Quote Help "You must make your first strike so powerful..."

[Etcetera]

I don't normally post here, but I can't for the life of me figure out where I heard this and Google isn't proving its usual helpful self.

"You must make your first strike so powerful that there is no need for a second"
Or some variation thereof.

I had until now attributed it to Sun Tzu, but I can't seem to back that up. Does anyone know the source, or is it just a product of my delirious imagination.
Thanks to anyone who can be of any help.

[arguskos]

"You must make your first strike so powerful that there is no need for a second"
I did a paper on The Art of War, and though I'm not a scholar or anything, I am like 99% certain that this is one of Sun Tzu's axioms. If I had my text on me, I'd check and give you a direct quotation and location.

I'll check when I get home, and let you know.

[Crow]

If not from Sun Tzu, it may have been some of the 'commentary" which frequently appears in the writing.

[arguskos]

Well, I just skimmed kinda quick through my copy (translated by Samuel B. Griffith, 1963) and I saw no such reference actually. To be fair, I was talking to someone at the time, so I may have missed it, but I didn't see that line anywhere.

[Crow]

I think it's from Clausewitz...maybe. It sounds very much like his doctrine.

I won't be cracking open On War to find out for you though. :)

[Science Officer]

I recall reading of some First Nation warrior or chief who was possessed of a club whose name meant "Strike-Only-Once"...

[Xyk]

The Iron Man movie said a similar quote.


Originally posted by Tony Stark

They say that the best weapon is the one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once.

That's kinda what you're looking for. But not really.

[Moff Chumley]

The difference is, that quote only makes sense if you're an arms dealer. :smalltongue:

[Maxios]

The difference is, that quote only makes sense if you're an arms dealer. :smalltongue:
I'm fairly sure nobody on the forums has their chosen profession be an Arms Dealer :smalltongue:

[Icewalker]

I'm fairly sure nobody on the forums has their chosen profession be an Arms Dealer :smalltongue:

I wouldn't be so sure!

But, in general, the idea of that quote is quite common. I'm sure Sun Tzu said something along those lines, although probably a little more specific. Loads of other generals or pity sayingsfolk have done the same I'm sure.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I remember Machiavelli saying something along those lines. "Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot."

[dehro]

first thought was sun tzu, or maybe Sun Bin... second thought is Gen. Tacticus, from Discworld, but I don't have my copy of Jingo with me.

but yes...I've heard or read variations of that particular dictat in various places, I'm sure.. from novels of the tom clancy persuasion to the news or similar..so it might actually be harder to track because there are too many leads rather than too few.

[Moff Chumley]

I remember Machiavelli saying something along those lines. "Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot."

Yeah, it might well have been Machiavelli. Certainly sounds like something he'd say.

[rayne_dragon]

From my own google search it seems Chen Zhaokui has a very similar quote. However, it also sounds familiar to me from another source - probably a book on Bushido swordfighting techniques. It sounds very oriental to me. The version that I think of as western tends to be more along the lines of "the best defense is a good offense".

I wouldn't be surprised if this kind of line is very common in many fighting styles and has been reinvented several times independantly of each other.

[Autolykos]

I'm pretty sure it's not Sun Tzu (himself, at least), and the closest thing Machiavelli has is the quote found by Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll. Musashi wrote some paragraphs about winning with a single strike and ending a fight the moment it began, but he wouldn't make this an universal principle. So If he said this (which I can't remember), the quote would be out of context.
It might have been Clausewitz, but I just skimmed over his book (there's not much new in it once you know Sun Tzu), so I can't say for sure.

[Telonius]

Found one reference (http://webprojects.prm.ox.ac.uk/arms-and-armour/o/Clubs/1923.87.8/)to a similar quote by a man on one of Captain Cook's expeditions:


patoos patoos as they calld them, a kind of small hand bludgeon of stone, bone or hard wood most admirably calculated for the cracking of sculls...always however hav[e] sharp edges and a sufficient weight to make a second blow unnecessary

I've found a few references to a similar statement being made in Bruce Lee's Fighting Method, specifically in the section about "Simple Direct Attack," but can't find any direct quotes.