Test of Strength

"Having strength is one thing. Knowing how to use it, is another."

-Raoh, Hokuto no Ken
"Fist of the North Star"

When I was younger and my interest in anime was at its peak, I was a big fan of the story of Raoh, Toki, Jagi and Kenshiro.

They were four brothers who after the world had been destroyed by the nuclear holocaust of World War III were vying for the title of the 64th Successor of an ancient Chinese martial art, Hokuto Shinken, "God Fist of the North Star".

Jagi, the second brother, was a schemer who believed anything was allowed so long as the enemy was beaten, and to him, everyone was an enemy. Toki, the third brother, was a healer who used his skills to help those ravaged by what the world had become. He had no ambitions for any greater purpose.

Then there was the youngest brother, Kenshiro, and the oldest brother, Raoh.

Raoh is a giant who possessed incredible skill of the art. He could kill a man without lifting a finger and truly believed his purpose had been dictated by the universe itself to rule the world with an iron fist, thereby bringing order to chaos. Kenshiro was his opposite. Left for dead after being betrayed by his friend and losing the woman he loved, he harnessed both his strength and his compassion and emerged as the true successor, ultimately defeating both Jagi and Raoh.

In all honesty, the series itself wasn't all that great considering it was a mid-80's amalgam of Mad Max and Riki-Oh, but what interested me was that dynamic. For all the power he commanded, Raoh couldn't beat his youngest brother, because for Kenshiro, it wasn't just about being the most powerful.

There are times when strength is necessary to resolve a situation or a conflict. There are times when the only option is to summon as much of it as you can and either confront the danger or run from it. But there are also times when compassion is needed, where a punch or a kick is antithetical and a gentler hand can solve the issue.

I may not be the biggest or fastest or even strongest. But I know what level of strength I possess, and I know all too well what I can do with it should I choose to. In the last 24 hours, I've been asked more than once why I'm not angrier about things which I've gone through in the recent past. Why I don't respond with an equal measure for those wrongs?

Simply put...it would accomplish nothing, and because I don't want to.

A weaker person employs strength indiscriminately and doesn't care about the consequences. A strong person understands that sometimes the best thing they can do is not use it at all.