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| I read an entry today at the laundromat about a German take
on the classic fable about the Tortoise and the Hare. In the
classic Aesopian fable, the moral of the story is that hard work and
determination wins over lazy ability. The moral of the German
fable is much more controvertial.
Most people who hear the German fable would think "wow, what a cheater"
and think the moral of the story is "cheating wins". This is not
what the moral of the story is. Here is the fable:
The Hare and the Hedgehog
One sunday morning the hedgehog was standing by his door with his
arms akimbo, enjoying the morning breezes, and slowly trilling a little
song to himself.
Whilst he was thus singing half aloud to himself, it suddenly
occurred to him that, while his wife was washing and drying the
children, he might very well take a walk into the field, and see how
his turnips were getting on.
He had not gone very far from home when he observed the hare who had
gone out on business of the same kind, namely, to visit his cabbages.
When the hedgehog caught sight of the hare, he bade him a friendly good
morning. But the hare, who was in his own way a distinguished
gentleman, and frightfully haughty, did not return the hedgehog's
greeting, but said to him, assuming at the same time a very
contemptuous manner, how do you happen to be running about here in the
field so early in the morning.
I am taking a walk, said the hedgehog.
A walk, said the hare, with a smile. It seems to me that you might use your legs for a better purpose.
This answer made the hedgehog furiously angry, for he can bear
anything but a reference too his legs, just because they are crooked by
nature. So now the hedgehog said to the hare, you seem to imagine that
you can do more with your legs than I with mine.
That is just what I do think, said the hare.
That can be put to the test, said the hedgehog. I wager that if we run a race, I will outstrip you.
That is ridiculous. You with your short legs, said the hare, but for
my part I am willing, if you have such a monstrous fancy for it.
What shall we wager. A golden louis-d'or and a bottle of brandy, said the hedgehog.
Done, said the hare. Shake hands on it, and then we may as well begin at once.
Nay, said the hedgehog, there is no such great hurry. I am still
fasting, I will go home first, and have a little breakfast. In
half-an-hour I will be back again at this place. Hereupon the hedgehog
departed, for the hare was quite satisfied with this.
On his way the hedgehog thought to himself, the hare relies on his
long legs, but I will contrive to get the better of him. He may be a
great man, but he is a very silly fellow, and he shall pay for what he
has said. So when the hedgehog reached home, he said to his wife, wife,
dress yourself quickly, you must go out to the field with me.
What is going on, then, said his wife.
I have made a wager with the hare, for a gold louis-d'or and a
bottle of brandy. I am to run a race with him, and you must be present.
Good heavens, husband, the wife now cried, are you not right in your
mind, have you completely lost your wits. What can make you want to run
a race with the hare.
Hold your tongue, woman, said the hedgehog, that is my affair. Don't
begin to discuss things which are matters for men. Be off, dress
yourself, and come with me.
What could the hedgehog's wife do. She was forced to obey him,
whether she liked it or not. So when they had set out on their way
together, the hedgehog said to his wife, now pay attention to what I am
going to say. Look you, I will make the long field our race-course. The
hare shall run in one furrow, and when the hare arrives at the end of
the furrow on the other side of you, you must cry out to him, I am here
already. Then they reached the field, and the hedgehog showed his wife
her place, and then walked up the field. When he reached the top, the
hare was already there.
Shall we start, said the hare.
Certainly, said the hedgehog.
Then both at once. So saying, each placed himself in his own furrow.
The hare counted, once, twice, thrice, and away, and went off like a
whirlwind down the field. The hedgehog, however, only ran about three
paces, and then he crouched down in the furrow, and stayed quietly
where he was. When the hare therefore arrived at full speed at the
lower end of the field, the hedgehog's wife met him with the cry, I am
here already. The hare was shocked and wondered not a little, he
thought no other than that it was the hedgehog himself who was calling
to him, for the hedgehog's wife looked just like her husband. The hare,
however, thought to himself, that has not been done fairly, and cried,
it must be run again, let us have it again. And once more he went off
like the wind in a storm, so that he seemed to fly. But the hedgehog's
wife stayed quietly in her place. So when the hare reached the top of
the field, the hedgehog himself cried out to him, I am here already.
The hare, however, quite beside himself with anger, cried, it must be
run again, we must have it again.
All right, answered the hedgehog, for my part we'll run as often as you choose.
So the hare ran seventy-three times more, and the hedgehog always
held out against him, and every time the hare reached either the top or
the bottom, either the hedgehog or his wife said, I am here already. At
the seventy-fourth time, however, the hare could no longer reach the
end. In the middle of the field he fell to the ground, blood streamed
out of his mouth, and he lay dead on the spot. But the hedgehog took
the louis-d'or which he had won and the bottle of brandy, called his
wife out of the furrow, and both went home together in great delight,
and if they are not dead, they are living there still.
What's the moral of the story?
One moral is that the clever and weak will defeat the powerful but
stupid. Another is that deception is often the best weapon of
all. It has nothing to do with cheating and playing fair.
Fair would have been hare vs. hare. The premise of hare vs.
hedgehog wasn't fair to begin with.
The hare believes there is no way he can lose. The hedgehog
deceives the hare by having his wife at the one end and himself at the
other, out of the view of the hare. The hedgehog takes advantage
of the hare's belief. One of the key elements in deception in
warfare is to take what the opponent believes and to build upon that
and guide him to where you want him. When the hare loses, he
commits further strength and effort. And he loses again.
The hare tries harder. And harder. Until he drops dead.
Historically, the Germans have a basis for this fable -- the Germans
emerged from under the iron fist of Rome by playing into the Romans'
idea that they were invincible under all conditions. The Germanic
tribal warriors, under Arminius in 9AD led the 17th, 18th and 19th Roman
Legions under Publicus Quinctilius Varus into the Teutoburg forest and
stretched them out into an undefendable, disordered line and then fell
upon them from all sides -- annihilating the entire Roman army.
The Germans could never fight the Romans in a "fair" fight (fair by
Roman standards), so they instituted a campaign based on their
advantages. Eventually the Germans and other peoples the Romans
saw as "barbarians" sacked Rome itself because Rome, like the hare,
failed to adapt to the changing state of warfare.
Move ahead almost two thousand years.
The United States is like the hare, moving into Vietnam to suppress the
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. Like the hare and the hedgehog,
this was never a fair fight. The North Vietnamese would never
have been able to fight a "fair" fight against the United States.
Instead, they take advantage of the American mentality that they are so
powerful that they cannot lose. The North Vietnamese and Viet
Cong use deception and irregular, unconventional warfare strategies
against the United States. The United States continues, like the
hare, to try harder and harder -- unable to understand and cope with
the unconventional strategies of their enemy... until the hare drops
dead (the United States withdraws).
The heart of the fable: The hare took the obvious shortcoming and
disadvantage and reversed it brilliantly into an advantage that led to
victory.
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Stephen Hawking's answering machine:
HELLO THIS IS STEPHEN HAWKING.
Caller:
Hi, Stephen sorry I missed you--
Stephen Hawking:
NO THIS -IS- STEPHEN HAWKING.
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| The smarter and more flexible unit is the one who wins.
Whether in Fighting or in Warfare or in daily competition, the unit
(man, squad, army, team, corporation, etc.) which can think unconventionally and
can act unbound from the set rules of warfare is the one that will be
victorious. The very idea of rules of warfare
is illusory. We create rules because we believe we are bound to
behaving a certain way and are limited to a certain set of
actions. Being bound by these rules is the surest path to defeat.
The only time rules in warfare are good is when the rule is mutually
beneficial to all parties involved. When the rule is no longer
beneficial to one or more party, all other parties are at a
disadvantage if they remain bound by those rules.
Every year in Japan, NHK releases a new Taiga Drama. These are
among my favorite series runs to watch. They run for fifty
episodes of one hour each, and detail the struggles of Medieval Japan
(most of them taking place in the Sengoku Jidai period) both on a
personal level among characters and on a strategic level with clans
battling each other for control of the land and its resources.
This year's NHK Drama 2006 is called "Komyo ga Tsuji", and is slightly
different from the previous years' Taiga Dramas in that it follows the
story of a husband and wife from their days as poor, low-level Samurai
through the Sengoku Jidai, through his fealties to three successive
Daimyo (Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu -- who
ultimately united Japan). I recorded the premiere episode last
night and watched it, and a scene where they detailed Oda Nobunaga's
assault on Imagawa Yoshimoto's army at the battle of Okehazama in 1560.
Okehazama is noteworthy to me because Oda Nobunaga was heavily
outnumbered (the numbers are unclear but could be as much as 20 to 1) by Imagawa Yoshimoto but by being
flexible, by knowing his enemy, and by taking advantage of breaking a
set rule of warfare, Oda Nobunaga destroyed the Imagawa army and set
them into flight for the rest of the civil war.
At Okehazama, Oda Nobunaga stockpiled three years of supplies in his
main castle, prepared it for seige, and when the Imagawa army advanced
into his land, he allowed two of his forward fortresses to fall
unopposed by his main army. Oda then allowed Imagawa to feel
confident that he was locking himself into his main castle, had
villagers offer Imagawa food and drink to have a party and deceived him
into a state of contentment on a hill near Okehazama. As the
Imagawa army celebrated a pre-victory party, out of their armor and
away from their weapons, the Oda army mounted a suprise attack under
the cover of rain to mask the sound of their approaching Heavy Cavalry.
"Hey, you can't do that!"
Oda deceived Imagawa into a false sense of victory, drawing him into
his territory where he could lay a trap. Oda then used the
environment which he had superior knowledge of to attack Imagawa
without Imagawa realizing Oda was approaching. Oda attacked
Imagawa in a surprise attack (warriors of the time would call it
dishonorable) while Imagawa was unarmed and unarmored and unprepared
for battle.
The end result was that Oda defeated the Imagawa army of ten
times his number, killed Imagawa Yoshimoto, and set the Imagawa to its
demise. Imagawa, set in his mind that everybody was bound to the
same rules of warfare, allowed Oda to attack him unprepared and was
defeated.
This is just another example of using an opponent's belief that all
parties are bound to the same rules of warfare to defeat him. In
human history, it has happened time and time over.
"Damn, Batukhan.
I can't believe they keep falling for that."
When the Golden Horde attacked Europe in the 1300's, they would ride
forward and entice the European Knights to charge and then feint a retreat
while firing their compound bows over their shoulders -- cutting the
Knights to pieces. The Knights only knew and were bound by their
rules of warfare and Europe would have fallen completely if Ghengis
Khan had not died, causing the Golden Horde to follow custom and return
to their capital.
"Dishonorable? Moi?
But who's using your flag as toilet paper?"
When Wellington fought Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 at the end of the
Napoleonic Wars, Wellington broke with the rules of warfare and refused
to stand his men in a line against Napoleon's army. Rules of
warfare (as well as the idea of honor) at the time dictated that men stand shoulder to shoulder in the
open and exchange volleys until the lines broke and a bayonet charge
was ordered. Instead, Wellington, ountumbered by a few but
immensely outclassed by Napoleon's veteran army and his superiority in
artillery, ordered his men behind the low hills to conceal his army's
movements and provide protection against French artillery. With
Napoleon not truly knowing Wellington's battle lines, he could not
mount an effective offense because he never knew if he was about to
order his Old Guard over a hill and find them staring into ten-thousand
rifles.
Jihad? Jihadoe? It's just a matter of semantics.
When Al-Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11, 2001... they
too chose to take advantage of the United States believing that they
were untouchable in war and that all parties followed the same rules of
warfare. The western world calls it "Terror". The Islamic
world calls it "Jihad". This is a matter of semantics that mean
"War."
The United States was blindsided because they didn't think an attack
could come in the form of hijacked airliners against civilian targets
because the United States believed that warring factions should play
fair -- if the United States would not conduct such an attack, nobody
else would.
The saddest thing about this is that the United States has already been
struck this way, but is still not preparing an adequate defensive
strategy toward this new form of warfare. Al-Qaeda will strike
again and again until the United States realizes that they are fighting
bound.
Rome and its modern equal.
In the year 9 (yes, 9AD), Germanic tribes under Arminius heavily
outclassed and
outnumbered by the Roman war machine completely annihilated three Roman
legions (17th, 18th, 19th Legions) in the Teutoburg forest under
Publius Quinctilius Varus. The Romans
believed they were invincible, and in fact they were practically
invincible in formal, conventional warfare (much as the United States
is today). Arminius lured the Roman Legions (totalling about 30,000
to 40,000 into the Teutoburg forest knowing they would spread out into
a thin line -- and then attacked at the most vulnerable points.
The Romans, who could not be defeated when fighting in on open ground
or in formal warfare, were cut to pieces by Germanic warriors attacking
out of the cover of the forest from both sides of the Roman line.
History, time and time again has shown that the mighty falls when they
are bound by conventional thinking and by rules of warfare that they
believe every party is bound to... when in fact, the rule is nothing
but illusion and conventional thinking is nothing but a limit to the
strategy of war and the tactics of the fight.
Lesson:
Know your enemy, decieve your enemy, be flexible to your enemy, escape
from the bounds of conventional thinking... and you will destroy your
enemy.
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Q: Do you know why I smoke Mild Sevens?
A: I don't. Fucking lungs are killing me now.
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| Man, I'm fucking sore.
I was going to attack the volcano again today, but I know better.
The volcanic crater I'm running up and down is on the coastline, so the
views are awesome. It's an excellent workout area. Not only
can I run the volcano (the most difficult part), but I can take a nice
(not so steep) run along the coastal road, I can take a swim at a
nearby beach, and as I discovered yesterday, I can work out at an
outdoor training area just a few hundred feet from the entrance to the
caldera.
I was going to work out there afterwards, but I think it would be
better for my body to be able to completely recuperate after
yesterday. I know I could work other muscle groups, but I'd
rather let myself completely heal before going at anything again.
I didn't expect to be this sore today. I must be really
out of shape. Back when I was still fighting, my training partner
and I would run up and down the volcanic crater and then do weight
training and then either go to class or meet up with some of the guys
for a sparring session at the house. And at the end of the day,
we'd be exhausted but we'd be recovered for another round the very next
morning.
Now? I take a brisk walk up to the summit, and now I'm incapacitated.
The good news? Even though I found myself stressed out yesterday,
I didn't light up a cigarette. Yesterday showed me how
detrimental smoking is to fitness, and that if I'm going to be serious
about this re-training and getting back into MMA, I'm going to have to
quit smoking. More good news is that I drank an amazing four
liters (about 136oz) of pure water yesterday. Water is
life. I also managed to lose half a pound... whatever that means.
The bad news? I consumed probably about the 120% of my normal
daily caloric intake. Bad. I mean, the stuff I ate was of
better quality than the junk I would normally eat... but still. I
need to adjust the caloric intake down, or at least if I'm going to
keep it the same I need to adjust the quality and quantities.
More proteins, less fats. Less processed stuff.
Anyway.
Fucking Xyience. Talk about advertising. You know, for a
company that has it's logo in the middle of the UFC octagon and all
over Spike TV and every MMA event I've ever seen (plus, Rachelle Leah
is hot), they don't make much product. It's a good thing because
I actually found myself wandering back into a GNC after having not been
in one for a good three years just to look for their products.
If they made a protein supplement, I would have bought it. Just
because their advertising worked on me. I'm not so interested in
that NOX-CG3 stuff. I'm not even sure what it is. But their
advertising is making me want to try it. Crazy. Must.
Stop. Watching. TV.
What I do know is that I need to do some creatine loading, either by
taking a supplement or by eating an assload of red meat. Hitting
that wall so quickly when I ran out of natural creatine in my body --
that was not fun. I never really had a problem with any of the
creatine mixes I've taken in the past -- only that it made me piss like
a racehorse all the time. I think I might go that way, as much as
eating a 32oz Porterhouse every day appeals to me. (Yay Costco).
I need to start researching schools around here again. The old
Shooto school is gone, and the old Muay Thai school is way gone (it
closed down even before I left the state). I'm not really sure
what direction I want to go in -- only that I want to get out of this
rut and go somewhere.
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