Back when I helped teach martial arts I stressed to others that the best defense is not to get hit in the first place. You don’t have to block or absorb an attack if you aren’t there to begin with.
You don’t have to fight if you were never in a fight. The measure of strength is not how many hits you can take, it’s knowing how not to get hit in the first place.
In the US, the philosophy is the opposite. The strong trade punch for punch, regardless of the damage it does. Strength is only measured by the direct damage you can do to others. In ~300 years, I’m not sure we’ve learned a damned thing.
