Japanese Bushido tells of two kinds of warriors. Warriors of the yin and warriors of the yang. Recognizing and understanding these two types and give some insight to competitors in all sports and about men in general.
A warrior of the yang draws his power and strength from without. He’s the type that struts and is boisterous calling out attention to himself. People often see them as arrogant, playing mind games against their opponents, and lacking respect for everyone but themselves. This can be the case but not always. A warrior of the yang does this because it is the only way he can get his blood up and raise his adrenaline to a level that allows him to perform at the highest level possible. To hold back these tendencies would only diminish him and cause his defeat. Warriors of the yang can be very hard to be around and if competing against them, very hard to like and easy to hate.
A warrior of yin draws his strength from within. He will be quiet and contemplative before battle. His quiet and withdrawn demeanor can be confused for lack of passion and uncaring. But he is every bit as committed to victory as a warrior of the yang. To have him strut and bluster would be unnatural and break his needed concentration for battle. Such warriors can be just a frustrating as a warrior of yang but for different reasons. When adversity hits people are surprised to see them unruffled and unpanicked, they assume this to be uncaring when it’s not. Due to their calm demeanor, they are easily liked and respected by their fellow warriors, even by their competitors.
The best way to understand this is by an example, and the best I can think of is contrast of Michael Irving and Troy Aikman when they played on the Dallas Cowboys. Michael Irving was without a doubt a warrior of the yang. Many thought him arrogant and narcissistic because of his behavior during a game. But almost to a man, everyone who played with him talks about what a great teammate he was and how caring and giving he could be. His actions on game days was what he had to do to be ready to play at a high level. Troy Aikman was a warrior of the yin. He had to concentrate and remain calm to perform. Anything else would have diminished his abilities.
Coaches need to recognize which of their students are of the yin and the yang, and let them be themselves. Most coaches make the mistake of trying to force all their players into one mold or the other, and then wonder why their teams do so poorly. But what is even more important is that each man must search his own soul and determine what he is. Too often men try to force themselves into a mold they think others want. If you are of the yang, be self-promoting, and if you’re of the yin, do not let others call you uncaring because of your calm in adversity.
#Warriors, #Yin, #Yang