Wound its angles

“To Injure the Corners” is a rule for defeating strength by attacking its vulnerable edges rather than meeting it head-on. Its central sequence is precise: weaken a part of the opponent, allow that damage to unsettle the whole, and press the attack once the larger force begins to collapse.

Principle and Method

The rule begins with a practical limit: strong things are difficult to move by pushing directly. The alternative is to “injure the corners”—to avoid contesting strength at its most solid point and instead strike where it can be made to yield. The metaphor makes the method both tactical and structural: a corner is a part of a larger whole, yet damage there can alter the condition of the whole.

Application in Large-Scale Strategy

In a battle involving many people, the corners of the enemy’s force are the initial targets. When those parts are overthrown, the spirit of the entire body is also overthrown. The attack must then continue: the fall of the corners is not the end of the maneuver but the opening that makes a decisive defeat possible. The rule therefore links a localized strike to a broader consequence, and warns against stopping when the opponent’s formation first falters.

Application in Single Combat

The same principle applies in a fight between individuals. Victory becomes easier once the enemy collapses, and the text connects that collapse to injury inflicted on the “corners” of the body. Such damage weakens the opponent; it does not merely score an isolated blow. Because recognizing how to produce that weakening is central to the method, the instruction is to investigate it deeply.

Strategic Significance

The rule joins indirectness to follow-through. A strong opponent is not moved by force applied indiscriminately; the strategist identifies a vulnerable part, uses its failure to unsettle the larger body, and advances when the opening has become consequential. Across both large-scale battle and single combat, the repeated pattern is local weakness becoming general collapse.