⋅ Author : Mael Duin ⋅ 2022-06-12
“Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.”
– Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Our Warrior energy builds when pressure is applied to our personal boundaries; this tension builds until it’s released through action. Often this is expressed as anger, which can be violent and destructive – or what we call going to war.
In our society, men are traditionally more focused on the energy of the Warrior and women more on the energy of the Lover. As feminism has exerted a greater influence on western society over the last century, the expression of male Warrior energy has been dampened down – even shunned and labelled as toxic.
Add to this the fact that humanity cannot afford to have another war on the scale of WWII, with a nuclear exchange between great powers posing an extinction level event. So it’s understandable that the modern man has been raised in a culture seeking to temper this essential masculine energy. Whether it’s the popularity of video games like Call of Duty or blood sports like MMA and boxing, the modern man will seek a way to satisfy his Warrior nature.
But living out the Warrior instinct through a screen will only satisfy the masculine spirit so much. If you are not channelling this vital masculine energy in a fully mature way you may find yourself:
- Feeling passive, stuck on the couch and over-eating.
- Finding it hard to say “no” to people, not standing your ground or agreeing with all perspectives – even when they differ from your own.
- Feeling very impatient and unable to control feelings of anger that explodes in fits of rage.
- Wanting to prove yourself in some way or craving to hold a position of authority.
These are characteristics of too little and too much Warrior energy, and, as with any unbalanced archetypal energy, the expression of these energies can (but not always) flip from one to the other.
In the movie Gladiator, we see the Roman general Maximus decline Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ offer to make him the most powerful man in Rome, to which the philosopher Emperor responds: “Maximus, that is why it must be you.” It’s a cultural masterpiece in the portrayal of a Warrior in his fullness, a man who fights for a cause and his family. It’s also set in the ancient past, but we can’t consign the Warrior to the history books – despite what some people may want.
Where can we see the devastating effects of all this bottled-up Warrior energy in our modern culture? We see it in its sadistic form when a kid goes and shoots up a school; knowing he will also be shot and killed himself. We see it in the masochist “who wouldn’t hurt a fly” such as Michael Jackson; who would abuse his own body (and the boundaries around relationships with children) to such an extent that it would eventually claim his life.
When Tyson Fury became boxing heavyweight champion of the world, deposing Wladimir Klitschko of his ten-year reign in 2015, he had fulfilled his burning ambition, his life’s goal. But that was just the start of his unraveling. Over the course of two years, his life spiraled out of control, going down into drink, drugs, and depression.
Speaking on the Joe Rogan podcast in 2018, he explained: “I’d wake up and think, ‘Why did I wake up this morning?’ And this is coming from a man who won everything. Money, fame, glory, titles, a wife, family and kids – everything.”
The man in the grip of the Shadow Warrior energy, particularly the Masochist form can be self-punishing and obsessed with “succeeding”. Once Fury had no opponents left to face, nowhere higher to go, he literally began to beat himself up. He ballooned in weight to 392lbs and contemplated suicide.
In the book Warrior Magician Lover King, Rod Boothroyd explains how suppressed anger is turned against the self and can become some kind of reactive depression.
“It seems likely that many cases of suicide are linked to a weak or deeply wounded Warrior. Certainly, deep depression, self-harming and other self-destructive patterns speak of issues in the Warrior.”
When we consider the rising suicide rates amongst men in the west, this speaks again to a culture of repressed warrior energy. The implication of this is that even if you become a fierce warrior, the best in the world, if you don’t have control over that energy, it will likely devour you.
Problems with Shadow Warrior emerge as a result of emotional wounds inflicted during childhood. For boys whose boundaries are crossed psychologically or physiologically, this can result in an over-functioning or under-functioning Warrior in adulthood. Another way for Warrior energy development to go awry is if through boyhood and adolescence he feels he has to hide his identity to fit within what’s accepted within the family; be that repressing anger as to be a good little boy – or repressing tears and sadness as to not appear a “pussy” or a “wimp”. The emotions can be locked deep underground within a man, building up in power until the day they erupt in a self-destructive rage or depression.
For Tyson Fury growing up in the gypsy way of life, with a formidable, brash, bare-knuckle boxing champion for a father, it seems likely Tyson would never have been able to display any tears. Perhaps these emotions, put deep into his Shadow, are what emerged to fight him once he was on top of the world? Turning into a fight for his own survival.
“The Warrior traditions all affirm that, in addition to training, what enables a Warrior to reach clarity of thought is living with the awareness of his own imminent death.”
– Gillette and Moore, King Warrior Magician Lover
When Tyson Fury found himself at his lowest point he said he considered driving his Ferrari off a bridge and ending it all. But he heard a voice telling him not to do it – to think of his wife and kids and the pain it would cause them. He continued to suffer and cope through alcohol and drugs until one night at a Halloween party he had an epiphany.
“I left the bar, went home, took my suit off, went upstairs. Got on my knees in the bedroom praying to God for help. I didn’t know what to do, I was crying me eyes out, I was like a child. At this point the only place I thought I’d end up was like a padded room or something. I thought I’d definitely lost me marbles.”
He pinpoints this as the moment when he knew he was going to make a comeback.
“For the first time in like two years, I really knew that I was gonna make a comeback. I screamed out to Paris, I felt like a new person when I got up off the floor.
“I said: ‘Tomorrow I start training again for a regain mission’.”
This moment, this release of tears, was a form of therapy. The suppressed sadness was expelled from his Shadow and his Warrior was assigned a new mission.
The Warrior in His Fullness is a man with aggressiveness: he is rousing, he is energising, he is motivating; he is a man devoted to a cause greater than his own personal survival and he is moving forwards towards a goal. He will apply strategy and adapt tactics for the reality of the situation to ensure progress and survival.
All of these characteristics were on display during Fury’s comeback heavyweight title fight against Deontay Wilder in 2018. Wilder was a feared big puncher which meant Fury had to adapt his style to avoid getting caught at range by a devastating Wilder blow.
Fury boxed incredibly, until the final round when Wilder landed a bomb – leaving Fury sprawled out on the canvas. He looked down and out – again – but amazingly he rose to his feet, like Lazarus, and proceeded to finish the match in style. Controversially, the judges’ cards determined the fight a draw but everybody who watched knew Fury had won.
At the end of the fight, looking straight down the camera Fury said: “I just showed the world tonight, and everyone suffering with mental health problems, you can come back, and it can be done.
“Everybody out there who has the same problems I’ve been suffering with, I did that for you guys.”
The full energy of the Warrior is what separates us from others and the world; be that damaging relationships, oppressive regimes, foreign invaders, or our addictions and temptations that take us away from where we want to be in life. A strong Warrior allows us to be autonomous and free, so we can fulfil our true destiny.