A good re-read

I loaned out my copy of Living the Martial Way by Forrest Morgan. I was given a brand-new copy in return. I decided to read it again since I'd be sitting in airports and I'm glad I did.
Mr. Morgan is a very traditional stylist and I like that perspective. His descriptions of what was going through his mind during organizational meetings are much like my own. Being a retired US Air Force major his outlook on what a warrior is and isn't is interesting. His book is well-researched and the bibliography is extensive and includes many excellent books on the subject.
Morgan discusses the definition of what a martial arts is and concludes that the traditional definition is a little too restrictive. He says that according to Don Draeger, a martial art is one that was developed by warriors for use on the battlefield.  Therefore, by that definition, what we do in Kenpo and numerous other arts today is not martial arts.
   You and I probably have a problem with that, and so does Morgan. Define "warrior" (he does in the book but you need your own). Define "battlefield". (It's "battlespace" now in modern miltary terminology.) I think we might call someone who is fighting an addiction as a warrior in their own battlefield.
  I don't disagree with Morgan, as he points out, that definition doesn't really fit. It does raise the point to me that Parker Kenpo is not a military system but a civilian self-defense system. People have asked me about this when discussing the comparisons with Russian Systema. That is a military system, ours is not. Of course, ours has been adapted for use on real battlefields since Vietnam and when you're in a knock-down, drag-out street fight, that's a battlefield.
  It's 20 years old but still timely. I recommend you read it.