Quote from Alpinetrader:
I think it s more a mental spirit than some concretes advices...
It is lots of concrete advise. It is about management of a crew, training, the realities of trying to accomplish something in a chaotic situation, it is about growing into a job rather than "learning" it, etc.
I really recommend everybody take Japanese Sword lessons, as many as you need. Then read the book. I took some lessons in a Southern Chinese type of hand to hand, the book takes on real meaning after you get a certain level of expertise going and realize where the author is coming from.
It was funny, my instructor and his instructor had 50 years of martial arts experience between them, great, great martial artists and they were bent on resurrecting the simplest styles from ancient times, and they did it. My instructor was a little guy, maybe 5'6. He made a studio in an old chicken coop in his yard and he started sword lessons. Right away we found out the ceiling was fine for him and a sword but we 6 footers could not operate!! We did not care, we went on to Tai Chi and things. It was so great because we were beta testing the work they were doing in resurrecting those simple effective styles. It was cool. We learned to act without thinking, without even seeing an attack coming actually. We could not take on these super strong guys in the tournaments maybe but we were satisfied with our knowledge. We were good for the streets.
I had a pal that was always making fun of martial arts. One day I am walking down the hall at work, he sticks his finger in my back and says "I've got a gun". Before I could think I reached back and grabbed his gun hand and pulled him around me and sent him running down an intersecting hallway with his legs all wobbly. It was so natural and effortless. Even he got a kick out of it, it is good when we are making fun of something and then we get a pain-free lesson.
There is a sort of a spiritual aspect to the Art of War, it is largely not really spiritual but it seems like it to the uninitiated, but it all fits into a practical framework. I work for a Mexican guy currently, he manages like he knew the Art of War inside out, he is not a martial arts guy at all but he is so cool to work for.