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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
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Refusing to Fight Force with Force
By Phil Elmore
You really shouldnt fight force with force.
I can hear the incredulous gasps now. What? some readers may be asking.
Has The Martialist adopted the self-destructive philosophy of pacifism?
Anthony (left) is much smaller
than Don (right). He doesn’t
try to muscle through Don by using
force-on-force.
Rest easy, friends. While the initial reaction to such a statement is, quite
rightly, scorn and skepticism, I dont mean that assertion the way it might
sound.
Refusing to fight force with force means recognizing a simple concept. In a
contest of muscle, the stronger contestant will always win. I dont know about
you, but even as a big guy I know there will always be people who are bigger.
I dont want to try to muscle my way through larger, stronger attackers if
there is a better way. To look at it from the perspective of this publication,
a force-on-force contest of strength is a fair fight. I dont want a fair
fight. I want an unfair advantage. I want to win as pragmatically as possible.
Bruce Lee exhorted us to be like water. Water seeks the path of least
resistance. Its force is dissipated when it strikes a stronger barrier, but
its current is devastating as it seeks its way around.
A Chinese saying we are taught in my Wing Chun school sums up this concept in
more detail: Lui lao hui soong. Lut sao jik chung. Translated loosely,
this means, Receive what comes, accompany what leaves. Charge straight when
free. These simple words embody the fighting principles of the
close-combative art of Wing Chun. They are sound principles for any fighter.
Well examine each component in turn.
The framed text in the upper left corner of this
photo contains
the words Lui lao hui soong. Lut sao jik chung.
Receive what comes means absorbing or slipping a blow rather
than trying to muscle through it, taking its brunt without flexibility. If I
try to block a swing with a baseball bat using a simple Karate upper block,
Ive tried to fight force with force and Im going to lose the contest. To
receive what comes, by contrast, the defender would turn with the blow,
guiding the weapon past the body rather than crashing against it.
To accompany what leaves, then, is to exert control or guidance over attacks
thus slipped or evade. If I give my baseball bat-wielding attacker a vicious
pull after avoiding his strike, helping him on his way to an abrupt meeting
with the floor, I have accompanied him in leaving me.
To charge straight when free is the essence of any direct, effective
fighting art. If the opponent leaves an opening, you take it, blasting through
holes in his guard and overwhelming him.
To use the baseball bat example again, lets say I was slow in dealing with
the initial attack, which is why my attacker was able to perform a swing.
Lets say I stupidly allow him to stand and attack again. When he gets to his
feet and then cocks his bat back, he has opened his center. There is no
barrier between him and me. I charge straight, bringing the fight to him,
jamming his bat arm and counterattacking ruthlessly.
This extended example is a specific application of broad
trinity of principles. These three concepts can be applied to any situation.
Refusing to fight force with force is not a passive refusal to use force.
Rather, it is the recognition that the collision of an immovable object with
an unstoppable force produces only a standoff. Refusing to fight fairly means
circumventing your attackers strongest attacks and defenses to exploit both
your own strengths and his weaknesses.
To receive what comes is to evade an attack you cannot meet directly. To
accompany what leaves is to redirect an attackers energy, using physics
against your foe. To charge straight when free is to attack when and where
your opponent is vulnerable, preempting his attack whenever possible.
Apply these principles to personal combat and you will increase your odds of
success.