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Lessons in the Art of War: Martial Strategies for the Successful Fighter
The martial arts have a long tradition emphasizing the wisdom of
Asian philosophers, such as Sun Tzu and Miyamoto Musashi, who owe
much of their longevity to their use of universal principles for
fighting. Sun Tzu, in his Art
of War which might be the most widely studied of the Asian
military treatises, did not speak of a mutually agreed upon code of
conduct in battle, but assessed the terrain, weather, and leadership
to determine if the conditions favored military success. Although
his battle philosophy emphasized quick victory, tactics of trickery
and deception were elevated and described as virtues of great
generals.
Relatively little is known about Sun Tzu, but it is believed that he
was a military strategist during China’s turbulent Eastern Zhou
Dynasty (c. 770-256 BCE). However, it is also possible that he was
merely a writer who demonstrated an exceptionally pragmatic approach
to warfare. According to some scholars, Sun Tzu’s habit of prefacing
many of his sayings with the phrase, “In ancient times,” is an
indication of the timeless nature of his ideas.
The Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, in
his Book of Five Rings,
likewise viewed warfare as a pragmatic undertaking which purpose it
was to defeat the enemy by killing him. A warrior taking up the
sword to strike a fatal blow was expected to display an attitude of
earnest intent. Miyamoto Musashi
followed a set of “natural” (scientific) principles, and attributed
his victories to proper understanding of these principles; one of
which was the ability to stop an attack at the outset in order to
stifle an opponent’s speed and power (in sword fighting, for
example, by blocking and redirecting the opponent’s sword before the
blow has fallen through the apex; in empty-hand fighting, by jamming
an opponent’s kick at the chamber before his leg is fully extended).
The most
prominent military thinker in the West was likely Carl von
Clausewitz, an early nineteenth century Prussian soldier and
strategist. Clausewitz presented his ideas as timeless and
consistent theory of conflict. Like the Asian philosophers, he
sought to uncover a universal nature of combat while illustrating
his principles through the use of specific examples.
At the heart of his theory is the theme
that combat is talked about in one way and exercised in another.
He was foremost a practical soldier over a theoretician and
had spent most of his life participating in warfare in one way or
another. His varied career and experiences—he served in several
positions including soldiering, staff officer, and educator of
military personnel—and the fact that the national state in Prussia
was militarized quickly and performed reasonably well in war, most
certainly influenced his ideas. He was also influenced by the
Napoleonic Wars, where the constant aim seemed to be to occupy and
subjugate the enemy country and destroy its armies. However,
Clausewitz’s ideas were not new. Three centuries earlier, Florentine
statesman Niccolò Machiavelli had stressed that the aim of war was
to achieve military superiority over other states, thereby avoiding
becoming their victims. It was a matter of survival: A state that
waged war successfully could count on continued existence.
The purpose of this book is to compare and contrast Sun Tzu’s and
Carl von Clausewitz’s theories of conflict and relate their findings
to the development of the martial arts in the East and West.
Although the martial arts as practiced today find many uses
including personal protection, sports competition, and
self-cultivation, war was historically a political instrument used
to compel an enemy to do the will of the victor. How one viewed
conflict and developed systems of fighting was part of the political
climate. The long military traditions of Asia and Europe contributed
to the development of individual combat arts, which evolved from
battlefield tactics and strategies used in warfare within and
between the countries in the respective regions, and have further
been influenced by local cultural beliefs. Their diversity has
remained a fascinating subject, as evidenced by the great numbers of
instructional books, philosophical studies, and accounts of personal
experiences that have been written about the traditional Chinese,
Japanese, and Korean arts, in addition to Western grappling, boxing,
fencing, and mixed martial arts. Each martial style displays unique
characteristics. The words kung-fu, karate, taekwondo, jujutsu,
savate, kickboxing, and pankration, for example, evoke images of
Asian and Western customs and lore.
Despite the influences of different cultural beliefs, Asia and the
West experienced similar problems with respect to the security of
the state and external and internal unrest. Both viewed
combat as “a true political instrument” and the highest expression
of a person’s will to live, “the basis of life and death, the Way to
survival or extinction.” The differences between Sun Tzu and
Clausewitz may at first seem profound. Yet, on
a conceptual level, their discourse displays far more similarities
than differences which further demonstrates that factors such as
time period (Sun Tzu and Clausewitz were separated in time by more
than two millennia), geographical location (Asia versus Europe), and
cultural issues (debated by military historian Victor Davis Hanson
in his book, Carnage and
Culture) are less significant in combat than are an
understanding and embrace of a universal human nature. Whether
Asian or Western in origin, the different styles of martial arts
employ techniques similar in concept and execution. Once individual
fighters have corrected for the geographical area (or the modern
sports arena) and the “political” situation (or the mores under
which one studies the art), they will face similar difficulties with
respect to power, deception, confusion, physical conditioning, and
morale.
