Sun Tzu
5:00
"Victory can be known, but it cannot be made."
This mysterious teaching by Sun Tzu contains a great amount of wisdom, so let's analyze it and find out what it means.
Sun Tzu also says that "Invincibility lies in oneself. Vincibility lies in the enemy."
The best illustration is a simple comment that my brother Joe gave me, while we were playing in the finals of a doubles tennis tournament. He said: "Peter, you don't have to go for a winner. They will usually make a mistake first."
Now in a tennis game, I usually like to go for winners (that is, I hit the ball close to the line so the opponent cannot return it). I often don't have the patience to rally for a long time. This is probably why Joe beats me all the time!
However, Joe's approach is better: he makes sure that he never makes a mistake (by hitting risky shots, for instance) and then he waits for the right opportunity to hit a winner. The right opportunity usually comes only through the opponent making a weak shot (i.e. not a deep one).
THAT is exactly what Sun Tzu means: make sure you have a perfect defense, so that you can avoid defeat. Then, attack only when the enemy seems to have made a mistake (that is, the enemy has made himself "vincible").
"Victory can be known, but it cannot be made."
This mysterious teaching by Sun Tzu contains a great amount of wisdom, so let's analyze it and find out what it means.
Sun Tzu also says that "Invincibility lies in oneself. Vincibility lies in the enemy."
The best illustration is a simple comment that my brother Joe gave me, while we were playing in the finals of a doubles tennis tournament. He said: "Peter, you don't have to go for a winner. They will usually make a mistake first."
Now in a tennis game, I usually like to go for winners (that is, I hit the ball close to the line so the opponent cannot return it). I often don't have the patience to rally for a long time. This is probably why Joe beats me all the time!
However, Joe's approach is better: he makes sure that he never makes a mistake (by hitting risky shots, for instance) and then he waits for the right opportunity to hit a winner. The right opportunity usually comes only through the opponent making a weak shot (i.e. not a deep one).
THAT is exactly what Sun Tzu means: make sure you have a perfect defense, so that you can avoid defeat. Then, attack only when the enemy seems to have made a mistake (that is, the enemy has made himself "vincible").
posted by Super Peter at 9:49 PM
<< Home