The Art of War

An Update: Well now our fearless leader is intervening in the anarchy and slaughter in the Ivory Coast. Has he gone insane or just drinking in the ambrosia of Presidential power?

It took the Big O. nine days to decide to talk to the American people about why we are in Libya. In less than an hour he could have read Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” in its entirety and never gotten involved in Libya at all. There is a lot more to running a nation than there is to organizing a community. Here are a few lines from Sun Tzu that could have saved us hundreds of millions of dollars a day and spared a lot of Libyan lives. As the old saying goes, “A man who won’t read is no better than a man who can’t read.”

“1. Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand li, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.

2. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men’s weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.

4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.

5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been associated with long delays.

6. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”

What we have for a commander in chief is also described by Sun Tzu in rather disparaging words. 18. When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, ……………., the result is utter disorganization. Translation by Dr. Lionel Giles. Ca. 1910

Blocking With the Blade

I did some editing of this and hopefully it reads better now! I had grabbed an older unedited version by mistake. Blocking With the Blade: Part One This and next week's posting are taken from my coming book "When Two Tigers Fight." Unless you can expertly perform rhythm-of-one-techniques (block-strike in one move) you should always block with your knife blade, not your empty-hand or arm! I have said it before but it is worth repeating, always apply steel against flesh, not vice versa. That sounds simple enough in theory but it is not as easy in the heat of practice or a fight. Let us consider three basic zones for blocking or attacking. 1)Upper, top of the head to the solar plexus. 2)Middle, the solar plexus to the crotch 3)Lower, the crotch to the feet Learning how to block with your knife is essential, but those of you who have trained in an empty-hand martial art you may find it unnatural and difficult at first. If you are performing solo drills with a live blade you must practice the blocks very carefully to prevent cutting yourself. It might sound stupid but now your one arm is longer than the other by the length of your knife blade. When working with a partner always wear the appropriate protective gear and use blunted blades (not taped up live blades) to prevent injury to the hands or tendons of the forearm wear arm guards at least on your knife arm. When using double-edged blades for blocking, absolute concentration and coordination are necessary, they literally cut both ways. S0 pay attention and stay focused! The biggest difficulty in blocking with the knife is determining in a split second whether your blade should be positioned tip up or tip down to intercept the incoming attack. If you are using reverse grip it will always be oriented tip down. The difference is critical and dependent upon your height, and the height and angle of the incoming attack. Don't forget that you can change your body height by rising up or dropping down at the knees. With the advanced practitioner, the blocks might not rely totally on the steel blade. If you are using a small folder for instance, you might find yourself blocking with your hand and/or forearm as an extension of your blade against your attacker’s arm (not his knife). Here's a hint, research the fencing term "glissade." Thinking “blocking with the blade,” rather than with your empty-hand/arm, will help you improve your blade/arm positioning. The last thing you want to have happen is to throw a picture-perfect block with a too short blade and find the attacker’s knife whizzing right past your block and lodging in your throat, stomach, or leg. There are several basic rules when using your knife for blocking. These rules also change depending on the grip you are using. If you are holding your knife in any of the blade-forward grips, and your attacker targets: 1) Your upper zone, block with your knife positioned tip up. At times you may use tip down in the upper zone. 2) Your lower zone, block with your knife positioned tip down Next post we will look at reverse grip and the middle zones for blocking. Til then play safe and practice blocking with your blade, steel on steel, or steel against flesh.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Doesn't this make you feel just a little bit uneasy?