Thread: A Man's Man

Originally Posted by Whatsthe2ndDfor

I do think myself quite the cunning linguist.

Be careful! One slip of the tongue and your deep in sh!t!

Originally Posted by AceBuckeye

From Wiki -

Ueshiba is remembered by his pupils as a master of the martial arts whose studies transcended technical matters to include a moral and philosophical view of the world based around harmony in the face of aggression. The many branches of aikido in existence today virtually all trace their lineage back to him.
Many stories exist about Ueshiba's martial skill. It is said for example that he was able to escape a tight ring of students that surrounded him with swords and attacked simultaneously.Many of these students would later say they had not even seen him go by them. Another story is that he was able to knock someone off their feet with the force of his kiai

Basically he studied the Samurai and principles of Bushido and adapted it to a form of martial art, Aikido, based on non aggression.

I'm being very fast and loose here, it's a whole lot deeper but it's not warranted to go that deep.

But, if you're a fan of Bushido his Biography is Titled Abundant Peace and is an awesome, manly read I might add.

Of course, immediately after I posted that I didn't know anything about him, I checked out Wikipedia and read about him...sounds interesting. I'll hold that one to heart, and will try and pick it up after I finish the 3 other books in my list (currently on "The Road," which is an awfully manly book, especially for fathers).

Originally Posted by JMS

Be careful! One slip of the tongue and your deep in sh!t!

Took me a second, but...yes...this is true.

Originally Posted by Big Red

I read those 7 bushido things and immediately said hell yeah rectitude is important! it's a major part of what defines us as being not just men but male. I have always thought that if i lost the rectitude I'd just shoot myself.

then I clicked on the link for definition, wow I was off! but this kind of rectitude is good too.

Red

Red, Life's about standing up for what is right, and always doing the right thing. I don't know which definition you've read, but the most extreme forms of rectitude involve turning in your own family if it's your duty. I don't take it to that far of an extreme, but my family and friends know not to compromise the integrity I cherish.

This post got far too serious...I meant it more as a joking, fun thing--like this book I saw called "The Alphabet of Manliness." B is for boobs, N is for Norris, Chuck (who, according to the book, has a ring with a mustang on it sporting a...well...something manly). I initially was looking for something along those lines "if you can change a tire in under 1 minute, you're a real man" kind of thing.

Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate this thread, it's always interesting to see, and I'm both glad and proud to consider myself among the ranks of such true men and gentlemen. I took a course in college called "Early Modern Masculinity," and at the beginning we discussed the stereotypes by watching beer commercials in order to define masculinity as it stands now. I think this thread is proof that chivalry, contrary to what many believe and the beer ads illustrate as manly, is not nearly as dead as once thought.

Cheers, to all the gentlemen here....

And for the record, I'm still keen to hear any joking or serious feelings you all have on what defines a man. Whether it's the ability to open a beer with his eye, or the fact that he will always stand up for his family / children, no matter what.

Chadd
---------------- Now playing: Eels - The Other Shoe via FoxyTunes

A REAL Honorable man is one you can trust with your wallet, your Wife, or your life. He will not molest any of them.
If you do not have honor, you are not a man, regardless of what else you may possess.

Okay, this may be a hugely unpopular viewpoint, especially for a noob to promote. Just ignore it if it doesn't fit for you...

I think that almost every virtue, feature, aspect, trait and quality that has been listed in this thread has much more to do with being a good person than being a good man. This kind of thinking, that these traits only belong to men, is the very definition of discriminatory thinking. Women (good women) have all of these traits, perhaps with the exception of knowing who the hottest babe may be (most are pretty good at figuring that out though).

What makes someone a man is merely genetalia and age. What makes a person a good man is that he has the qualifications to be a man, and is a good person. Think about it. If you could choose an ideal woman to be with as either a friend, partner, wife (put your long-term relationship descriptor here), wouldn't you want her to have all of these qualities?

I'm a lucky man. My better half is all of these things (yes, she's a woman).

Man's man... outmoded and virtually meaningless. Just one man's opinion...


Cheers,
Tom

What makes someone a man is merely genetalia and age.

TomPike


Mister Pike, I must respectfully disagree with that assessment. Genitalia determines gender and gender alone. And Manhood is not conferred upon a male, simply because he has attained an arbitrary age. It is EARNED, through work and thought. You become a Man by taking on the responsibilities of a Man. By ACTING and thinking like a Man. Taking responsibility for your actions and realizing that actions and words have consequences.
Genitalia doesn't make a man and neither does age. A wise man once told me, "A person is only young for a short time, but they can be childish their entire life."

When I think of a man's man I think of Wyatt Earp and I have read most of the books so I know the revisionist history and I don't give it credence. I think of Presidents Harry S. Truman, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Muhammad Ali. Also Mahatma Gandhi, Lance Armstrong and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King. There are more I could think of but those come immediately to mind.

A man's man can shave with an 8/8s meat chopper, do so with Nancy Boy Shaving Cream, douse the flames with Old Spice, slap on a pink dress shirt, and feel no contradiction nor care if there is one as he heads off to a hard day's work.

but lavender products are simply out of the question. way too grandmotherly.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on"; If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

YouTube - 57th TONY AWARDS MAN OF LA MANCHA