U.S. Elite Gear has launched Vol. 10 of their Warrior Lifestyle blog series. You can read it by clicking the image above or the link below.
blog.us-elitegear.com/journal/2015/7/20/the-last-ronin-the-quest-for-redemption
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Wow, dramatic self-aggrandizement much?
Unless High Speed is MUCH older than he appears, he must be forgetting about Atari home systems, plus the plethora of arcade video games readily available at many convenience stores ‘back in the day’ when he claims there were no video games for kids to play in his childhood.
The thing that got most of my attention was the disconnect between all the Warrior Code talk and “Following my 11 years of military service, I went on to become a protections specialist.” Without further explanation, punching out just past the halfway point looks like he’s only in it for T6the money.
And knowing some of what it meant to be labeled “Ronin,” I would take almost any other handle first.
I don’t think he knows what it means…
He should also read Aaron Barruga’s excellent article. Isn’t this guy the one who did what amounted to a dramatic Arc’teryx ad before?
Never heard of this guy previously. Going through his blog posts, it kinda looks like an ongoing Arc’teryx advert…
Tough crowd. Anyone who knows Jim knows he embodies the Warrior Code. Even if I didn’t know him, personally I found this piece to be reflective and interesting. And I gotta expose my ignorance, I don’t understand the negative connotation of Ronin. (What I understand is it’s literally a masterless samurai. What am I missing?) Anyway to Jim, appreciate your putting this out there, keep ’em coming!
Ronin were samurais who no longer had a master, as you said, and were unable to retain or find a new one. This could be due to their master’s death, or some dishonorable act that had resulted in the samurai’s expulsion. It implied a sort of mercenary outlaw status, that they couldn’t get a job, to put it crudely. Literally, yes, you are correct it was simply a masterless samurai, but the connotation is that they were masterless for the wrong reasons. It is seen in a much more negative light in Japan than here, where I think people lean towards using it as a warrior who doesn’t have or need someone in control.
As for being a tactical smart ass, show me where I’ve claimed to be some cool dude. All I’m saying is that these blog posts are VERY heavily focused towards “have the best new gear ever, and make it Arc’teryx”. If it wasn’t for that, I’m sure he could bring his expirience to bear and write some very informative articles, not a shallow call for the latest and greatest.
You guys do know that Jim Erwin is a former Delta Operator right? Whether he spent 2, 11, or 25 years doing it is irrelevant to me. Because it’s more than I have done. But I’m sure all the tactical smartasses commenting here have been through selection so it’s ok…
Yeah, some of us have been through selection(s), thanks for asking.
Steve, I wasn’t referring to you, as you were the only reasonable person commenting here.
Guys. The whole concept to the entire blog was to give a little background on myself and some connection to gear. Yes I lean heavy on Arc gear but TD it’s not the only game in town. It took a lot to even talk me into doing this…in the end I was just hoping folks would enjoy the reading. Nothing more. I am not claiming to be an end all be all or even better than the next guy. For those who know me, they can back me up on that statement. If you didn’t like the blog, that’s cool by me, don’t hate on me for sharing what’s basically an attempt to add a little story behind a passion for gear on my side. Thanks!
Jim
And the Ronin thing… Yes could probably have chose a better header 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Jim!
I enjoyed the reading. Thanks for your service.
I don’t know if it’s a tough crowd, or if I qualify as a Tactical Smartass…
The jam is one of communication: What is the author’s intent, what is it leading to, etc. As a jaded, Cynical-As-Fuck Communication Person (among other things), some of what I was reading had me questioning the motivation(s) behind what I was reading.
That Mr. Erwin dropped in on this thread and made clear his intentions is very much appreciated, and speaks volumes of his credibility. Respect.
And if anyone is interested… WRT Ronin, T is on point about the negative perception. However, it also gets muddled by time periods. When we speak of Samurai, we are talking about an era that spans the mid-12th to the late-19th centuries.
Most of the time, a Ronin wound up as such because _something_ bad happen to them: They did not follow Bushido as they should have, or for some other reason they lost their lands/fiefdom, status, and sponsorship (given by the lord they served).
Problem: If you lose your master, you are expected to kill yourself. If you don’t, you will definitely get, at a minimum, the Stink Eye, _everywhere_ you go. Forget about getting a job, because clearly, you can’t be trusted to follow orders, etc. At the other end of the spectrum, you may get called out by a Samurai, who simply has a thing for taking out the trash.
When you get into the late Samurai-era, it gets real complicated. The public perceptions become so nuanced and layered, it makes my head hurt. Large numbers of Samurai leaving their lords and voluntarily become Ronin for nationalist reasons: To fight the encroachment of the West. This involved killing both “collaborators” (Japanese) and Westerners.