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“Goal: High operational tempo and the rapid exploitation of opportunity.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF and the next in line for recognition along side luminaries of the art of war such as Musashi and Sun Tzu. Temp is speed and speed is in the tempo and both are about speeding up our loop to be inside the loop of our adversary’s. This is what I am receiving in my studies of Boyd’s Patterns of Conflict, i.e., his Art of War. No where else to this day have I felt such enormous pride in what a person and his acolytes have done in a substantive way toward the future of our military might, i.e., only if those in charge would listen.
In my mediocre way I attribute such insight into the sights toward better karate and martial arts for self-defense. As I contemplate his saying, as highlighted above, I can now see how other such professionals of the SD communities have exemplified this goal for their teachings also talk about the tempo and rapidity of exploitation of opportunities or as one professional said, “gifts.”
Gifts as in those opportunities presented unbeknownst to the adversary that give you the advantage and a hand up against their attacks. The types of gifts that through orientation by observation and decision create the inspirational opportunities to achieve your goals.
Like the art of war and the book of five rings, although meant to be a tome of war is such that it transcends war itself and teaches us those patterns of everyday conflict and violence to find and achieve our every day goals be it in business or in karate and martial arts self-defense.
“Understand intent, focus on the goals, not the atomistic of taking the hill and holding it, and what ever is necessary to fulfill the goal.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF in my initial thoughts leads me toward a concerted effort to study, learn, understand and utilize all the intelligence possible on the subject of my goals. In this case, karate and martial arts for self-defense. It speaks also to the dogma set ways that the current karate, martial arts and self-defense are taught, mired down in ancient ways that are not adequate to the modern way of conflict and violence.
Like the current dogma of technique based drill trained linear type of practice, training and application reminiscent of the WWI model of lining up, synchronization of movement and a forward head on charge into enemy fire dependent on greater numbers where the last man standing indicates who won the war. In KMA&SD one person cannot achieve survival standing toe-to-toe hoping strength, size and speed alone with bring survival, success and a winning goal.
To understand requires concerted effort and due diligence to gather, collate and understand the intelligence of the enemy, etc. not collecting a bunch of techniques, basics and kata learned and practiced out of the scope of violent conflict and attacks. Forget the technique(s) of the attack, focus on the goal of survival through the tempo/rhythm and speed of applied methods of ever rapidly changing methodologies to cause your adversary to lose even before the first blow.
“It is about an implicit model of training and practice over a more explicit (not fast enough) technique model.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, speaks as an addendum to the recent comments in that to create an implicit model of action is faster than to rely on an explicit, thus much slower, model of action through a technique-to-technique based drill practice without the other aspects that make things work.
“Freedom of action!” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, is to my way of thinking, thinking outside the box but while ignoring that a box is also a obstacle to freedom of mind and freedom of action. The only way to achieve freedom of action is to remove any set requirements toward any type of action and allow actions to come from an instinctual procedural sub-routine and function programming effort in an appropriate teaching, training, and practice model supplemented by experience - both training and reality oriented. This involves a analytical and synthesis model of knowledge acquisition, study, understanding, creativity and creation of a variety of things all changing accordingly and spontaneously to the situation and stimuli of the moment.
“Trust as a moral force to bind the group into an organic whole.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, this tells me that a trust bond between mentors/teachers and students/practitioners is critical in the training and practice of an organic whole such as karate for self-defense. Trust being the operative word where in a basic trust the teachers and students have a trust in one another that discards any need to micro-manage teachings so that each can trust in the others ability to create from the teachings appropriate results in achieving goals, of each individual.
“Use actions that increase menace, uncertainty, and chaos in the adversary.“ - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, and this makes me think of the tempo and speed of applied methodologies of a principled based application so that the adversary shortens his line, you lengthen yours and that means staying inside the adversary’s loop achieving your goals. This is done by, “Increase initiative, adaptability, and harmony,” as quoted in patterns of conflict by Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF.
“Avoid attrition of the slugfest model of self-defense. Use rapidly changing, free form tactics for weak spots rather than concentrating on power at selected targets.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, yet this is exactly what I was originally taught and thought was self-defense, to engage in a slugfest and then use my size, strength and mind-set to dominate and win. Oh what a wicked web we create when we first deceive - ourselves. In truth, rapid change, free form multiple principled based methodologies and targeting the weaknesses of the adversary’s mind seems the way to go. That is why I believe Colonel Boyd said, “Attack the mind of the adversary.”
“Once you start the process, it must not slow. It must continue and accelerate. Success is a trap for the beginner who properly implements the OODA, they are amazed at the success, they pause to contemplate that success in wonder and look to other things instead of pressing the process faster and faster till the goals are reached.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, and I see this as that “Oh Shit” moment that if not addressed in training and practice, appropriate training and practice, leads to hesitation, disrupted processes and the slowing of the tempo making you vulnerable and susceptible to the freeze.
Many of the professionals have written that the first step in self-defense, fighting and combat is the hardest and takes the most will-power. In my mind that means overcoming social conditioning and the very instincts humans use to protect the species, we have a most difficult time doing grave harm to one another let alone causing death. Train to trigger the go button, the actions needed, train to never hesitate and to go till the job is done and make sure you train to use the tempo and increase the rapidity of applying methodologies to the adversary. Train to disrupt the adversary’s loop, to remain inside their loop time line and to shorten your line. Don’t spend energy and mind-state/set on success or winning or another thing, remain steadfast and focused on your real goals - end the conflict and violence quickly.
“Slice your training and practice of the same methods to see them from a different direction and thus provide another view of the same point.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, this is about analysis and synthesis of what you already know to things you need to know and apply, it is about encoding procedural sub-routine and functional memories of our inner perceived world so we can enable and use a faster loop through time compression, etc.
“Disorient then follow up with an attack.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, brings to mind the concept and principle of yin-yang, i.e., disorientation-orientation of the body-cycle. In the process of getting inside the adversary’s loop you tend to cause his disorientation and your effective use of the boyd-cycle through orientation = observations + decisions achieves that and many other goals.
“TO BE or TO DO?” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF. Is a philosophical and strategic credo Colonel Boyd used in everything he did, every job done, and every decision he could influence. He believed that it was more important to do the right thing over being promoted. In my limited understanding and toward my self-defense karate and martial arts discipline I see this as “Do you want to stroke your ego with belts and accolades or do you what to do what is right?” It was about personal choice, you have to make that choice as to what kind of person you are going to be and become. You have two paths and you have to choose the path to follow. One leads to all the attributes toward fame, recognition and being a group member or it can be about your humility, professionalism, expertise, proficiency, knowledge and understanding. In either case you have to conduct yourself in a certain way. Go along with the system and show that you are a team player or do things that are truly significant for your discipline fully knowing and accepting that the rewards will be very personal and those from others like getting kicked in the stomach because you dare to cross swords with the status quo, the party line and so on. You cannot travel both paths, choose and choose wisely. You have to decide, “Do you want to the a man of distinction or do you want to do things that really influence the shape of the discipline/system/community, etc.?” It comes down to, “To be or to do, that is the question!”
“Jar your students out of complacency and into thinking on their own.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF. and this means to me in the karate and martial arts for self-defense community to get rid of the management type instruction of the system and move more into the teaching leadership type instruction where trust and the allowing of free thought and creative mind-sets to dominate the goals, tactics, and strategies.
“STUDIES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR REVEAL THAT THE ACTIONS WE UNDERTAKE AS INDIVIDUALS ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO SURVIVAL, MORE IMPORTANTLY, SURVIVAL ON OUR OWN TERMS. OUR GOAL AS INDIVIDUALS IS THE INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL IN THIS MANNER WHERE OUR GOAL, AS INDIVIDUALS, IS TO IMPROVE OUR CAPACITY FOR INDEPENDENT ACTION. THE DEGREE TO WHICH WE COOPERATE, OR COMPETE, WITH OTHERS, IS DRIVEN BY THE NEED TO SATISFY THIS BASIC GOAL (INDIVIDUAL INDEPENDENT ACTION).” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF (deceased)
“The modern self-defense community is still dogmatically connected to the old way of fighting, i.e., relying on the idea that whoever is bigger, stronger and faster and uses the most complex technique based model will win, i.e., it in other words favors the toe-to-toe slugfest in which the winner is the last man standing.” - unknown and apropos to the very nature of modern karate and martial arts especially for self-defense, fighting (sport) and combatives (military, etc., professionals).
“Use ambiguity and deception, i.e., as did Muhammad Ali by saying, ‘Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.’” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF and I would simply provide additional quotes from the U.S. Marine publication on war-fighting. Ambiguity—to act (he must prepare for numerous possibilities and cannot prepare adequately for any one) in such a way that the enemy does not know what to expect. Deception—to convince the enemy we are going to do something other than what we are really going to do in order to induce him to act in a manner prejudicial to his own interests. I would add in the USMC’s reference to stealth as well, i.e., Stealth— to deny the enemy any knowledge of impending action.
“Timely decisions implies that we must be able to form mental concepts of observed reality, as we perceive it, and be able to change these concepts as reality itself appears to change. The concepts can then be used as decision-models for improving our capacity for independent action. How do we make such mental concepts possible? Two ways, through analysis (deduction and differentiation) and synthesis (Induction and integration).”
“Observe: sense yourself and the world around you.
Orientation, the complex set of filters of genetic heritage, cultural predisposition, personal experience, and knowledge.
Decision, review of alternative courses of action and the selection of the preferred course as a hypothesis to be tested.
Action, the testing of the decision selected by implementation.”
“Advantages in observation and orientation enable a tempo in decision-making and execution that outpace the ability of the adversary to react effectively in time.” - General Colin Gray on Boyd Cycle, his quote (starts with timely decisions quote - three combined quotations) on the OODA created by Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF and how I begin to analyze the loop or the Boyd-Cycle to understand it in general and how to understand it in the realm of self-defense regardless of the methodology used. It is very interesting in a recent source that Colonel Boyd, possibly, started out by using the term, “Sense,” making it SODA in lieu of OODA but his pragmatic sensed won the day and used, “observe.” It also makes sense as he studies the workings of the brain and the brain, our reality, is about how we take in data through our sensory systems while using our internal world perceptions in comparison, i.e., kind of like analyzing the two to create, or synthesize, a true perception of the reality that is the outside world (at least close to the outer reality world with a goal of changes that would soon achieve a true measure of reality outside our brains, our minds).
“Focus applies to time as well as to space. We must focus effects not only at the decisive location but also at the decisive moment.” - General C. C. Krulak, USMC Commandant, MCDP-1 and this adds another dimension to how karate-ka and martial artists will view, “Kime or Focus.” It should be understood that this publication comes from the original works of a Marine Officer, Michael D. Wyly, USMC retired (Michael Duncan Wyly (born c. 1939) is a retired U.S. Marine Colonel. In 1979, Colonel Wyly was head of tactics at the Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) where he, with John Boyd, introduced maneuver warfare.) who initially wrote the book on Marine Maneuver War-Fighting that later became the MSDP-1.
“Fast Transients: The speed with which you can change and adapt to the changes. (Boyd Cycle)” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, and that speaks to the ability to change, not just change for changes sake but the kind that allows you inside the adversary’s loop. Adrenal stress-conditioned reality based appropriate to the discipline type of training is the best way to cognitively train our procedural zombie sub-routine/functions memory to change in a fluid dynamic adrenal chemical dump environment toward self-defense.
“Mental concepts vs. observed reality: the outer world of reality as sensed by humans and then compared to the inner world of our preceptive memories of past experiences.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, and can you say, “Matrix!” The better encoding of sub-routines and functions along with the most correct inner world of perceptions provides you a mirror of the outer world simply because our inner world dominates the outer in the perceptions.
“In a cooperative sense, where skills and talents are pooled, the removal or overcoming of obstacles represents an improved capacity for independent action for all concerned.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, and what this means to me, initially, is the differences between social cohesion for survival along with an independent action personal survival primal/instinctual survival matrix. Instinctually, in our genes, we humans must come together into a group or tribe for survival. More so in ancient history than modern times but still necessary even if only in a family/neighborhood concept and business as in staff members collecting to survive in business by being the best and superior than a competitor. Still, we are driven, if not for survival instincts often viewed by other socially driven modern conventions like fun, party, club like associations, etc., that still are based on natures survival instincts. Even so, we humans also have a natural instinct to an independent action survival need but that is restricted by the social conditioned conventions of the tribe toward its survival. The actual needs of survival are hidden and covered by things today that make it palatable to our current gratification needs but in truth it still comes down to survival, life and how we live it for survival - in other words; survival, survival, survival.
“Boyd could interpolate among and between disparate bits of information and create from that sweeping insights. Often abstract and flowing from unconnected sources Body was found to be generally correct in his findings/insights. These intuitive leaps allowed Colonel Boyd to understand complex issues while others could grasp only in pieces.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF, and through this process of analysis and synthesis the Colonel came to understand the OODA and therefore his created art of modern war in patterns of conflict and later expanded into the discourse on winning and losing. This quote provides a koan like meme that studied and taken into its parts provides a method of thinking and analysis that creates from the ashes something new yet old, through synthesis. He also said, “Analysis and Synthesis is thinking that consists of pulling ideas apart (analysis) and while intuitively looking for connections that form a more general elaboration (synthesis) of what is taking place. The process not only creates the discourse but also represents the key to evolve the tactics, strategies, goals, and unifying themes that permit us to shape and adapt to the world around us.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF Deceased and that lead to his conceptual spiral, i.e.,
The Conceptual Spiral:
Exploration - Discovery - Innovation
Thinking - Doing - Achieving
Learning - Unlearning - Relearning
Comprehending - Shaping - Adapting
Hence a Conceptual Spiraling
for Generating:
Insight - Imagination - Initiative
The Conceptual Spiral
and that brings about a need to also study another zen koan like quote, i.e., “Boyd’s thoughts and vision was thought of as a type of ‘Western Zen’, oxymoron thought that is. It was a state of mind, learning of the oneness of things, an appreciation for fundamental insights known in Eastern philosophy as simply, ‘The Way.’ For the Colonel, the Way si not an end but a process, not a state of mind but a journey.”
“All species seek to survive and prosper by enhancing their freedom of independent action or establishing symbiotic relationships through timely adaptation to a constantly changing environment. Those who adapt will survive, those who do not, die.Those who do survive do so by being good at doing OODA loops. A concept by which fighter pilots with only seconds to make a correct decisions or die.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF that validates my premise that survival is the underlying reasons for all types of patterns that lead to all types of goals, tactics and strategies toward and from the modern art of war that is about winning and losing in the discourse provided by the good Colonel.
“To find solutions, exhaust the possibilities!” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF and leave no stone of knowledge and experience unturned. Gather together the knowledgeable and experienced, compare notes, perform analysis and then synthesize possibilities, and then create a strategy that gives birth to the tactics necessary to get-r-done.
“Swordlessness: The ability to defend oneself without a weapon, a concept that by implication means using the adversary’s weapon against him. It is used to debate, negotiate, and all other forms of competition.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF and I believe this is the path to avoidance, to achieve your goals without resorting to battle. It is about encountering an attack and using that attack to achieve defense/offense against the adversary plunging him into the darkness of confusion and indecision, locking him in his OO loop, the OO bounce, exposing his weakness of mind and taking advantage to conquer his body, mind and spirit. This is applicable to all life’s conflict in debate, in negotiations and other forms of competition, i.e., combat, fighting, defense and sports.
“Style over brawn, i.e., the importance of style and technique. You don’t have to move your arms faster or flail away to gain speed, you can move more slowly than most, but if you have perfect technique you will move faster because you will be more efficient. It takes less energy to do things right. Wasted motions, however forceful, are simply of little use. How you do things is as important as what you are trying to do. This is an insight into, ‘form and function’.” - unknown, and this locks on to principled based multiple methodology where adherence to principles maximizes the energy generation with the least amount of movement and effort. Principled applications over muscling it is how smaller folks are able to handle bigger and stronger adversary’s simply because of their principled based use of multiply methodologies in a maneuver self-fense strategy.
“Working within a closed system, over time, the amount of confusion and disorder will increase. The concept of truth is not coextensive (extending over the same space or time; corresponding exactly in extent [the degree to which something has spread; the size or scale of something; the amount to which something is or is believed to be the case]) with provability in formal systems.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF where in a loose relational connection speaks to the creation and adherence to styles and systems often created from individual efforts. Then I would add in the dogmatic adherence to remaining faithful to the exact duplication, without creative license toward change from cheng-ch’i, that tends to close the system and remove its natural tendency toward change and growth potential over the evolution of the style or system according to culture, times, and beliefs along with evolved ways in the art of war.
“Included in Boyd’s notion of Orientation is the idea of institutional memory in the form of doctrine, practices, values, and shared experiences, that guide action and that inform newcomers in the organization.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF and I have come to a greater understanding of the OODA, or Boyd’s Cycle, where orientation is far more than the linear mechanical eyes on stimuli type of orientation. Osinga’s thesis goes on to say, and I quote directly:
“Orientation, seen as a result, represents images, views, or impressions of the world shaped by genetic heritage, cultural traditions, previous experiences, and unfolding circumstances.”
“Orientation is the Schwerpunkt. It shapes the way we interact with the environment - hence orientation shapes the way we observe, the way we decide, the way we act.”
“Orientation shapes the character of present observation-orientation-decision-action loops - while these present loops shape the character of future orientation.
“Orientation is an interactive process of many sided implicit cross-referencing projections, empathies, correlations and rejections [...]. Expose individuals, with different skills and abilities, against a variety of situations - whereby each individual can observe and orient himself simultaneously to the others and to the variety of changing situations.”
“To discern what is going on we must interact in a variety of ways with our environment. We must be able to examine the world from a number of perspectives so that we can generate mental images or impressions that correspond to that world. We can’t just look at our own personal experiences or use the same mental recipes over and over again; we’ve got to look at other disciplines and activities and relate or connect them to what we know from our experiences and the strategic world we live in.”
“Boyd actually made a deliberate effort to look for possible new angles on war and strategy, it was part of his efforts to improve his own ‘orientation’.”
“Sharpening our mental capabilities is critically important if we are to adapt and survive in a complex, uncertain, constantly changing environment. Your best weapon is your mind. Learning how to think well and quickly is the first prerequisite of survival.”
“When it comes to action the thing is to: OODA’ more inconspicuously, more quickly and with more irregularity as basis to keep or gain initiative as well as shape or shift main effort; to repeatedly and unexpectedly penetrate vulnerabilities and weaknesses exposed by that effort or other effort(s) that tie up, divert, or drain-away adversary attention (and strength) elsewhere.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF: ???
“OODA Loop Schematic: In the schematic Boyd has captured and combined elements of maneuver and moral conflict, as well as an element of the description of Grand Tactics, a view on strategy, which focuses on those elements that allow complex social structures to exist and function in a purposeful way and to adapt to changes in the environment.”
- Tactics: ‘OODA’ more inconspicuously, more quickly and with more irregularity as basis to keep or gain initiative as well as shape or shift main effort; to repeatedly and unexpectedly penetrate vulnerabilities and weaknesses exposed by that effort or other effort(s) that tie up, divert, or drain-away adversary attention (and strength) elsewhere.
- Idea: Destroy adversary’s moral-mental-physical harmony, produce paralysis, and collapse his will to resist.
- Aim: Render adversary powerless by denying him the opportunity to cope with unfolding circumstances.
- Lethal effort: Tie-up, divert, or drain-away adversary attention and strength as well as (or thereby) overload critical vulnerabilities and generate weaknesses.
- Maneuver: Subvert, disorient, disrupt, overload, or seize those vulnerable yet critical connections, centers, and activities as basis to penetrate, splinter, and isolate remnants of adversary organism for mop-up or absorption.
- Moral: Create an atmosphere of fear, anxiety, and alienation to sever human bonds that permit an organic whole to exist.
- Why: unless one can penetrate adversary’s moral-mental-physical being, and sever those interacting bonds that permit him to exist as an organic whole, by being able to subvert, shatter, seize, or otherwise subdue those moral-mental-physical bastions, connections, or activities that he depends upon, one will find it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to collapse adversary’s will to resist.
- Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF: and all this contributes to the knowledge that Colonel Boyd’s work is not as simple as some believed through just the exposure to the OODA loop concept. The OODA is lots more and makes the study of great value be it for military use, personal fense use or just everyday use in life - apparently all the intent of Boyd’s end works.
“OODA: Orientation - shapes observation; shapes decisions; shapes actions; and is shaped by the feedback and other phenomena coming into our sensing or observation window on the world. It is a many sided, ongoing, implicit, cross-referencing process of projection, empathy, correlation and rejection. It, and the related insights represent an evolving, open-ended, far-from-equilibrium process of self-organization, emergence, and natural selection. Collectively, they mean we are faced with a dynamic, novel, unstable world that we must constantly adapt to even as we try and shape it for our own needs.” - Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF: this statement made by Colonel Boyd helps start a better understanding of the OODA loop, it demonstrates its terseness yet complex use in all facets of human existence toward individual and tribal survival be it in combat in places like Viet Nam and Afghanistan or the board room battles of modern business.
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