The 3C’s of Combat
The three constant features of victory in martial arts and the hierarchy of decisiveness
It is dark, and you are walking alone. The sidewalk is moist from freshly fallen rain, and droplets glisten like gold on the concrete from the streetlamp overhead. There is a damp chill in the air. It is lonely and quiet as you leave work and head to your car.
Suddenly <WHAM!> You receive a slam on the back of your head followed by searing pain. Adrenaline surges. In a stew of hormone-induced chemicals, you spin to face the source. As you turn <WHAM!> Another heavy blow hits your face, staggering you back, causing you to lose your footing, and down to the unforgiving pavement you go. The blinding sound of loud ringing overwhelms your ears. Your vision is blurry as a viscous, warm sensation oozes down your cheek. From there, another hard clunk and vomitous belly pain. “Damn, that hurts. Am I being kicked?” Lying in a semi-conscious state, you have a vague feeling of your side being frisked. Wallet, watch, and perhaps any other valuable items you may have on your person are taken.
When we look at this all-too-familiar urban tale, it seems like total mayhem. This casserole of violence, damage, sensory distortion, and confusion seems overwhelming, and strikes fear in the hearts of people witnessing such an episode. How could one defend themselves? All the martial arts training in the world has a difficult time with the element of surprise followed by an unbridled blitz attack. However, it is essential to realize that while this situation seems chaotic, there are central elements that are consistent and predictable.
In our tale, the assailant successfully imposed their will on you. There were three elements applied here to achieve this imposition efficiently. One or more of these three elements are present for successful encounters, regardless of whether you are on the receiving end or mounting an attack upon an opponent. Whether being mugged, in a military skirmish, or in a wrestling match, when holistic force is applied to the opposition, there are three consistent features for the victorious party. The mnemonic, the 3C’s, is a memory aid for these attributes.
These are the three constant features of victory in combat:
- Commitment
- Calculation
- Cunning
In our story, the bad guy applied the 3C’s upon you, increasing your odds of demise.
Let’s go through each of the 3C’s.
Commitment
In our opening story, the bad guy committed to imposing their will upon you. They committed to action. Commitment to action, despite the risks, pain, projected fear, and terrible things that may happen, for better or worse, is a consistent feature in combat.
There is no conflict without a commitment to action from at least one actor. When two actors commit to action against each other, it becomes a clash of wills. When someone loses their will to fight, the fight is over. Thus, commitment is foundational.
Commitment = Will
It is common for people to freeze when they are subjected to unexpected violence. Various factors can induce a freeze. Some of the cause is nature, and some of it is nurture. An effective martial arts program can instill reflex contact responses that help neutralize freezing. Whenever faced with danger, the ability to commit ourselves to action and not freeze is a fundamental step toward survival and success. Without action, there is only victimization. Thus, commitment is one of the most essential characteristics of combat.
Commitment is not limited to just the point of attack. Commitment could be preventative by studying martial arts in advance to prevent such encounters — the commitment to preparation — or even the responsibility of being more peripherally aware when walking alone at night.
In the story above, by spinning to face the danger, while the outcome was unsuccessful, at least an attempt to commit was made. What was missing was the other two C’s. Let us explore.
Calculation
While the ability to commit is a baseline of combat, how we commit will influence the outcome. Thus, the calculation portion is the “how.” Calculation determines whether a committed action is reckless or assertive, flailing or precision-guided. Calculation can be thought of as strategic and tactical planning combined with instinctual preprogrammed responses.
Calculation = Instinct
To use the famous Mike Tyson quote:
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched.”
~ Mike Tyson
While the Tyson quote has an element of truth, does this mean we do not plan? Does this mean the act of calculation is useless? No. We can counter Tyson’s quote with another quote from World War II United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower:
“Plans are useful, but planning is everything.”
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower expresses that the act of planning differs from the plans themselves — a critical distinction. In other words, the process is valuable, not the output. Whereas output is probabilistic, putting together a plan forces your mind to focus, gets you into the details, deconstructs problems, and builds mental models that allow you to frame potential solutions and game plans to help increase your odds of success. The ability to calculate can help you prepare both physically and mentally.
To use our opening story as a reference, the bad guy had not only committed an act of crime, but they calculated their method of attack. They approached you from an angle where you could not see. This element of premeditation is calculation. In doing so, they robbed you of your ability to calculate a defense against the attack. The melee caught you totally off guard, and while you attempted to commit, you were never able to recover and ended up getting your ass kicked and becoming a much poorer person than before the encounter — so much for a hard day’s work.
There are two types of calculation: preprogrammed or on-the-spot. A preprogrammed calculation is drilled in advance of the encounter. Street-ready martial arts spend much time and energy developing responses such as a parry, kick, or counter strike that instinctively activates at the point of first contact. On the other hand, an on-the-spot plan is a decision made when given enough time to think. For example, as you walked to your car, supposing you caught a glimpse of the adversary approaching you. Within those precious seconds leading up to contact, an on-the-spot plan could have been formulated, whether run, hide, or fight.
Cunning
“Nothing is constant in war save cunning and deception.”
~ Cao Cao
The Oxford Languages Dictionary defines cunning as such:
“having or showing skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit or evasion.”
Thus, when Cao Cao, the great Chinese Han dynasty warlord, states both cunning and deception are constant, using the Oxford Languages Dictionary definition, we can safely conflate the two notions into a single word “cunning,” without losing the meaning.
Cunning = Deception
Cao Cao was a prominent figure during the reign of the Han dynasty (circa 189 CE). He was a brilliant ruler, military genius, and poet with unmatched charisma. Interestingly, deception as a front-running tactic was heavily dissuaded through much of the Han dynasty rule [1]. It was not until during the collapse of the Han central court, as violence in the cities gave way to constant and widespread conflicts among aspiring warlords, that a significant shift in the standpoint toward the use of deceptive tactics began. Cao Cao was the forerunner and thought leader of using deceit-based tactics, thus often being accredited for introducing deception as widespread use on the battlefield.
Why were the Hans hesitant to use deception as a forerunner for battlefield tactics, and why is this significant? This question can be answered with another query: if you were going to fight Mike Tyson, would you prefer to fight face-to-face when he is prepared, or would you prefer to sneak up behind him and fight him from his blind spot when he is not ready, and least expects it? What choice gives you the best odds for success?
Of course, most people instantly know the latter choice will instill their best odds of beating Mike Tyson. However, is sneaking up behind Mike Tyson and hitting him in his blind spot when he least expects it an ethical way to win? In other words, is sucker-punching Mike Tyson honorable? As you can see, this is the same problem the civilized ancient Chinese Hans had.
The first choice presented, fighting Mike Tyson face-to-face, requires the first two C’s: commitment and calculation. First, you must commit to the fight, the preparation, training, sacrifice of sweat, and the gumption to step into the ring on the event day. Secondly, the winning game plan and calculation must be established. The game plan is “how” you commit, prepare, train, and develop the techniques, skills, and attributes that will enable you to win the fight. The problem is that we are limited by the stature in which we were born and the size of our bones, which poses an attribute mismatch between Mike Tyson and the average person. Height, reach, and mass all play an unignorable factor. Therefore, no matter how much the person of average stature trains, they are always at a disadvantage to Tyson’s superior natural attributes.
It is due to this mismatch that boxing has weight divisions. Without weight divisions, the bigger, stronger man would always win. Unless, of course, you add cunning into the equation. Deception is the quality that can tilt the advantage to the lesser of the unmatched opponents. The Hans were at the top of China’s cultural hierarchy for 500 years. The ethics of using deceit in battle is only a top-of-the-social-hierarchy concern.
Take, for instance, our opening tale of the curbside mugging. We never identified who the adversary was. It could have been a strung-out, skinny, 5'2 tall convict, fresh out of prison, with no muscle mass and lousy physical fitness stamina. The average 5'10 male would have a considerable attribute advantage if this person faced off with them on a frontal attack. However, add the cunning, and the tables turn.
Cunning neutralizes your opponent’s ability to calculate, commit, and apply cunning themselves. In essence, you neutralize the opponent’s 3C’s while maximizing yours. In the opening story, without knowing that there would be violence, your ability to apply cunning, calculate, and effectively commit was nullified. You never had a chance to get anything into action.
Interestingly, Sun Tzu, probably one of the most famous military strategists of all documented human history, shared Cao Cao’s belief several hundred years earlier about the importance of deceit in combat.
“All warfare is based on deception.”
~ Sun Tzu
To apply cunning, you must calculate and commit to action. That is why the 3C’s are ever-present. Cunning cannot exist without the other two C’s.
The Hierarchy of Decisiveness
The 3C’s are the base attributes for The Hierarchy of Decisiveness. The Hierarchy of Decisiveness is an eight-tier hierarchy that establishes the structure of tactical and strategic combat. It focuses on your ability to develop the most critical aspects of the 3C’s in a structured and logical tree.
The Hierarchy of Decisiveness is illustrated as such.
For more on the 3C’s and the Hierarchy of Decisiveness, please reference Scott Gehring’s Strategic Engagement of Force.
Foot Notes
[1] Genuine Words: Deception as a War Tactic and a Mode of Writing in Third-Century China (tandfonline.com) Page 5
About the Author
Scott Gehring is a Senior Combat Instructor in the Art Contemporary of Jeet Kune Do, a 5th Degree Blackbelt in Kenpo Karate, and an expert in multiple mixed martial arts.
Check out the following resources to learn more about Scott:
About — Scott Gehring — Medium
They Get Their Kicks — YouTube
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