Principles of War: Self Analysis - Mass

I’m analyzing my martial arts skills, capabilities, and personal style through the lens of the Principles of War as defined in U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-0 starting on page 4-11. My commentaries on the definitions are found through the links below.

Mass
Objective
Offensive
Surprise
Economy of Force
Maneuver
Unity of Command
Security
Simplicity

The question is; how does my personal martial arts style stack up against the Principle of War - Mass?

“Concentrate the effects of combat power at the decisive place and time.”

Decisive Time:
In a self defense situation the decisive time is NOW. Perhaps the word time in the definition above should be understood as “timing”. The self defense situation will consume seconds, perhaps minutes, but rarely hours.

Timing then refers to the coordination of your technique with the ebb and flow of your opponent’s movements. I’m a natural counter-puncher - using the word loosely – largely because my timing is quite good. I can launch a hand strike, kick, or Judo throw to take advantage of uki’s (the opponent’s) motion with high confidence of success.

My strong tendency to fight as a counter-puncher is a real disadvantage in tournament competition where aggressiveness is rewarded and defensiveness penalized. However, in self defense it can be an advantage, at least in the immediate stage of a confrontation. So, I think I score well on the “decisive time” portion of the definition. I’ll give myself a “B”.

Decisive Place:
The “decisive place” must be interpreted as the target that, if successfully attacked, is most likely to achieve the goal of self defense; survival with minimum injury for yourself and your loved ones.

As a “counter-puncher” I take the target of opportunity - not a target I’ve selected as THE decisive objective required to defeat the opponent or defuse the situation. By training, I actively look for an opportunity to kick uki’s knee or throw him with harai goshi (thereby hitting him with the parking lot).

But, I’m really not very good at creating an opening to attack a desired target; another weakness in tournament competition. Oh, I can do it against less skilled opponents. And, if my opponent is virtually untrained, I can do it at will. But, against an opponent of comparable or higher skill – it’s simply a low probability outcome.

So, I have to grade myself poorly on the “decisive place” portion of the definition of Mass; call it a “D”.

Concentrate the Effects of Combat Power:
The third and last element of Mass is “concentrate the effects of combat power”. I interpret this for the self defense situation to mean – execute your attack with full power. In other words, fully commit to your technique.

I’ve found that my willingness to fully commit to a technique is directly related to my confidence in the technique. Consequently, I can and will fully commit to any one of my favorite techniques, sidekick, harai goshi, o-soto gari, or an elbow strike. I’m less willing to commit to other techniques, such as most punches, o-goshi, ippon seoi nage, or koto gaiashi.

But, under attack, I’m unlikely to attempt a technique that isn’t one of my favorites that I have confidence in.

In competition and in the dojo, I try many techniques besides my favorites. And, occasionally, they work for me, but when things get tight I go to my basics. With those I can fully commit.

Since this element of the definition is such a mixed bag, I have to rate myself as mediocre on “concentrate the effects of combat power”. I’ll give myself a “C”.

Overall Grade:
I’ve graded myself a “B” for “decisive time”; a “D” for “decisive place”; and a “C” for “concentrating the effects of combat power”. Overall, then my grade for the Principle of War: Mass is a “C”.

My take-away from this analysis is this: I want to develop a strategy and tactics for creating an opening to attack the “decisive place”. This will significantly improve my self defense capability. It wouldn’t hurt for competition either!

Next I’ll grade myself on the Principle of War: Objective.

Link to the Martial Arts Training Report: The Principles of War