Musashi Miyamoto

The Book of Five Rings Annotated Musashi Miyamoto

The Book of Five Rings is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts in general, written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi around 1643. "When I reached thirty I looked back on my past. The previous victories were not due to my having mastered strategy. Perhaps it was natural ability, or the order of heaven, or that other schools' strategy was inferior. After that I studied morning and evening searching for the principle, and came to realise the Way of strategy when I was fifty."He spent his whole life mastering the craft, and then summarized his lessons so concisely and eloquently. Musashi compares learning with being a carpenter, the teacher cannot force learning on the student, and the student cannot learn in isolation: "The teacher is as a needle, the disciple is as thread. You must practice constantly."In combat, Musashi would typically use two swords, one short and one long. He touches on the importance of using all of your weapons in combat and life: "This is a truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn.""It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first. Bows are difficult to draw, halberds are difficult to wield; as you become accustomed to the bow so your pull will become stronger. When you become used to wielding the long sword, you will gain the power of the Way and wield the sword well.""Anyway, if you learn "indoor" techniques, you will think narrowly and forget the true Way. Thus you will have difficulty in actual encounters."I love this idea: "You should not have a favourite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well."Musashi breaks the book into five books: Ground, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void