History repeats itself

I am by no means a historian, just merely someone who loves reading military history and who is always looking to apply this past knowledge into my martial arts training and thinking.

I often read Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ and Miyamoto Musash’ s ‘Book of Five Rings’, two books which are must reads for every martial arts practitioner. Many ideas about the application of these books have been put forward because of the direct martial links they have. I too am writing my ideas based on these two books, however just lately I have come to see many links with other examples of famous battles, from ancient times to our own, in cultures we don’t always associate with martial arts.

Something I have noticed is that the reoccurring patterns and the principles followed clearly seem to reflect strong similarities to the application of our Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun ‘Five Principles of Centre Line’.

Let’s explore some of these parallels by reflecting on how Chu Sau Lei Five Principles of Centre enable us to deconstruct the strategies and outcomes of some key battles from history. By keeping to this natural order of events I can efficiently show how much is still the same as it was hundreds of years ago. As the saying goes, ‘He has no real power without structure if he is one or if he is many!’ So, the skills we use in our Five Principles of Combat are more universal than one might realise.

Firstly, let’s remind ourselves of our Five Principles of Centre.

1. Assuming Structure
We must have our own Body Structure (dynamic control of the centre of gravity and balance)

2. Intercepting:
We must intercept the attack or have control of the line of power between ourselves and our opponent in various ways.

3. Breaking the Opponent’s structure.
We must break and control the opponent’s Body Structure by uprooting and controlling their balance.

4. Chasing.
We must retain Body Structure and exert pressure by controlling the opponent’s centre.

5. Adjustment.
We must feel and have enough awareness so that we can change at will to maintain pressure and keep control. Sensitivity of movement is the key. Without it we will not be able to feel our opponent’s use of movement and be able to adjust to keep him off balance.

Why do we need to have Principles of Centre? Well if we don’t have intention when in combat to cover various situations, then when it goes wrong what do we do?

“No study is possible on the battlefield” – Marshal Foch

We only have time before or after (if we’re still here!) to plan or assess strategies. So, it follows that we must have a strong intention of our plans in combat.

Lessons from classical times.
To write on these campaigns in detail would take a good few books, more than a few, so I will merely explore a couple of famous battles that show not much has changed in terms of hand to hand martial arts strategies. I will not dwell on the whole battle as again it’s not the point of the article nor do we have the necessary space. I will just give some commentary which relates to areas which we can see within our martial arts training.

Napoleon told all soldiers that had aspirations of becoming successful generals to read and learn the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal and Caesar, saying ‘This is the only way to become a great captain and fathom the secrets of the art’.

So with that in mind let’s look back in time at these great men and their famous victories.

Alexander the Great
A perfect example of how our Five Principles of Centre can be seen is in one of the most successful generals of classical times, Alexander the Great.

Alexander was schooled by the great Aristotle and was a bright student. He studied widely and had a love for learning and reading. He was inspired by Homer’s Iliad and re- read it often. His mother was an Epiriot princess who traced her descent from Achilles, the Greek hero. It was to be an inspiration to him in many ways. With his father’s ancestor being Hercules, it must have given the young Alexander something to live up to!

Let’s look at the way Alexander used the very well organised and trained army he inherited from his father Phillip of Macedon, in terms of our Five Principles.

1. Assuming Structure: Alexander’s Macedonian force was well trained, experienced and disciplined. They had strong front lines in the phalanx formation, like a porcupine of pikes facing the enemy.
2. Intercepting: He had a strong cavalry that he would often lead the battle. The most prestigious of the mounted troops were the hetairoi or companions. The cavalry were mobile and could be used to attack open flanks and break up and work down the opponent’s line. They would often attack a weak part of the front line in a wedge formation to pry open a flank.
3. Breaking the Opponent’s structure.
The phalanx was marshaled in the centre. The hoplites (infantry soldiers) were armed with nine foot spears and the Macedonian Phalanx with pikes of 14 feet or more. The phalanx was there to shock and break lines of enemy infantry and to open flanks. The terror of its advance often would immobilise the enemy. It could be use like a battering ram to break the enemy front line.
4. Chasing.
The phalanx he could pin the enemy, whilst at the same time being capable of rapid movement and where possible quick manoeuvrability on even ground. With the cavalry he could keep the pressure on and keep the enemy’s structure from gaining strength. With his light armed troops he could then also maintain his attack.
5. Adjustment.
Alexander had a very close group of loyal generals. Due to nature of these relationships, a great strength of understanding of intention in battle had developed. This resulted in a feeling of awareness so they could act as one and could change at will to maintain pressure and keep control.

Adjustment in combat – two historical models
In this part of the article I would like to highlight how important the Adjustment phase in combat really is. Some subscribe to the idea that in a fight you don’t have time to think so you should just go straight in all guns blazing (or sword blades flashing). Now, I’m not saying that won’t work and indeed, it is part of the Five Phases in Centre: assuming structure, intercepting, breaking the opponent’s structure, chasing him and finishing him off. But what if he’s a good fighter or a tough guy and he can take some punishment? Then he may try to smother your attack or counterattack even while being hit. It happens! Then you need the skill to adjust and regain or keep control of your opponent. This is where understanding Body Structure is the key. Without that understanding you will not feel the changes that you should and therefore your reaction will be based about counter reaction rather than control

This is different to thinking when fighting. This is where you feel changes to the structures you have developed and are trained to understand minute triggers and signs. So, in fact you have developed a radar system to identify small changes in the space you control. You are then able to act with what seems to be no conscious thought at all.

Julius Caesar
The great Roman general’s battle of the Sanbre was a classic example of the way in which good Adjustment skills can save the day: Romans would normally entrench a camp site and had set about doing so. They would also have a cover of force while doing so, but this time Caesar omitted this as cavalry were present which was probably thought enough. It was an error of judgement.

The Nervii attacked from the woods in an ambush as the rest of Caesar’s legions were reaching their camping ground. The cavalry panicked and with this the legions became confused in the chaos. In the end, it would be his 10th Legion that would save the day. They were Caesar’s hardcore veterans who where highly disciplined. They grasped hold of the situation and with that, things turned around.
Caesar said he had ‘everything to do at one moment’. So it was the strong Structure and good Adjustment skills that worked for him. As the 10th Legion was experienced enough to know what Caesar would have them do.

On the question of Intercepting, let’s look at the experience of another famous soldier from antiquity.

Hannibal
Hannibal was a genius of warfare who also had excellent commanders who worked well together. The Lion’s Brood was what Hannibal and his brothers were known as. Hannibal’s cavalry were amongst the most skilful of his time and good cavalry means good mobility. In the language of our Principles, they were very able at Chasing and Adjusting.

Events at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC show what can happen if you rush in to Intercept the opponent without really Breaking the Opponent’s Structure and become over committed so that you have no opportunity for Adjustment.

Rome’s largest army to date was double that of Hannibal. The Romans tried to break through Hannibal’s centre. It was a trap set by Hannibal. He allowed the Romans to back up his centre front line, while his infantry on the wings projected on either side enveloping the Roman legions. They were unwittingly caught in a sort of pincer movement. Hannibal’s collapsing centre drew in the Romans. The Roman cavalry where routed by Hannibal’s own. They then became surrounded as Hannibal’s heavy cavalry completed the trap and attacked the rear. They where slaughtered. Up to 70,000 Romans where said to have been lost as against 6,000 of Hannibal’s men.

To apply this model to our own, even when attacking the centre we must be aware of and sensitive to every change. It also shows the cohesive qualities of Hannibal’s troops, their disciplined sensitivity and their perfect ability to Adjust to the pressure of attack from the Roman legions.

Making Sense of the Past, Making Sense of the Present
So what do we draw from these examples of famous victories? Some people will say you don’t have time to think in a fight, therefore you must just rush in, but I don’t think that’s the whole picture. I also hear people say it must be simple and direct, but I often think most are being too overly simplistic when using that phrase.

When I look at what they are doing I see they have just removed many options in order to have less to think about. As we have seen throughout history, the key has been to be able to adjust at the right time to keep control of ones Body Structure. It is not just simple and direct. If you become overly simplistic, then you become predictable. To be at a stage where you can act without thought and you experience no mind but void, takes much training. Being simple and direct really comes from mastery of the art in which you train, that is, knowledge of everything about it at every level. It is only when you have such a rich understanding that it appears to be simple and direct. You can see very easily the answer to the puzzle that has been given to you. Your answer comes from your programmed subconscious mind that is programmed by hours of training your conscious mind. When both become more balanced, you can relax and let yourself feel the correct answer to your problem. You often then see it after you have done it, as if you saw it before it happened. This is the Voidness gained, which to the outsider can be misinterpreted as appearing simple. Check out a ballet dancer or a gymnast and watch how simple and easy they make it look, then have a go. Maybe it is harder than it looks!

So the Adjustment phase is a very important part of the 5 Phases of Centre as it holds everything together and keeps the intention focused in the right direction.

Training Tip: Learn from everything. If something is correct or incorrect, it will still have a lesson for us. Do not become brainwashed into thinking just because you have done something for a long time that it is always going to work or is always right. Be flexible and welcome change.