The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. ~ Sun Tzu

I used to be a hot-head. In my early twenties, my ego caused me to find myself in scuffles at the drop of the wrong word. Naturally, there was usually a woman around, and she was the cause of the fight. Either the dude was disrespectful to my girl, or there was a beef over a particular girl. The usual macho-man nonsense.

During the course of this phase, I battled some beasts. Nearly every opponent towered over me. Because of this, my fear of fighting gradually subsided. I knew that I would be a formidable opponent to whomever decided to challenge me to a duel. And the funny thing is this: Once you lose your fear of fighting any given opponent, you also lose your desire to fight.

You see, humans who find themselves in physical altercations are merely trying to prove to themselves (and others) that they aren't afraid. The only reason one would feel compelled to "prove" they weren't afraid is if they had some fear or doubt about their ability to defeat a particular opponent.

Hence, they decide to fight, in order to make this "lack of fear" known. And when you put alcohol into the mix, one's ability to rationally "use his mind" to defeat the opponent without fighting becomes much more challenging.

Enter Drunk Octopus.



Just look at Drunk Octupus' eyes. He's definitely had one-too-many. The alcohol has supercharged his ego, and now he feels invincible. However, Drunk Octopus has forgotten that alcohol slows the body's reflexes. It also slows the mind. He has now put himself in the position to lose two different battles. The first being the battle of the mind. Drunk Octopus won't be able to think rationally, nor resist the ego's temptation to avoid a physical confrontation. When you choose to engage in a physical altercation, you put yourself at serious risk for a number of life-changing consequences.

• Permanent bodily harm to yourself or others
• Financial liability to anyone who becomes injured based on your actions
• Incarceration — which could lead to a loss of job and income
• Permanent stain on your criminal record — leading to fewer opportunities
  

This list of possible negative outcomes goes on and on.

The second battle Drunk Octopus stands to lose is the physical one. Because of his slowed reactions (due to the alcohol) he has dramatically increased his chances of being seriously injured during the fight.

That's why it's of the utmost importance to try and avoid physical altercations. Bruce Lee, one of my favorite mentors, and one of the most advanced Martial Artists to ever walk the planet, often spoke and wrote about the idea being projected by Sun Tzu. He called it the "Art of Fighting Without Fighting," and he captured the idea in his movie Enter The Dragon.

Enjoy the clip below.

Basically, there was a "hot-tempered" knucklehead who felt he was a better fighter than Lee. He kept picking with Lee, until he finally agreed to a duel. They were both on a big boat at the time, so Lee tells the bully he can only demonstrate his style, which he explains is "The Art of Fighting Without Fighting" while on a nearby island — which would give them more room.

The bully agrees to go to the island in order to engage Lee in battle.

Lee then asks the bully to get into a dinghy (smaller boat) and begins to lower him down into the water. Lee is supposed to, then, lower himself into the boat, where they will sail to the island for the duel. After the dinghy and bully are safely in the water, Lee then begins releasing the rope, leaving the stunned bully to float off into the sea — all by himself.

Bully defeated. The art of fighting without fighting.

This is best administered with a sober mindset. =)

Let the wisdom in today's blog remind you to always try to defeat your opponents with your mind — not your muscle.

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