Principles of War: Self Analysis – Maneuver

I’m analyzing my martial arts skills, capabilities, and style through the lens of the Principles of War as defined in U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-0. My commentaries on each principle are available through the links below.

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

So far I’ve graded my personal martial arts style as follows:

Mass - a "C"
Objective - a "B"
Offensive - a "B"
Surprise - an "A"
Economy of Force - an "A"

This time I’ll grade myself on the Principle of War: Maneuver.

Place the enemy in a disadvantageous position through the flexible application of combat power.

Judo is about angles, leverage, and kuzushi (taking your opponents balance). Then it’s about taking advantage of the enemy’s disadvantageous position to finish him.

Neko Ryu Goshin Jitsu includes all of that and it’s also about position – moving to avoid the opponent’s circle of power while putting him inside your own. Then it’s about the vicious application of a strike, lock, choke or throw taking advantage of the enemy’s disadvantageous position to finish him.

So, my system is extremely aligned with the Principle of War: Maneuver. The problem is my tendency to counter-punch. This tendency gives away the initiative to the enemy and limits my flexibility in purposefully putting him in a disadvantageous position.

This is not the fault of my training or of the Martial Arts I practice. It’s a weakness in my application of the Martial Arts.

Still, it’s not all bad. I’ll move to get off line. I’ll keep moving to make the opponent keep moving. I’ll feint and occasionally attack as I wait for the opportunity to counter and put him away.

If I were grading Neko Ryu I’d give the style an “A”. However, I’m grading MY style. My application of Neko Ryu & Judo gets a “C” for the Principle of War: Maneuver.

I also note another aspect of my personal martial arts style that I need to improve. I need to work on maneuvering my opponent into a disadvantageous position.

In the next post I’ll grade myself on the Principle of War: Unity of Command.

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