The Book of Five Rings Hardcover Author: Visit Amazon's Miyamoto Musashi Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1590309847 | Format: PDF, EPUB
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Review
"On Wall Street, when Musashi talks, people listen" -Time Magazine
"Musashi's teachings read like lessons from the latest business management gurus. Who couldn't succeed in business by applying Musahi's insights to conflicts and strategy." -Inc. Magazine
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Miyamoto Musashi, who lived in Japan in the 1600s, was an undefeated dueler, a masterless samurai, and an independent teacher. He spent the last decades of his life refining and teaching his military science.
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- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Shambhala (May 15, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1590309847
- ISBN-13: 978-1590309841
- Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
As others have already written very complete reviews, I just had a few miscellaneous comments, mostly on how to understand Musashi's seemingly paradoxical ideas about technique.
This has become a legendary book. Written by the famous swordsman, sometimes referred to in the west as "The Lone Ranger of Japan," Musashi claimed to have been in over 60 sword battles, triumphing each time, so it's no wonder Musashi's name has become legendary in both Japan and the west.
The book sets out Musashi's philosophy and correct Way of the Sword. But the principles Musashi espouses are bound to sound perplexing to many people. Musashi says that the best stance is no stance, that too much strength is bad (your sword may shatter when clashing swords), and that even too much speed is bad (it may upset your balance), and that none of these are the true Way of the Sword. The best technique is, in fact, no technique.
This sort of philosophy is bound to be more than a little confusing, so I'll see if I can clarify it a little. I'm not sure I understand Musashi either, although I've studied martial arts for many years and have read my share of eastern philosophy, but I'll give you my ideas on how I relate to them just in case you find them useful.
Basically what Musashi is saying is that once you've learned a technique and committed it to memory and especially "muscle memory," it becomes fixed and is no longer adaptive. Your body becomes channalized into this form or technique, which then becomes limiting, preventing you from achieving true mastery, which is the ability to adapt and flow with any of the infinite number of situations you may encounter. Fixity is therefore dysfunctional and is not the true Way of the Sword.
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