To Become the Enemy: The Art of Strategic Empathy
“In order to conquer him, I have to think like him, smell like him, look like him. I gotta become the gopher.” – Bill Murray as Karl Spackler from the movie Caddyshack
Spackler’s line echoes a deeper martial arts and psychological principle. You should understand your opponent by mentally stepping into their world.
To become the enemy. Not in the sense of betrayal or mimicry, but in the sense of strategic empathy. You should develop the ability to think yourself into the enemy’s position. You should do this so completely that the enemy’s choices, their tactics, become transparent. In a domestic situation, this is the ability to see your partner’s side of a contested issue. You likely already use this strategy.
It Is Psychological
This is a psychological lens, and can be, if used, a tactical advantage. Most martial artists train to defeat an opponent without ever understanding them. Prescribed counters and simulating scenarios are tactical choices based on our preferences. This is not bad, but we rarely ask, “What would I do if I were them?”
Hosokawa Tadatoshi (1586–1641) was a Japanese samurai daimyō of the early Edo period. He was born into and raised in a line of leaders and strategists. Hosokawa, being a high-level strategist in his own right, asked a simple question. “Who do I respect from the battlefield, and or fear?”
The answer was Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi, now older and the survivor of many battles, was mentally available for an easier life. Sensing this, Hosokawa offered Musashi patronage. In simple terms, “Come live here and teach my army.” The goal was to create as many Musashi replicas as possible. Hosokawa was reaching into the other side of the battlefield and stealing skills.
Predictability
Leaning into your strength without observation can lead to predictability. Your sparring in the martial arts school, as an example, becomes a shallow strategy. We become reactive instead of adaptive.
Many martial arts schools emphasize repetition over reflection. We learn what to do, not why the enemy does what they do.
When you first hear, “Become the enemy,” it might sound scary. It can bring up Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous line from Beyond Good and Evil (1886): “He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. Their is a fear is losing yourself. But here’s the twist: it’s a path to deeper self-awareness.
Because once you understand your opponent’s logic, you stop being surprised.
Stop chasing their movements and start anticipating their intentions. This means you become less reactive, more fluid. You conserve energy. You disrupt patterns before they form.
And most importantly, you stop fighting people, you start solving problems. Just as Hosokawa did by hiring Musashi.
He has authored several books on martial arts and self-defense, such as "The Way of Kata" and "The Little Black Book of Violence". Kris also runs the Wilder Karate Academy, where he teaches classes and conducts seminars.
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