By: Andrew Nickerson

There have been many names throughout history who’ve had a gigantic impact on tactics/strategy. Sadly, many subsequently fell from prominence due to some new factor, such as better weapons or a new means of conducting warfare (ex. air power). However, there’s one notable exception: Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War. This ancient genius’ approach was so advanced it’s stood the test of time, mainly because its overall goal is winning. Moreover, his wisdom is universally applicable, hence its adoption by everyone from athletes to businessmen to politicians, along with the near universal declaration that, if you listen to Sun Tzu, you’ll win; if you ignore him, you’ll lose.

But one area curiously remains untapped regarding this wisdom: pop culture plotlines. If Sun Tzu is universally applicable, why not here too? To prove this, let’s use it to analyze an infamous film arc: the first phase of the bout between Rambo and Sheriff Will Teasle in First Blood. More specifically, we’re going to look at it using the following Sun Tzu principles: morality, terrain, weather, leadership, prep, improv, foreknowledge, direct-indirect acts, recklessness, cowardice, delicacy of honor (DOH from now on), underestimation, and seizing an opening.

The tale begins with John Rambo (Rambo from now on), a traumatized Vietnam vet, visiting the home of an old teammate, hoping to give him a keepsake, a nice use of two of Sun Tzu’s Five Essential Victory Factors, morality[i] and preparation[ii], as well as the principle “what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is foreknowledge”[iii]. Sadly, he finds his friend has passed from cancer, so he further uses morality and the principle “be flexible; according as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans”[iv], or improv, by giving the keepsake to his friend’s widow and moving on.

Heading down the road to a nearby mountain town, Rambo is spotted by local Sheriff Will Teasle (Will from now on), who promptly asks where he’s going. When Rambo tells him, Will offers to drive him in the right direction, an apparent display of morality. However, his real motive is subsequently revealed when Rambo asks if there’s a place he can eat, only to have Will tell him there’s a diner many miles up the road; worse, when Rambo asks if there’s a law preventing him eating there, Will answers, “Yeah: me.” It’s shameful violation of morality and another Essential Victory Factor, leadership[v], and Will only sharpens these violations when Rambo asks why he’s being pushed, pointing out he’s done nothing wrong, whereupon the sheriff arrogantly talks about keeping things as is. It’s a disturbing violation of one of Sun Tzu’s Five Fatal Failings of Leadership, DOH[vi], to say nothing of an important leadership caveat, “know when not to fight.”[vii]

Ultimately, Will drops Rambo at the edge of town, thinking the latter will simply move on…but find’s he’s violated another principle, never underestimate a foe[viii], when the vet decides to follow another leadership caveat, “There are…commands of the sovereigns which must not be obeyed”[ix], by returning to get something to eat. Will immediately accosts Rambo, but when the latter won’t answer, the former gets out of his car and grabs the vet’s arm, only to have his grip thrown off. Angered, Will again violates leadership and DOH by arresting Rambo, finding a brutal looking knife on him in the process; worse, when bringing him to the station, he mocks him while booking him, which violates another Fatal Failing, cowardice.[x]

Things don’t get any better when Will’s friend Galt demands Rambo’s name, only to have the latter not answer due to flashbacks he begins having. Another deputy, Mitch, notices Rambo’s dog tags and tries to pull them off, only to have the vet grab his arm, a rather poor violation of another Fatal Failing, recklessness[xi], for it prompts Galt to threaten him. Wisely, Rambo backs down, but then violates recklessness again by not letting them fingerprint him. Will promptly appears and arrogantly threatens Rambo, another shameful violation of leadership and DOH that prompts worse mistreatment, starting when Rambo is forced to endure a strip-search, revealing several nasty scars on his chest and back. Here, Galt, in a cruel violation of morality, leadership, and cowardice, hits Rambo with his truncheon, and then further violates those principles by having Singleton, another deputy, spray him with a fire hose; the only bright spot is Mitch who, in a wonderful show of morality, walks away in disgust.

But then things hit a new pinnacle when Galt orders Ward, another deputy, to shave Rambo with a cutthroat razor. Seeing this causes more flashbacks, but when the latter tries to back away Galt grabs him, then shamefully violates morality, leadership, and cowardice again by telling Ward to dry shave him. Again, Mitch demonstrates morality by protesting, but Galt brushes him off, and Ward isn’t much better when he violates morality by mocking Rambo. However, all are soon proven to have violated underestimation when the latter, overtaken by the nightmare, lashes out, kicking aside Ward and Mitch, then smashing Galt into the wall, a grand use of a caveat of prep, better training[xii], and another Essential Victory Factor, terrain[xiii]. Galt tries to threaten Rambo, but pays for his earlier violations when the latter throws him against a cell and puts him in a hold. Ward pulls Rambo off, but the latter quickly uses improv to disable him, then use the principle if an opening comes to seize victory, take it[xiv], by knocking Galt flat.

The noise draws another deputy, but Rambo quickly uses improv, seizing an opening, and terrain by throwing him through a window. Will then appears, drawing his gun, only to pay for his cruelty when Rambo uses the same principles again by using a doorframe to knock him down, the gun going off in the process. In a third display of those principles, plus the cryptic leadership caveat if you’ve got momentum going, maintain it[xv], Rambo runs upstairs, surprising another deputy and throwing him out a window, kicking down a second, and disabling a third. He then quickly grabs his knife and flees to the street, where he immediately uses improv by pulling a kid off his dirt bike, climbing aboard, and speeding off.

Meanwhile, Galt, in a horrifying violation of DOH, recklessness, morality, and cowardice, appears with a rifle and tries to shoot Rambo, only to have Will finally show some sense via the leadership caveat enforcing discipline[xvi] by stopping him. The latter then chases Rambo in his cruiser, causing the former to expertly use terrain and improv by moving through sidewalks and narrow building sections, delaying the latter. They eventually head out of town and off-road, Rambo quickly using terrain and improv again by leaping over a large fence into a field, followed by down a narrow hill into a streambed where Will can’t follow. The latter uses improv by taking an alternate route, then leadership by calling for backup, and manages to catch up…but then makes a crucial mistake: in a clumsy violation of recklessness, terrain, and underestimation, he tries to follow along a narrow road, only to flip his cruiser. Rambo doesn’t last much longer, ultimately violating the same principles by trying to go up a steep ledge, only to lose the bike. Undaunted, he pushes onward, Will yelling after him in a childish violation of cowardice and DOH.

Eventually, Rambo comes to a clearing, where he quickly uses prep and improv by cutting some canvas to use as a jacket. Meanwhile, Will’s back-up, consisting of Mitch, Ward, new face Balford, and Singleton, appear, along with Orval, who brings three dogs. Ultimately, Rambo ingeniously uses terrain and improv to keep ahead by climbing down onto a cliff-face, but then Galt appears in a chopper and immediately violates cowardice, morality, and DOH by firing at Rambo; worse, their location is in a thermo-draft, meaning the pilot can’t hold the chopper steady, making his actions a dangerous violation of recklessness too. Yet, when the pilot, in a great use of morality, points out they’re only supposed to spot Rambo and he’s currently trapped, Galt shockingly violates the same principles again by not only threatening to kill him if he doesn’t fly the chopper “right”, but also ignoring Will when he tries to call him. With bullets ricocheting all around, Rambo desperately uses improv by leaping off the cliff, tearing open his arm in the process. However, it doesn’t stop Galt, who orders the pilot to swerve back and forth while he continues shooting and ignoring Will. It leads to an infamous moment: Rambo, in a desperate use of one of Sun Tzu’s favorite tactics, “Direct methods can join battle, but indirect ones are needed to secure victory”[xvii], grabs a rock and throws it at the chopper. It hits the windshield, causing the pilot to bank away, but it costs Galt, who, in a prior violation of recklessness, unbuckled his seatbelt so he could shoot; with no anchor him, the sudden move sends him falling to his death.

Afterward, Rambo checks the body, ultimately using improv by taking Galt’s rifle and jacket, then prep and foreknowledge by using a needle/thread from his knife to stitch his arm. Meanwhile, Will spots Galt’s body in the ravine and is utterly crushed, but then Rambo appears and, in grand display of morality and leadership, yells Galt’s death wasn’t his fault and tries to surrender, saying he doesn’t want any more hurt. Instead, Will, in a horrifying violation of morality, leadership, recklessness, cowardice, DOH, and seizing an opening, shoots at Rambo, winging him. The latter flees, after which Will and the deputies enter the ravine, whereupon the former calls in Galt’s death and demands to know where the chopper is. Ultimately, the deputy he’s speaking to says the chopper pilot pulled out due to an incoming storm, a great use of foreknowledge and another Essential Victory Factor, weather[xviii]. However, the deputy then drops a major bomb: Rambo’s a former Green Beret and Congressional Medal of Honor winner. Despite this, Will foolishly violates leadership by demanding the chopper return, and then further violates recklessness, underestimation, foreknowledge and DOH by claiming Rambo’s alone and wounded. Mitch then foolishly violates underestimation himself by suggesting letting the State Police handle the issue, only to pay when Will angrily grabs him, forces him to look at Galt, then arrogantly declares he’s going to hunt down Rambo and “pin that Congressional Medal of Honor to his liver.” It’s an insane violation of morality, cowardice, DOH, foreknowledge, leadership, weather, and underestimation—and something he’s going to regret dearly.

As Will’s party moves on, Rambo expertly uses improv, foreknowledge, and prep to ready some surprises. Meanwhile, the former gets into an argument over what to do, a petty violation of recklessness and DOH that forces Will to use enforcing discipline to break it up. By the time they’ve closed in, Will’s violations catch up to them: it’s dark and the forewarned storm hits, dropping visibility to almost nil. It costs them immediately when they spot what looks like Rambo in a lightning flash, prompting Orval to release two dogs, only to have three shots ring out, the first two killing the animals and the last wounding Orval. Will and the deputies hit the ground and return fire…but then see the truth: Rambo used direct-indirect acts by planting Galt’s jacket on an improvised scarecrow. Orval then foolishly violates recklessness, foreknowledge, and underestimation by releasing his last dog, only to pay when Rambo kills her too. Dismayed, Will uses improv by ordering Mitch to use his belt as a tourniquet on Orval. Unfortunately, they can’t treat Orval’s wound since, in a clumsy violation of recklessness and prep, Ward left their first aid kit back with their cars, and then Will further violates leadership by ignoring Mitch’s recommendation they evacuate Orval. Instead, he continues the pursuit, telling Orval to keep awake and release the tourniquet every so often.

At this point, Will’s bad judgment hits abysmal levels when he has the deputies form a skirmish line, separated by 50-foot intervals. It’s a horrifying violation of terrain, weather, foreknowledge, recklessness, underestimation, and the leadership caveat “Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength”[xix], since they not only can’t support each other, they can barely even see. They collectively pay for this when Rambo masterfully uses terrain, prep, improv, and seizing an opening by concealing himself on the forest floor, then ambushes/disables Mitch. The deputy’s screams bring his comrades running, but then stop—mostly likely due to his having passed out—prompting the latter to move more cautiously. Just then, Rambo uses the same principles to climb a tree and leap onto/disable Ward, whose screams cause Will to make an even bigger mistake: in an insane violation of recklessness and leadership, he orders Balford and Singleton to split up.

It costs the trio again when Rambo expertly uses direct-indirect acts by standing before the wounded Ward, letting lightning illuminate him and prompting Balford to open fire, only to have the former leap aside, making him hit his comrade. Those shots (and Balford’s yells) bring Will and Singleton running, but then the second half of Rambo’s plan kicks in: he lures Balford down a preset path, causing him to trip a punji stick trap and impale his legs. Frantic, Will and Singleton move faster, whereupon Rambo uses direct-indirect acts again by first disabling and tying Singleton to a tree. Will finds/frees Balford, but when he can’t hear anything, retraces his steps, only to spot Singleton. As he moves to free him, the second half of Rambo’s plan takes effect when he pins Will to a tree. Rambo then delivers a famous monologue, declaring he could’ve killed Will and his deputies, warns Will not to push it, and then tells him, “Let it go” before vanishing. It’s an incredible display of morality and leadership by Rambo, namely because he showed restraint, something Will was incapable of. The shock causes the latter to sink to the ground, crying, an example of what happens to bullies when their victims fight back: suddenly, they’re not so tough anymore.

This was a hard episode and, sadly, it’s far from over, but it’s still a great example of why Sun Tzu said, “Choose moral leaders and able generals.”[xx] Moreover, it’s also a great example of how someone can overcome cruelty and indifference while still showing humanity, making Rambo a wonderful display of why experts say that, if you follow Sun Tzu, you’ll win; if you ignore him, you’ll lose.

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[i] Lionel Giles, The Art of War (New York, NY; Fall River Press, 2011), 3.

[ii] Giles, The Art of War, 3.

[iii] Giles, The Art of War, 50.

[iv] Giles, The Art of War, 4.

[v] Giles, The Art of War, 3.

[vi] Giles, The Art of War, 28.

[vii] Giles, The Art of War, 11.

[viii] Giles, The Art of War, 46.

[ix] Giles, The Art of War, 27.

[x] Giles, The Art of War, 28.

[xi] Giles, The Art of War, 28.

[xii] Giles, The Art of War, 4.

[xiii] Giles, The Art of War, 3.

[xiv] Giles, The Art of War, 46.

[xv] Giles, The Art of War, 17.

[xvi] Giles, The Art of War, 4.

[xvii] Giles, The Art of War, 15.

[xviii] Giles, The Art of War, 3.

[xix] Giles, The Art of War, 41.

[xx] Giles, The Art of War, 4.

                                                                     Bibliography

Kotcheff, Ted, director. First Blood. 1982; Lionsgate Studios, 2019, 93 min. Blu-Ray.

Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Translated by Lionel Giles. New York: Fall River Press, 2011.

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