The Art of War

1. Strategic Assessments

a. Like in Chess, remain two steps ahead of your opponent.

b. The Tao = Yin/Yang; Push/Pull.

2. Waging War

a. War is like fire, if you don’t put it out soon, it will burn itself out along with everything in its

path. Time “dulls forces and blunts your edge.”

b. Use the enemy to defeat the enemy.

3. Planning a Siege (Offensive)

a. The Tao is to “Accomplish the most by doing the least.”

b. The True Art of War is based on peace; subduing the enemy without war is the pinnacle of

excellence.

c. If you know yourself and you know your enemy, you’re assured to have a swift victory.

d. How to fight (disease): Prevent contact with disease (thwart the enemies’ plans); once you

have it, prevent contagion of others (destroy the enemies’ alliances); if others have the

disease, attack the disease (engage in battle and attack the army); if no solution left, you

must eliminate the diseased subject (as a last resort you must siege the city and eliminate

it).

e. The Art of War is about knowing what to do and when to do it, and about knowing what not

to do and when not to do it.

4. Military Formation

a. Invincibility is a matter of defense; vulnerability is a matter of attack.

5. Strategic Military Power

a. A warrior is like a hunter: he guides the prey to the perfect ambush.

b. Momentum, when well-staged, created an unstoppable force – completely independent of

the object subjected to it.

6. Emptiness and Fullness (The Push and the Pull)

a. Meet fullness with emptiness and meet emptiness with fullness.

b. To win a war you must turn a “full” enemy into an empty one; tire them, starve them, and

conquer them.

c. When someone excels in attacking, the enemy doesn’t know where to mount his defense;

when someone excels in defense, the enemy doesn’t know where to mount his attack.

d. To win, you must divide the enemy’s fullness into nothing, and conceal your fullness to

seem like nothing.

7. Military Combat

a. The best way to ambush an army is to surround them and leave them only one way out

because an army without a way out will fight to the death.

8. Adaptation

a. A good leader is able to adapt at a moment’s notice and trade momentary convenience for

permanent victory.

9. Maneuvering the Army

a. Patience is a virtue of victory. The only good moment to attack is the right moment.

b. Beware of what seems too easy. To lower your guard is to grant victory to your opponent.

10. Configurations of Terrain (The Situation)

a. Try to gain advantage of the situation. If you can’t do so and your enemy beats you to it,

then prepare accordingly.

b. Victory depends on knowing yourself, knowing your opponent and knowing the situation.

c. Love your people and treat them well for they will serve you. However, beware of making

your love [for them] your greatest weakness.

11. Terrain

a. In war, fear is a source of unity and thus a source of strength.

b. To control a strong(er) enemy, take from them what they love.

c. A desperate opponent is more likely to seek to die fighting. To be victorious, one must

defeat the enemy swiftly to give them no time to panic.

d. The Tao of the general/leader is to be like an electron: Once its position is known, it has

already changed.

12. Incendiary Attacks

a. Water gives life, fire brings death. Give one and withhold the other to ensure victory.

b. Beware of acting on emotions; emotions can be reversed, but death and defeat cannot.

13. On the Use of Spies

a. A long war cannot be won by either party. The cost cannot be offset, for invaluable things –

loyalty, lives, provisions, and time, among many others – are surely lost.

b. Like in martial arts, the Art of War is to know how to use the enemy’s moves/force against

themselves.

c. To be victorious, it is your job to ensure you know well and to ensure the enemy only knows

wrong.