Surprise Attack: The Way to Win

The original meaning of the word “surprise” is to attack or capture suddenly. So, a surprise attack is really an “attack attack” or double attack. I learned to respect the power of a double attack the hard way.

When I started in Tae Kwon Do, I wasn’t a true beginner as I had already been training in the martial arts for a couple of years. That meant even as a yellow belt, I felt very confident in my sparring.

Did I say confident? I meant cocky. I was young, fast, and figured I had seen it all.

At the time, I had a friend named Jimmy. Jimmy didn’t take Tae Kwon Do. He took Kung Fu. As you might expect, we would often bicker about which style was more effective and which one of us was wasting our time. When we eventually ran out of words, we decided to meet up in my garage and put our techniques to the test.

It started off friendly enough. But after a couple minutes, it became clear no one was going to win with a single, magic punch. The pace increased. The punches and kicks grew harder. The attitude grew more desperate. And just when it seemed like we would both end up exhausted and bruised in a perfect stalemate, it happened…

I don’t know if he was crazy or brilliant, but Jimmy jumped up in the air, raised his fist, and pounded the top of my head with a hammerfist.

My teeth clacked together. I fell back in a daze. There was no way I could deny it–his crazy Kung Fu move beat my best Tae Kwon Do.

Now, the flying hammerfist is a move you probably won’t much see on the street. Or in the UFC. Or anywhere. And that’s exactly why it worked! It was a total surprise. I learned that day that the ultimate tactic in martial arts is a surprise attack.

Doing something that no one sees coming is a sucker punch…and that is a strategy for success. A way to win.

I wish I could say that was the last time I was caught by a surprise attack, but nope. On and off the mats, I still get caught all the time. You might think that after years of sparring, I’d only be surprised by martial art masters, but do you know who surprises me just as much? Beginners!

Yep. I’d say the two most dangerous groups of people to work out with are masters and white belts. Or no belts. And for the same reason–they’re all unpredictable.

The students in between, intermediate students, I find much easier to deal with. They’re the ones who follow rules, fit themselves into patterns, and worry about looking and doing things “right”. But true masters break the rules, disrupt patterns, and don’t worry about looking like anything or anyone. In the same way, beginners don’t know the rules, haven’t learned the patterns, and aren’t even sure what “right” is.

Where masters are unpredictable on purpose, beginners are unpredictable by accident. But the result is the same–surprise.

Make a note– the short cut to appearing like a master of anything is to act like a reckless, unthinking, over-confident beginner. That may sound kooky, but beginners think outside the box because they haven’t jumped inside a box yet. Beginners see things without filters or biases. Beginners are quick to think up new, unorthodox solutions to the same old problems.

No matter what business you’re in, be careful about only surrounding yourself with so-called experts. It’s the new guy who doesn’t know anything who may actually have the most surprising, radical, breakthrough ideas.

Time for a quote. This one comes from The Art of War, the 2,500 year-old book of strategy attributed to the Chinese general, Sun Tzu.

Engage people with what they expect… It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds, while you wait for the extraordinary moment—that which they cannot anticipate.

The extraordinary moment. In other words, a surprise attack. It worked 2,500 years ago and it works today. It’s the move you don’t see coming that will hurt you the most. On the other hand, it’s the move you don’t see coming that might also give you the greatest joy.

It’s true. The things you plan for in life may be satisfying, but it’s usually the surprises, the accidents, and the serendipitous events that really leave their mark. Think of all the blessings and good fortune you never saw coming. I’m not saying to not make plans, but as you do, make room for interruptions, too. Allow surprises to assist your plans for success and sometimes change them altogether.

It’s a fact you can’t control everything all the time, so why even try? Don’t set yourself up for that kind of stress and disappointment. Instead, make your plans and trust yourself to make the best of whatever comes your way—be it a happy surprise or a surprise attack.

Now, getting hit by a surprise attack is one thing, but how about launching a surprise attack?

Two Ways You Can Launch a Surprise Attack

The first way to launch a surprise attack is to do something no one knew could be done. Take the world by storm with your audacity and innovation.

• Royce Gracie fighting from the ground in the first UFC. Surprise attack!
• George Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas night to attack the Hessians. Surprise attack!
• Apple selling digital music online. Surprise attack!

See? Sucker punches are not all bad. A sucker punch has a bright side, too… when you’re the one who throws it!

The good news is surprise attacks don’t always have to performed on a grand or large scale. You can add an element of surprise–big or small–anytime, anywhere. When someone criticizes you, squash the squabble and just say, “Maybe you’re right.” If someone yells at you, don’t yell back–just smile. Surprise!

Remember–we’re not just in danger of becoming slaves to our own patterns of behavior, but to the patterns of behavior we share as a culture.

If you sit and people-watch, I’ll bet you can predict how most situations are going to end just from observing body language. But every once in a while, someone does something you don’t expect… and isn’t that what makes a good story? You don’t come home and say, “Let me tell you exactly the same things I told you yesterday.” No. You say, “Something weird happened today.” “You won’t believe this!” “You’ll never guess what happened!” All of those phrases add up to one thing—surprise.

So, be the one who breaks the chains of habit and does something unexpected. Who knows– you might find that one small gesture ends up changing the world. Like not giving up your seat and moving to the back of the bus. Or standing in front of a tank while everyone else runs and hides.

The second way to launch a surprise attack is to do something people have seen before, but do it in a way, or at a time, no one expects.

Think about boxing. How the heck can one boxer be knocked out by another boxer? I mean, the guy who gets knocked out knows the other guy is going to punch him in the head, right? He signed a contract. He touched gloves. So, why didn’t he just duck or block the knockout shot?

Because even though the boxer expected to be punched, he didn’t know exactly when or how it was going to be thrown. The lesson–even the most predictable events and behaviors can be made surprising.

What about art? If we both draw a tree, my picture will be different from yours. When we trade drawings, I may be surprised by how you view a tree, and you may be surprised by my view. In that way, we share ideas, learn about each other, and see things from new perspectives. Surprise in art creates a path to discovery and learning. As a result, that simple tree–and life–becomes richer in meaning.

How about jokes? Humor is rooted in surprise. You set up an expectation, then change it. And what do you call that unpredictable change? A punchline! Maybe it should really be called a sucker punchline.

In every area of our lives–business, hobbies, relationships, diet, exercise–we all get into ruts. We run experiments until we form a preference… the preference develops into a behavior… the behavior becomes a habit… the habit soon becomes a rut.

Obviously, habits are good and necessary. They make us efficient. We’re wired to be creatures of habit. But we must be vigilant about examining our habits to make sure they’re supporting our goals and keeping us on a path to success and fulfillment.

One habit we should all have is to regularly go back and adopt a beginner’s mindset. We should regularly make a habit of having no habits. We should feel free to experiment with something new. We should keep exploring new ways to surprise our customers, our friends, our partners, our bodies, and our beliefs to make sure we’re giving and getting the most out of life.

It’s tempting to want a life of predictability and stability. But no matter how much we prepare, life always finds a way to knock us off our feet. That’s the sucker punch. Betrayals, cheaters, liars, health issues, money issues, family issues… you can often find yourself crying, “Why me? I don’t deserve this!” But that’s only half the story.

The flip side of sucker punches is surprise, serendipity, and good luck. A bad investment suddenly turns around, a restaurant you didn’t want to try becomes your favorite, a new job is better than the one you got fired from, your lost wallet is returned with everything still in it, an old enemy becomes a friend. You couldn’t have predicted any of those things… isn’t that fantastic?

The truth is, you don’t want a life that’s completely predictable. But if you want the benefits of happy surprises, you’ve got to accept the dangers of surprise attacks, too. And after taking all the hits, when happy surprises do come your way, be ready to cry out, “I’ll take it! Why not me? I deserve this!”

To add the power of surprise to your life, here are two goals you should start pursuing today–

Goal #1: Elevate surprise to more than something that just happens to us once in a while…make surprise something we create on a regular basis.

I would even recommend measuring your surprises. That’s right—count them. If you’re only getting surprised once a month, you need to shake things up, my friend.

Go out and purposely surprise yourself. Listen to music you don’t like. Watch a new TV show for the first time. Try a restaurant you’ve passed a thousand times. Start a conversation with someone you would normally walk by.

Challenge yourself to find more events that make you say, “Wow–What a surprise!” Or, “I can’t believe how much I enjoyed that!” You might like opera, banjo music, and Pakistani food. Each day you have unlimited opportunities to amend or alter your identity. Don’t shut the door to all of the things that may change your life for the better.

Goal #2: Move beyond creating surprise for yourself and seek to create surprise for others.

The people in your life may not be as brave as you are. They may not look outside their comfort zone for new discoveries. They may be numbed by the patterns in our culture.

Launch a surprise attack on them! Give them a story to tell. Put them at the center of something unexpected. When you touch someone’s life in that way, chances are they’ll start finding ways to surprise you, too.

As you move through the world today, make a pledge to yourself that you will find opportunities to add surprise. Be the one who makes the joke. Be the first to say, “I’m sorry.” Be the one who tries new things. Be the one who skips the the same predictable small talk with everyone. Surprise the waitress, the coffee guy, and your friends.

Final thought…

When I was a kid, I heard someone say, “If you’re bored, that just means you’re boring.” Remember to say that next time you hear a kid whine, “I’m bored.”

“Sorry kid—then I guess you’re boring.”

Let’s not make any excuses for being bored. The world is full of new ideas and experiences. If they’re not coming to you, then get out there and find them. Go on the attack for surprise attacks.

Life is full of surprises. You should be full of surprises, too.

An extraordinary life is made up of extraordinary moments. So, make extraordinary moments for yourself and for the people around you… and make them every chance you get.

This article is a summary of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Surprise: The Way to Win.” Listen to the full episode here.