Bushi no inochi wa gi ni yorite karushi
A warrior deems life a light thing when compared to honor.
Did Han shoot first? That’s the question many have been trying to answer since the first Star Wars movie. In the scene, Han Solo is being confronted by Greedo and is forced at gunpoint to sit. Han readies his gun under the table as they talk about Han’s debt. Greedo says, “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.” Han replies, "Yes, I'll bet you have.” They exchange gun fire and Greedo is killed. At that point, people wanted to know if Han did in fact shoot first or if Greedo did but missed. Most think, “What’s the point?” To the ardent fan, it means everything. It is hard to say without actually asking Han, a fictional character, so we may never truly know. For a warrior, actions come down to intention. Warriors are never supposed to act with dishonor and is supposed to refrain from anything which is deemed dishonest, cowardly or dishonorable. For instance, a samurai is never supposed to attack someone from behind or throw their sword because these acts are cowardly and dishonorable. These examples might enable a samurai to win, but they would lose their honor in the process. To a warrior, honor is one of those things which is hard to maintain and even harder or impossible to get back. For Han, shooting or not shooting first is about character development. From a budo perspective, if Han shoots first, he has go no sen (後の先) which means that he takes the initiative because he knows Greedo is going to shoot him. If Han has sen no sen (先の先), he shoots first because he reads Greedo’s body language and takes the initiative and shoots first. From an Aikido perspective, if Han senses that Greedo is about to shoot and shoots him then he has sen sen no sen (先先の先). Understanding the dynamics of shoot first, one can see that it is really about intention. A warrior acts based on their own intentions and thus always acts appropriately. So I think Han did shoot first but the question is did he do so with honor?
Today’s goal: Do your intentions drive your actions?
Watch this video to understand intention
Watch this videos to see for yourself if Han shot first