This week I was really off pace with my readings. All the tests and upcoming test are really annoying me, especially AP World. Well then this week is mostly about flexibility. The book so far is still really interesting.
The quote that really intrigued me this week was: " Now the army's disposition of force is like water". This was because when I what thought (before reading The Art of War) was that armies were about about strict formations and just beating the tar out of your opponent. Nope. That was all wrong.
Armies need to be like water. Water will take the container it is put in and will react accordingly to what forces you apply on it. Water's nature is to be flexible. So what you need to be is flexible, no matter what situation you are in. When you are "like water" you can easily react to unknown forces and the unorthodox. If you react correctly you will last longer and win the battle.
A famous man can relate to this. Have you heard of Bruce Lee? He has a famous interview (linked at the bottom) where he advocates for this. This is because when you are fighting if you are too rigid your opponent can take advantage of that and defeat you. However, if you are able to counter and move accordingly to his actions you will be able to stand against your opposition. So remember, not all things are constant. If you can change with the changes you will be able to achieve many things.
"Thus [none of] the five phases constantly dominates; the four seasons do not have constant positions; the sun shines for longer and shorter periods; and the moon wanes and waxes"
The quote that really intrigued me this week was: " Now the army's disposition of force is like water". This was because when I what thought (before reading The Art of War) was that armies were about about strict formations and just beating the tar out of your opponent. Nope. That was all wrong.
Armies need to be like water. Water will take the container it is put in and will react accordingly to what forces you apply on it. Water's nature is to be flexible. So what you need to be is flexible, no matter what situation you are in. When you are "like water" you can easily react to unknown forces and the unorthodox. If you react correctly you will last longer and win the battle.
A famous man can relate to this. Have you heard of Bruce Lee? He has a famous interview (linked at the bottom) where he advocates for this. This is because when you are fighting if you are too rigid your opponent can take advantage of that and defeat you. However, if you are able to counter and move accordingly to his actions you will be able to stand against your opposition. So remember, not all things are constant. If you can change with the changes you will be able to achieve many things.
"Thus [none of] the five phases constantly dominates; the four seasons do not have constant positions; the sun shines for longer and shorter periods; and the moon wanes and waxes"