Sun Tzu's Five Ways to Win- Part1: Knowing When To Fight

Life is not simple. Period...

You may think you have the recipe for the perfect life here in this world then life shows you that your recipe does not work in all situations.

One of those recipes is the belief that violence and confrontation is never to be resorted to.

Before Christians get up to stone me I will remind them that there was once a time when their God had ordered the destruction of entire populations.

And... David did not beat Goliath by turning any cheeks either...

That being said- I am sure that you all know that everything under Heaven has its time and place.

Same with fighting.

In today's chapter on Sun Tzu's passage on the 5 ways to know who would win a battle we look at the first way- knowing when to fight and when not to fight.

So- In general terms I am sure you will agree that fighting at all times is a certain path to one's own destruction as never fighting at all will be as well.

So- it is necessary for us to know when to fight and when we should definitely not.

I guess the easiest place to start this discussion is one where most people would expect it to start- everyday life. First thing I want to say about the very nature of fighting is that it is not without consequences. It is always done at a cost and bears with it risk.

Sun Tzu wrote about how the expenses of waging a war weigh down on a nation. Well- even a boxer will tell you that a boxing career cannot last forever either- due to the toll it takes on one's health.

Then we have the fact that one is bound to have enemies in life, but having friends is what is important- and fighting people is not the best way to make friends.

So- it will not end well for us if we always fight. So- when can we and when do we actually have to fight?

Well- there is not much to say about when one has to fight. We have different views of what we hold dear and what we do not and what we are willing to give up and what not. If not fighting means that you have to give up something you hold dear it means that you have to fight.

Your character can actually be judged by what you hold dear, though, so don't think that necessarily means that winning your fight will necessarily be a good thing for you.

With knowing when morality allows us to fight we can go into the detail of the act of fighting itself and look at some factors that determine the timing of going into battle.

1. Alliances:

Sure- you think it is about time you took on that guy that has been giving you grief for a long time now. You find him alone. You kick his ass. Then later you find yourself a lot less popular with even more people out to get you.

I tend to avoid groups and people that do not support my point of  view and that do not share the same values as me. Likewise, I always make sure that I at least have some people on my side in any group situation in which I have to find myself before I speak out.

Thing is- you may not be a people person, but your enemy will most likely be.

If you know that a person has a lot of friends to back him up while you are on your own- just disappear!

Even governments know the importance of alliances with other nations to ensure the safety of their countries. It would do you good to recognise the importance of allies. Even if you don't need their help, you don't want any trouble from them either.

2. Terrain

I know this is a long way from how to beat your opponent on the sparring floor, but bear with me. Your immediate circumstances play a huge part in determining the time and manner of attack.

I love reading the classic works on the subject. You find some time-honoured  pieces of advice in them like "make sure the sun is behind you", "keep the exit directly behind you" and "take the high ground".

Those of you who know History well enough will recall Napoleon's troubles with his invasion of Russia in 1812 which were also experienced by Hitler in 1941! Neither of the two leaders' armies were prepared for the Ruissian Winter and had suffered severe casualties as a result.

You would do well to take factors like witnesses, innocent bystanders, ground surface and other related factors into account before starting a fight. Consider what threats there are to your victory and what you can do to eliminate them before you engage your enemy.

Now- from a more one-on-one point of view:

In the commonly used self defence situation where you are unarmed and threatened by an armed mugger you can realise the grave consequences of attacking too soon. Sure- it is enough to scare many of us into not attacking at all, but putting emotion aside let's look at why some attacks on muggers succeed while others fail.

Having to lunge or take a step towards your opponent is all good and well for ippon kumite practice, but you do not want the mugger to see your attack coming, right? If that weapon is a gun I am sure most anti-gun specialists will tell you that you need to either move past the gun or move the gun's line of fire away from you before you can safely attack. Can you imagine what will happen if you first have to leap towards your attacker to do that?

For those people who were actually looking for an application of this lesson to the mat, the cage or wherever you beat up your dojo mates- here are some considerations for you to ponder:

1. Rather attack where the line of defense is opening up than closing down. This may seem really obvious, but many people don't get it. They do their one-two combination like the Sensei told them to, but none of the blows land. It is because it is not the combination itself that makes the attack work. The attack works because the second strike hits while the guarding hand moves away from the target to block the first strike. Some attacks from your opponent have the inherent tendency to open them up to attack as well. A straight punch always open up the ribs. A high roundhouse kick always opens up the groin. So the face often gets opened up as well because a guarding hand has to attack.

2. Attack as the opponent is inhaling. This is actually a very dirty move, but fortunately very hard to master. Still- it is still one of my favourite times to attack. I have not yet met anyone who is prepared to receive an attack when he/ she is inhaling. It gets worse if the opponent is breathing heavily.

3. If you have to take a step towards your opponent to counterattack you are too far away. So you jumped back far enough to make your opponent miss when he was attacking you? Sure. Now you have to chase him to land your blow. One of two things can happen now. Either he will get away or he will now land his counterattack. So- if you are to far away to hit immediately, rather bide your time and prepare to be close enough next time.

4. If you are within striking distance- the first one to strike will win. This applies to self defence as well. Sure- you can look things through while the opponent is still far away, but when he is in range it is time to strike otherwise he will do it for you!

5. Then- a principle to which I abide without fail and which may include some of what I have already said above: Strike whenever the opponent is preoccupied. He may be preoccupied by his own footwork, by what he is saying to you, by his own attack, by blocking your feint...

When he is preoccupied he can't attack you. You can attack him at that time, however.

  Now I think I have given enough food for thought to make your thoughts feel sluggish and bloated. :D

Join me next week when we talk about using many or few troops.