer, no matter how religiously you follow The Guts Workout.
Now, with that said, The Guts Workout will get you ready to wield just about any other real-world weapon pretty damn effectively! So, the good news here is that there are quite a few blade options to wield, both large and small, and real martial arts to go with them! So, let’s take a look at a few of those martial arts, and what weapons they’ll address that might be the best real-world analogue for The Dragon Slayer.
HEMA
Obviously HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) are going to be the most intuitive go-to choice for Guts’ preferred combat style. Thought they don’t have a manual for arm cannons, they do have styles of combat for almost every other type of European weapon, including longswords and greatswords. Here’s a great ARMA articule on greatswords and their historical usage, in fact. If you’re interested in finding a HEMA school near you, check out the HEMA Alliance’s club finder here.
Buhurt
Buhurt, the battle of nations championship, is a HEMA-style European battle championship (that isn’t actually really associated with the HEMA association.) They feature non-lethal, full-speed combat in one on one, small group, or large group scenarios. If you’re looking for a chance to best relive Guts’ infamous one hundred man battle, this is probably one of the best simulations for it. Check out the Battle of the Nations Official Website for more info!
Society for Creative Anachronism
The SCA (society for creative anachronism) is another organization interested in medieval, western combat, however they go far beyond that. SCA events and organizations are interested in more than just combat, they’re efforts to actually recreate full medieval festivals, complete with drinking, workshops, and other cool events. Of course, there’s usually massive full-armor battles as well. Again, not a bad place to brush up on your combat skills, find an instructor and/or people to practice with. Again, one of the only places you also might get a chance to try to face one hundred foes in combat.
Self Study
Barring any of the above options, you can always begin greatsword training just going off of web-based resources. It’s not ideal, but it’s definitely better than nothing. Check out these two YouTube channels for a starting point:
Sheer Will and Determination
Guts does not stop. Guts does not yield. Guts does not give in. He is determination personified. Once he sets his sights upon a goal, he doesn’t relent until he has reached it, whether it’s defeating a demon, or one hundred Teutonic nights. So, how do we build our own superhuman determination, like Guts? Well, that’s a pretty broad topic to cover, but here’s a few good places to start.
Disregard Causality and Fate
One of the most important things that can keep you determined, motivated, and on-task is believing that you hold the key to your own future, and you have control over your path in life. It’s difficult to feel as though you’re determinedly pursuing a goal if you don’t inherently believe that you have control over your own path. You need to have what’s referred to, in psychology, as an “internal locus of control.” Meaning, your own internal thoughts, decisions, and actions are the thing that most affect your trajectory in life, not external events, or things outside of your control. Like Guts, you need to reject the idea that fate, or some sort of external laws of cause and effect govern you.
Ignore Negatives, Celebrate Positives
This sounds simple enough, but it’s difficult in itself. In life, don’t focus on the negatives, whether they’re the words of others, or unpleasant things that you have no control over. Something that you have no control over isn’t worth dedicating your attention to (see the previous point.) Someone else’s words spoken at you have no bearing on your own life.
At the same time, you want to celebrate success and positivity, both yours and others. By choosing to focus your thoughts on the victories of yourself and those around you, you choose to attract and perpetuate a winning mindset, and winning situations. Any time you’re trying to cultivate determination, it’s to accomplish a goal, in other words, to win. Learn from losses, sure, but don’t focus on them, and never give your time to those who just want to push negativity on you.
Quit Complaining
This follows naturally from our previous point, but it needs to be said anyway. Stop complaining, and stop whining. No matter what situation you’re in, what you’re dealing with, or what obstacle you’re up against, every second spent complaining is a second that could be spent trying to better your situation. Referring to point number one: you need to operate under the belief that, ultimately, your decisions and mindset shape your path. If you choose to devote your time and energy to complaining, then you’re actively deciding to dwell on what’s stopping you, rather than finding a way around it.
It’s a Learning Experience
In the end, cultivating determination is a matter of building new habits, and releasing old habits. You need to build a positive, forward-moving mindset, and this is a slow, gradual process. Accept this, and work every day towards building a psyche that focuses on the positive, and continues towards the goals you have set.
I’ll see you again tomorrow with Heart in Darkness, our final post on Guts. Until then, as always, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome.
