Prisoner Of The Samurai PDF Download

This transcript is a synthesis of two remarkable Ways which have influenced me profoundly. The first and most important Way, [Do], in my mind being 'Bushido - The Way of the Warrior' for which I have held an avid interest since I was eleven years old (1971), and which I can only say I 'aspire' to make a part of my everyday Way. I believe that my interest in Bushido has not only stood me in good stead for service to the SPS, my Uji (Clan), and the Joo Heika (Her Majesty the Queen), but has also served me well in my personal life. The second significant Do, [Way], was 17 years later when I was established as an Officer into the ranks of the Scottish Prison Service, [September 1988]. I gave the SPS almost 20 years loyal service. In these Makimonos (Scrolls) I will aspire to describe the mind-set of both these warrior ways and their connection. A Samurai, by definition of his lifestyle, chose immediacy as a core principle. In close parallel, the SPS Officer also embraces the Samurai Way of 'immediacy'. For if he made a wrong decision, riotous consequences could very well be the result. In the following pages I shall aspire to capture the difficult path both the Samurai and the Warrior Officer, [chose to], tread. During the tenure I was assigned duty at HMP Shotts (Castle Shotts), staff were faced with many quiet routine days. In stark contrast, we also dealt with numerous demonstrations, sit-down protests, hunger-strikes, self-harmers, staff and prisoner (shuujin) assaults, as well as riots and staff hostage situations. For a Samurai, to know and to act are ostensibly one and the same; the Warrior Officer also faced this basic correctness of 'The Way' and, had to actually 'Act' upon it. This text is about the individual officer, how he felt, and managed to pull through the many difficulties thrust upon him daily, as well as what made him return to such an arduous duty whilst being well aware of the possibilities of what lay ahead of him. To those who have never walked this walk, it can evoke a 'Fear' of sorts which is simply the bodies natural response mechanism to emotional stimuli. It is a sign of the body reacting to a perceived or actual physical stimulus; the key point is, it is a normal reaction everyone experiences under similar conditions. Many others have tread this trail prior to me and my modern peers, and there will be many more to follow when I and other Warrior Officers are long gone. Possibly my lifelong interest in Bushido, together with my time in the SPS both contributed to bringing to the fore my viewpoint of us being Warrior Officers. Regardless, I wholeheartedly feel this is how all officers of the SPS should feel, and I believe, be regarded as by the general public. Hindsight, the great teacher, [O-Sensei], that it is, affirms to me that when serving at Citadel Shotts, Lanarkshire, in central Scotland, when riots and demonstrations were in abundance (1988-1993), it was the single most camaraderie-working environment I have ever had the privilege to have been associated with alongside my fellow Officers. The Esprit-De-Corps was both magnificent and unparalleled. I had never experienced such an inspirational workforce previously, nor have I since at any other castle, or indeed in any other workplace. This is The Way of the Warrior Officer.