Sun Tzu Strategies for Strength and Positioning: Be Strong Where He is Weak, Appear Where You Are Not Expected (Like the Spanish Inquisition?) (Patreon)

"Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected." [Sun Tzu - Wikiquote] http://bit.ly/2TIjQ48

No army can be strong everywhere.

No language is difficult in all ways at all times. No language is difficult, period -- you're just not used to it yet (and/or your methods are difficult -- difficulty is always in the method, not the language). And some parts of a language are even easier than others, or can be handled more easily than others using the physical, technological and mental tools currently available to you.

So attack there. Be strong at (i.e. put your energy into) the language's weakpoints.

At the same time, don't simply (or permanently) run away from the things people say are "hard". Don't run away from kanji. As Sun Tzu tells us: "those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him." [Sun Tzu - Wikiquote] 

In the "war" of learning, you do need do be agile and versatile and roach-resilient, but you don't need to take things exactly as they are. That is some bovine fatalism right there (no offence to non-fatalistic cows). Worse than that, it's intellectual laziness -- the most common and pernicious form of laziness; indeed, the only form of laziness that I would even argue is actually bad. You can be physically lazy all you like -- it drives invention and innovation. But never ever be too lazy to think of or try out or look for better ways of doing things.

So, those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle, and are not brought there by him. What does this mean for us? It means: bring kanji to you. Learn it in your way [a way that suits you], on your terms. 

This what the Heisig method and its derivatives are all about: breaking down, divide and conquer, so that it's easy. With the Heisig method (or Lazy Kanji or whatever) you force big, "invincible" "armies of kanji" to yield to you by requiring them to approach you, by bringing them to you, single-file -- one small, easy-to-digest, inter-related and inter-reinforcing piece at time. 

It's all very much like the great Persian army being brought to fight at the narrow mountain pass at Thermopylae. The Spartans brought the Persians to a field of battle that nullified the Persian forces' many strengths. And I never thought I'd be out here making pro-Spartan comments because frikkin' Sparta was easily the most morally bankrupt of all the famous ancient Greek city-states, but...a good strategy is a good strategy, no matter who employees it.

Now, I actually love kanji. It's not my "enemy". It's no longer even my "opponent" or "counterpart": it's just a part of me. But just because we love something, that doesn't mean we don't need strategy (or strategies) to acquire and retain it.