“Power doesn’t have to show off. Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting and self-stopping,
self warming and self justifying. When you have it, you know it.”
-Ralph Ellison
Few people gathered in the open-air stadium. “Unang labanan. Handa sa pagpugay, handa. Pugay.” and the tournament begins with the opening match. All the teams seemed ready for the upcoming matches; all the teams hyped up with the exception of one. The one with members curled up on random benches around the stadium trying to catch up on sleep that they probably did not get the night before.
The Ateneo Arnis Team did not show up groggy to insult the other teams or look seemingly overconfident to the ongoing battlers but rather, they looked unprepared because their schedule was indeed unprepared; causing them to sacrifice sleep to go all the way to Baguio. The opposing teams, on the other hand warmed up by showing off their techniques—maybe to scare off their opponents or to simply ready themselves from their unfamiliarity with the moves. That was their biggest mistake.
Espionage was used by the greatest of civilizations during war for a reason—to find knowledge and information about the rival armies and everything else that revolves around it. Hattori Hanzo was one of Tokugawa’s trusted warlords who used the Iga ninjas to gather information about the civil disorders after the death of Nobunaga; securing Tokugawa Ieyasu back to his home castle.
We were taught never to show off our techniques to other teams so they won’t learn from our indistinct moves. In relation to this, we were taught to find that same flaw in the other teams to know beforehand which skills they know and will use in the upcoming fights. Other than training our own set of moves, we practiced counters to some variations of usual techniques used by our enemies in former tournaments. We were awarded overall champions for that event.
They gave us the necessary information by showing off their techniques to learn how to beat them. To show effortlessness in your accomplishments is not to be taken only literally; deceiving by showing the lack of effort can also get you that win.
Miguel Leopoldo S. Ignacio
Hi18-L
16 comments:
a lot of people try to make their accomplishments seem like nothing by downplaying much of their preparations.
An easy and commonly heard example is that of cramming. Have you ever had classmates or friends who tell everyone before the test how they didN't study for anything or simply crammed everything, but two days later, lo and behold, they were able to answer questions you could only have crazy-studied for in order to be able to answer them in the first place?...
monica ang, L
but isn't this law also risky? i mean, if people only see you having an easy time and all, doesn't this increase the chances of them being jealous and envious of your seemingly easy-to-get success? in effect, people who hate you can join forces and desperately try to bring you down. i think by making your accomplishments seem effortless, you end up soaring above the crowd, making yourself an easy target by many.
-Philip Albert T. Verde
Hi18 K
good point but i think you can go sneaky about the whole thing-- another way to not show effort is to literally not show it. with that i guess people wont see you as a target but only someone who gets things done without anyone knowing
miguel ignacio, L
i think this law is more of doing everything under everyone's noses then only showing the finished product.then it's BAM! i'm done! and people are impressed because it seemed so easy. the trick here though is to rest. if you keep going and going and people see that you're doing it effortlessly, they might expect more from you. and because of that, you could just end up being burned out.
ocampo 18-k
This is a very sensible law. It would be useful in a lot of situations. In basketball, for instance, once a team flaunts their abilities, the other teams would gain an advantage of knowing that particular team's assets; hence, enabling them to strategize and beat that team in the long run.
Monica Copuyoc
Hi18- L
I dunno, I guess I'd be more impressed if I saw how much people actually worked hard for their accomplishments. I'd be more in awe if I saw them acting more like human being who goes through typical hardships instead of feigning to handle it all like a piece of cake. More people could relate that way and they'd have the notion that not everyone can do something as spectacular and as effortless as that. It doesn't always do you good, appearing like a miracle worker or someone god-like since it could cause doubt as well. Convince people with the REAL DEAL.
Krizia Javate
Hi18K
Showing off is the easiest way to make your achievements seem cheap and also the quickest path for your rivals to pick up your strategies. When you become too much of a show off, the more your enemies would have the urge to pulverize you. They'll even be more merciless around you, thus could lead to your loss.
Gliza Marasigan
Hi18-L
At this point in time a lot of people would actually show off all their effort to make sure others will get to appreciate what they have done...
On the other hand, what bea and the others pointed out about how you would look arrogant and be at risk of doing more in the end is actually true...
What the law is trying to say would probably be making use of that effortless-ness to be a psychological weapon against the enemy... Example, you mentioned about the arnis team, and Monica's mention of basketball. To make sure that everything you do against them looks (if not at all) easy, their minds will falter and their morale shatter.
Jame Say
Hi18-K
I think this law separates the skilled from the gifted. Sometimes the skilled may do a task but struggle to do it. They may succeed but let everyone know how hard they worked. The gifted may do the same task but seem not to exert as much effort and still pull it off. Their effortless attempt is like them saying, "that was it?" It sort of gives them an air of awe and invincibility rather than the skilled who look spent after a task is done.
Denis Flores
Hi 18k
to monica: that's not strategy, that's just people trying not to appear overconfident. i guess its a play on this rule too. it's not your fault if you get something out of luck, or if you manage to cram exactly the right set of information you're going to need for the test, but i think people do that because:
1. they don't want people thinking they're show offs and
2. they know they've studied but since there always seems to be more to study, they're trying to soften the blow of the possible disappointment ("e paano ako tataas, kulang talaga inaral ko", feels better than "i studied my ass off, bakit nagkamali pa ako sa (insert number) tanong?!". Anyway, i guess it's the same thing backwards. making your accomplishemnts seem effortless not only help your reputation, but not bragging makes you likeable. likeability is power too.
du, L
a LOT of the laws here are based on the illusion principle. is history telling us how easily intimidated people are? is a flashy exterior really that fearsome, or are people just cautious by nature? this law goes hand in hand with others like "don't reveal too much of your strategy" and "act like a king to be a king".
and to krizia: you don't want your opponent to admire you (ok you do, but that's another very long discussion), you want him to fear you. if he knows how hard you worked, he'll know what you did to get where you are. that's knowing too much. the element of the unexplainable, the shock and awe tactic, the flaming swords and the circlets glinting in the sunlight work best if there's mysticism to them. you should APPEAR LEGENDARY. not only will people fear you, they'll be demoralized thinking they can't do what you did.
Du, L
Seeming rather than actually being.
Appearing as the fearsome giant can sometimes be your greatest asset. Again, like the other law, it's all about image.
Joey Palma
Hi18-K
@joey palma
i think that's what these laws are trying to do, teaching us how to create the false image of being superior to everyone else. you make them believe in the illusion by giving them something to actually see/believe in. deception at its finest don't you think?
- Bjorn Umali, Hi18-L
i actually applaud the maker of this laws of power. he self contradicts by "sharing" the said laws but still makes a whole lot of sense.
miguel ignacio, L
I first thought this law was just about maintaining a kind of image and gaining respect and that sort stuff. I didn’t think it could be used to gain something other than that…
It’s clever to use this law in such a way that you used the opponents’ strengths against them. You were shown their abilities, what they can do, and because of that, you were able to surpass what they can do and outshine them. Nice. I think this is just another example of how knowledge can be power. Since you know something about them, use that knowledge against them. Great application of law. It’s actually like Law 21: Play a sucker to catch a sucker.
Chris Macalinao
Hi18 - L
I hate how this one works on me :| when i put a lot of effort to achieve something, i feel proud of myself. but when i see other people do the same thing effortlessly, i feel pathetic. It's like me working on something for a whole day while someone else works on it for just a minute. I guess that's what makes this law click. By making your accomplishments seem effortless, you create an image of yourself that's great, and make other people feel inferior.
Dana Cammayo
Hi18-L
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