There's a metarule to the rule that you're discussing. "Don't struggle -- only within the ground rules that the people you're struggling against have laid down

There's a metarule to the rule that you're discussing. "Don't struggle -- only within the ground rules that the people you're struggling against have laid down." If fighting back helps your enemy, don't just pause and not fight back. Change the state of the system so that the most effective thing -- fighting back -- is viable. Get inside their OODA loop. Change the rhythm of things so that it suits your needs and not theirs.