~Sun Tzu Art of War Week #1

[[SS]Blitz]

I will be posting a quote from the book "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu every weekend. Lets have a discussion on what we think he meant by the context of the quote. I will wait for a couple of replies 1st before I submit my ideas.


Quote #1

"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory."

[[SS]SportoFu]

Originally posted by [SS]Blitz
"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory."

I believe it means that if you go straight at your enemy you will have a hard fight on your hands, but if you fight tactically and use the element of surprise you can overcome your enemy easier.

[[SS]Rator]

Yes. Brains over Brawn will almost always prevail.

[[SS]Blitz]

"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory."

O.K. I will break it down into three parts.

In conflict,

The quotes starts out with a very important piece of information. In conflict.

As defined by www.dictionary.com

con·flict
n.
1. A state of open, often prolonged fighting; a battle or war.
2. A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash

Prolonged fighting, battle, war, disharmony or clash. So basically in conflict there are two parties that do not agree, and will do most anything to change their enemies ideals.

straightforward actions generally lead to engagement

The word straightfoward can be taken to be known as without evasion. i.e. running straight foward without any plan or strategy. Usually this person is so clouded by the facts of the conflict that they do not see the greater aspects of combat. They see rage and anger.

surprising actions generally lead to victory

Catch thy enemy unprepared. Appear to be weak where you are the strongest. Look disorganized, but be organized. All these signs are signs of disorder that will make your enemy think you are not ready for them. But little do they know that they are playing right into your hand.


So with all this said, how could we use this quote for our Socom game play?

I for one tend to rush a little too often. Most of the times it works for me, and throws the other team out of their gameplan by having to change their tactics for having to deal with my rush. Maybe if I was to rush the 1st round or 2, then sit back and see how they have changed things up it may help us out.

[[SS]Rator]

LOL yeah, i think your best bet is to NOT TELL THE ENEMY WHAT YOU DO, OR PLAN TO DO! lol numbnut... here's a quote... "[SS] Forums > Public Forums >"

[[SS]Blitz]

Originally posted by [SS]Rator
LOL yeah, i think your best bet is to NOT TELL THE ENEMY WHAT YOU DO, OR PLAN TO DO! lol numbnut... here's a quote... "[SS] Forums > Public Forums >"

There we go. Here is somebody who gets it. With my post telling the enemy what I am doing, and my boss telling me not to tell them what I am doing. We appear to be in disarray. Which gives the view of weakness. Now the enemy must make a decision, is Blitz telling the truth, or is he lieing. If they charge straightfoward will they be caught off guard?

hmmmmmm.......

[[SS]Rator]

LOL brilliant!

[The Old Sempai]

Ah.
A wise clan at last
To take advantage of the strategies of Sun Tzu is wise...
In depth stratagems are things that many clans do not fully understand.

I am Old Sempai, better known as "MaD KiLlaH". The etymology of my name is that of Japanese culture. Sempai means an advisor to a younger man, the younger man being a kohai. Though I do not wish to be looked upon as conceited, I feel as though I have something to teach, in which many can benefit from.

The key of "The Art of War" is that one must take all of the different aspects and chapters into consideration when devising a plan. There is no theme, there is no underlining key point, and though certain quotes may summarize the book to an extent, to think that one can read a single passage and have a full understanding of the book is ludicrous.
With that said let us look at the quote.

"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement; surprising actions generally lead to victory."

First use your brain, then use your eyes, your ears, your nose, your tongue, your fingertips, then use your brain again. After this analyze what you know, devise a plan, look at the positive and negative outcomes of said plan, and then if the plan has a positive outcome, commence.

Notice what is before the word commence. A shitload if you will, of things in which you need to consider if you want your plan to succeed.

Surprise is something that can easily be achieved by using ones intellect. Appearing disorganized when one is actually organized is one key point in “The Art of War”. If and when the time comes to take the offensive one must be sure to have the upper hand and the best way to do this is surprise.

“Catch thy enemy unprepared. Appear to be weak where you are the strongest. Look disorganized, but be organized. All these signs are signs of disorder that will make your enemy think you are not ready for them. But little do they know that they are playing right into your hands.”
-[SS]Blitz

This Blitz fellow seems to understand the quote to it’s entirety. The part of appearing weak where you are strongest ties in with attacking weakness not strength. Never EVER use attrition in battle. This is, as you will soon find, the basis of many of sun Tzu’s quotes.

I hope you learn much from this great philosopher. He Has much to teach. When you learn to utilize and incorporate his techniques into your everyday and business life you will look at every situation differently. This text changes you, whether you think I am insane or not I urge you to read it, debate it, and practice it.

Happy philosophizing,
The Old Sempai

[[SS]Blitz]

Nice to see you here old friend. Hope to see your input here weekly. This stuff just fasinates me every time I get more into it.

I think it's much simpler. When did he write this, sometime BC?

It wasn't that long ago that armies lined up, faced each other, and took turns shooting each other. Before that they shot arrows, or threw rocks. I think he means you can get an upper hand by flanking your enemy. It was just a really good idea and he was 2500 years ahead of his time.

[[SS]Rator]

Welcome. I would love to get into more detail about this discussion, but obviously one of the things you should NOT do is advise the enemy of your intentions. lol, most of the people we war with visit our forums regularly.

I'd love to contribute my feedback here, but like i said, that would do us more harm than good.

Oh and btw, everyone, we never camp, never rush, never run in groups, or snipe. So, there ya go...laffyguy

[[SS]Rator]

And Vapid, no, he's not just talking about flanking. You should read it maybe. Its good. I havent read it all as of yet myself, but it is smart.

Originally posted by [SS]Rator
And Vapid, no, he's not just talking about flanking. You should read it maybe. Its good. I havent read it all as of yet myself, but it is smart.

...yeah, but it sounded cool.

[[SS]Arkangel]

Some examples of straight-forward strategies that failed, and some surprise attacks that worked.

Surprises that worked: The Tet Offensive during Vietnam, and the attack on the British on Christmas Day during the Revolution (Washington crossing the Delaware, for those of you who don't know.)

Straight-forward that failed: The final day of Gettysburg in 1863. Lee ordered the rebels to charge full force, thinking they would overwhelm the North. Many mistakes were made, one of which was the under-estimation of his opponents, which more or less cost the Confederates the war.

[[SS]SportoFu]

Another good book is the "Go Rin No Sho", or the "Book of Five Rings." by Miyamoto Musashi.