Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Thoughts on Sun Tzu's Art of War: Laying Plans

Introduction

Sun Tzu's The Art of War. An absolute classic on military strategy that is still studied today as many of its strategic principles can be applied to not just the military but to business and life. It is still required reading for the US military. The purpose of this musing is to go through the first section of the Art of War, Laying Plans. Then discuss my general thoughts and the possible applications as they pertain to martial arts such as self defense and martial sports.


Art of War: Laying Plans

Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry,which can on no account be neglected. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are:


  1. Moral Law - causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
  2. Heaven - signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons
  3. Earth - comprises distances, great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death.
  4. The commander -  stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.
  5. Method and Discipline -  are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison in this wise:


  1. Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?
  2. Which of the two generals has most ability?
  3. With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven
     and Earth?
  4. On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
  5. Which army is stronger?
  6. On which side are officers and men more highly trained?
  7. In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?
 By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat. Let such a one be dismissed!

While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and
beyond the ordinary rules. According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans. All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought.
The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations
lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention
to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

General Thoughts
My general interpretation of Laying Plans is simply the evaluation your internal and external environments, applying the principles of deception, then determining/ preparing to win in a situation. I want to emphasis that everyone and anyone should read this book to determine how you can incorporate the principles in your personal life, business life or martial arts life. However, we will just concentrate on the potential martial arts applications.

Self Defense Application
Today, Sun Tzu's principles can be applied to self defense. Let us consider 3 of the 5 elements starting with moral law. Moral law in a self defense scenario is probably more of the intent of the opponent, since you are not probably fighting an army in a war against a general. But you can prepare yourself against or at least be aware of potential unknown threats thanks to statistics and technology.

In 2003, the city of Seattle reported that their was over 31k major crimes. The majority of crimes are burglary, larceny and vehicle theft at 89%. The minority of crimes are homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault at 11%. So knowing what crimes are being committed lets you know in this case, if I was wandering around Seattle and was accosted by a criminal, most likely they want money or something that can get them money. Additionally, if you review the Seattle Crime Maps, you can see where and when reported crimes happened. Consider this a single calculation.

The next element Heaven refers to generally time, season and weather. Is someone more likely to commit a crime in the daytime or nighttime? Is it easier to commit a crime in the summer when it is warm or in the winter when it is cold and snowy? Consider this a second calculation.

The last element fundamentally related to self defense is Earth. This appears to focus on your terrain. Are you in the open public or a low visibility area? Are you in a secure area or insecure area like a parking garage?
What is the distance between you and your opponent? Are you in a closed area like an dead end alley or an open area like the street? Consider this the third calculation.

How do we combine these calculations to create a strategy? Say we are going downtown to see a Seahawks game.


  1. Moral Law (Intent) - Frequent larceny crime near stadium
  2. Heaven - Daytime in the Fall
  3. Earth - Park on the street 

Given this scenario, my strategy is going to make sure my car does have any bags or electronics sitting in the seat, so I could avoid a possible confrontation and break in of my car.

Let's try another scenario. Going to a bar near the University of Washington


  1. Moral Law - Frequent assaults near bar area of UW
  2. Heaven - Nighttime in the winter
  3. Earth - On the sidewalk of the busy street with many drunk students 

Given this scenario, my strategy would be go to the bar with a friend and be careful to avoid any potentially angry drunks. Most likely the assaults here are probably drunk college kids getting into fights.

Martial Sports Application
Now let us focus on the Martial Sports Application. All five of these elements can potentially be applied to martial sports competitions. Additionally, the seven comparison questions can also help you determine your strategy and who could possibly win in the sports competitions.


  1. Moral Law - Is your opponent in sync with the team, coaches, trainers and instructors?
    1. Wushu Demostrations have many team competitions
    2. A kickboxer has coaches and trainers outside the perimeter giving feedback
  2. Heaven - In sports competitions, neither weather or season should impact the event. However, you can take into consideration time of day. Will you competition be ready for the early morning or for a late evening.
    1. I watched an MMA fight that started at 1 am, how tired the fighters must have been.
  3. Earth - In martial sports all areas are defined. In boxing, you have a square ring. In Judo, you have a section of the mat to compete in. 
  4. The commander in this case can probably be substituted by your coach, trainer, or instructor. 
    1. Are you on the right diet?
    2. Training in the right methodologies
  5. Method and Discipline - Is your martial arts school disciplined, ranked and able to participate in such competitions? 

You as an instructor or martial arts practitioner can definitely use these principles to succeed in creating a school for success or something like it. Listen to my podcast at http://martialartsmusings.podbean.com/e/ep10-sun-tzus-the-art-of-war-laying-plans/.

References:
http://www.artofwarsuntzu.com/Art%20of%20War%20PDF.pdf
https://www.seattle.gov/police/crime/13_Stats/2013_Major_Crimes.pdf
http://www.seattle.gov/police/crime/onlinecrimemaps.htm

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