[Chapel]

Originally Posted by sirdarksol

#2 actually should apply to every situation. Samurai had an almost identical ideal. The first person to attack is more likely to make a mistake.
Many samurai duels took many, many minutes, yet there were only two actual attacks that lasted a total of less than a second. The rest of the duel was the samurai slowly circling, perhaps taunting each other, with either words, gestures, or just the eyes. The one to become enraged or unnerved first made the first move, usually the wrong one, and the other, if he was in the moment, would easily take victory.
There are, of course, exceptions. What I outlined above would be considered poor sportsmanship in the ring, so karate-kas should probably keep the posturing to a minimum before actually attacking.
As a last note, I would like to put forth a personal theory. I do not consider an attack to mean specifically a completion of an aggressive physical action. Intent of aggression that cannot be dissuaded is, to me, the same as hauling off and punching someone. The martial artist is in the right if he/she senses this intent and "steps on the sword," cutting off the opponent's physical attack before it even begins.

I was going to mention that bit about the Samurai. Good job beating me.
+Rep points for you.