Yet there are no warriors who clearly understand the Way of the Martial Arts in the world today.
Musashi starts the Book of Five Rings with a brief recounting of his life and winning 60+ duels. Almost as if it were too easy for him. There’s a suggestion that something was lacking in his opponents that allowed him to win so easily. Something that he knew, and they did not, but yet neither did he. He writes the Book of Five Rings to convey to his disciples what these unknown things might be.
What he means by Ways is described. Way of Medicine, Way of Poetry, Way of the Martial Arts. Musashi means Way as in a discipline or field, but does not wish to evoke School or Teaching. He sees Ways as something you do, practice, and live. Not as something that is given to you or passed along and stamped onto you by someone else.
Something that strikes me in this reading is the extreme density of information in this work. Every sentence, every paragraph has something to comment on; something profound being shared or explained. Everything is important, everything is necessary either for clarity or to convey the idea.
Earth is the longest chapter taking up about the first quarter to third of the book so this is a long one.
A warrior should make his best effort in the martial arts according to his own abilities and situation, even if he is naturally untalented in this Way
People think being a warrior is about dying. It is not. I think of people telling police officers and soldiers it is their job to die. It is not. Their job is to suppress crime and smite the wicked/enemy. The Way of the Martial Arts is about overcoming your opponent in any event. I extend this to athletic pursuits. I will never be a champion powerlifter, or even a competitive one. I’m too old, genes are good but not amazing, and life factors work to sabotage, but I lift anyway. In doing so I am stronger than 80-90% of the population. I run Spartan Races, I may never be in even the upper 50%. But, I do hard things and am better for it, better than all those that did not train or do the course at all. Doing The Thing immediately makes you better than those that don’t, even if you are not the most talented or even talented at all. Combine this with Musashi’s know the Ways of all occupations and something powerful results.
As Americans I think it is important that we all have some martial skill. It is critical that we can protect what is ours and smite the wicked amongst us. Lack of even reasonable ability is due to lack of diligence, laziness, and fear rather than any intrinsic factor. Absolutely in this day with modern weapons and availability of information. My experience is pacifism is usually a rationalization to justify the dishonorable, rather than a deeply held belief lacking in contradiction and hypocrisy. Those of us that are warriors of the West have tapped into and joined a tradition of the Spartans, Athenians, Romans, Norse, Britains, and Americans - possibly the Samurai and others as well. It courses through our thoughts and being. It would be difficult in thinking anything else as the Way for us is a solid rope that stretches back thousands of years. This is something that Musashi did not have available to him.
The true way to train in the Martial Arts is so that these skills are useful at any time, and to teach these skills so that they will be useful in all things.
This quote right here is the biggest take away from the entire book. Think on it, and integrate it fully.
Musashi continues from here basically speaking of McDojos and professional trainers leaning on a resume. Traveling warriors and veterans that are teachers with a product for sale. Musashi notes a religious temple that started teaching sword techniques claiming they were delivered from the gods. Consider Musashi’s criticisms in this part apply to many, maybe all, of the trainers that many of us like. Further he continues on negatively towards people who speak of studying at this dojo, with this trainer, or this art to gain benefit for themselves.
These, then, are the four Ways - Warrior, Farmer, Artisan, Merchant.
He precedes this describing each, and follows with saying he will be comparing the Way of the Warrior to the Way of the Carpenter. Musashi himself was a carpenter later in life so this comparison is apt. I would argue that it is important that we all follow all four ways, to which degrees is variable. I’m pegged pretty hard into Warrior, Artisan, and Merchant with only a dabbling of the Farmer. Not sure how the Scientist fits in to Musashi’s framework, yet another place where in his time there are things he could not have known that are available to us.
The Way of the Warrior requires the preparation of weapons and the understanding of each, with advantages and disadvantages. Consider the peasant army with implements selected enmasse then provided to them, rather than Warriors who field weapons they have expertly chosen, maintained, trained on, and brought to that task. Think of the Regular Army in the United States vs the various Special Operations units. I saw this difference in police forces that issue weapons vs those that allow or demand their officers to select and qualify on weapons of their choosing.
I read the comparison of the commander and the master carpenter as Musashi showing us again that the The Way is present in all things. While the details of the topic changes, our skills in the Martial Arts still apply. How a Master Carpenter selects his workers and delegates tasks is no different than the Commander selecting his warriors and delegating missions and weapon assignments. How a building is constructed with what wood where and why, is analogous to a Commander selecting strategy, timing, and field. Or an individual warrior’s weapon selection, SOPs, timing, opponent selection (or strategy for dismantlement). It requires knowledge of the Art, study, experience, and applying experience from other Ways and Arts to perform masterfully. I find that good NCOs upon separation from the Military also make good foremen and crew leaders. These skills are transferable. The mistake comes in a good soldier isn’t necessarily a good manager, but they may be a fantastic worker. Could also be a misfit, but that’s a different topic.
Musashi also speaks of being diligent and careful in your tasks and tools, whether a Carpenter or a Soldier/Warrior. That your goal should be to do the work at your level, a touch more, with care to detail and rightness such that you learn and too will become a master in this area yourself with experience.
I am reminded in this reading of a time in my own life where I realized that this progression no longer exists. There is no apprenticeship, there is no expectation that the new guy is the new guy. Companies and other organizations expect people fully formed ready to go at the moment of hire. I called it “Cop in a Box” at the time. People forget where they came from and how they got to where they are. There is an expectation that a new employee will be immediately well qualified and at full power on day one. Thus forcing the employee to fake it until they make it, pure luck determining whether that person encounters a situation that will undo them before they have the experience or ability to confront it properly. This is folly and partly responsible for the situation of lack of employees and rampant incompetence we all find ourselves in.
If you do not attain the True Way, a small warp in the mind will become a large one
Bold for “You should investigate this”, and I will use bold for this purpose from now on.
Naming the Two-Sword Style
Musashi writes of the Samurai wearing two swords, long and short at the waist though the reason for this is not known. Musashi’s style was one of dual-wielding both of these blades. In contrast is the traditional method of using the short sword in tight quarters, and the long sword outdoors with the other hanging on the belt. Musashi says one should not die with weapons uselessly at the waist. How does this translate to the gunfighter with rifle, pistol, and blade? Is the rifle like the spear, where an important implement of battle but not considered in this approach? Should one consider their pistol as their sword? We use pistols two handed, it is objectively better than pistols akimbo for nearly everyone. Is this as a warning to not carry a ridiculous amount of gear? Or, maybe consider that one should not die with an empty gun, or conversely with full mags on the belt?
It is wrong to hold a sword with both hands… with a list of all the times this is wrong. To me this is advice that it is necessary to be fluid with your weapon, not afraid of it such you must hold it in the “proper way” at all times. When you are running hold your pistol in one hand, support it when firing, then begin moving again. Consider how awkward and weird people appear when moving with their pistol two handed. However, there are times to use that second hand to better control or secure the weapon while moving… I think the lesson is be fluid, do not be bound and stilted.
You should know the ten thousand by the means of the one. When you gain the ability to act in the Way of the Martial Arts, you will miss nothing. You should investigate this thoroughly
In this paragraph Musashi was discussing the appropriate time to use each sword. But that this is not predetermined, one must use their mind to determine the way to victory. Not structure (as in style, teaching, prescribed action), speed, or strength but their knowledge and understanding of the Martial Arts. That by knowing how to use their weapons this choice will become obvious. Thus by knowing the Way of the Sword many answers of what to do in a given situation become obvious. I find this is very true. As I field questions from people less experienced in gunfighting I find while the question may be novel the answer is clear. From a sound foundation flows the course of action.
… there is a reason why the sword is called the Martial Art on its own. It is by virtue of the sword that both society and oneself are put in order, and thus it is the sword from which the martial arts originate.
Again I say centuries later it is necessary to substitute “pistol” for “sword”. From your pistol skills your rifle skills grow, it does not go the other way around. The pistol is how society and oneself are put in order. Police carry it as a symbol of office, we citizens as the tool and guarantee of a free people. We wield it to make reason the way to interact rather than force. The pistol is the implement you carry in your commitment to and symbol of being a Warrior and a Citizen, just as the Samurai carried their swords.
One of the virtues of the bow is that the released arrow can be watched by the eye. The rifle bullet cannot be watched, and this is a weak point
End of a paragraph discussing weapon selection in battles, and selling the essential nature of the sword as a general purpose weapon necessary when closing on the enemy. I select that quote as it is for a different reason, again centuries later. Consider the power a gunfighter has when they can evaluate damage on their target in real time as they shoot. Learning to not blink, not flinch, and maintain target focus while firing is absolutely critical. It is an ability that must be obtained, as soon as possible, as many rounds as necessary. Further it goes to make you not scared of your weapon anymore and shut off your caveman brain. This will further compound in value as your weapon feels like it recoils less, which will improve your trigger control. You will see the rounds appear on your target (or in) where you expect and be able to follow up with better placed shots in real time. Absolutely critical when firing on moving targets or targets in cover. You need to know where your rounds are going, and feedback this is true rather than just belief. You can see if the rounds are having the effect desired (such as a null effect due to armor), you can see if your opponent has stopped as a threat making you legally required to stop shooting, you can see if more rounds are required, if you are actually missing and by how much, and so on. Sometimes when firing on live targets this is more difficult as the human body is not impressed with pistol caliber ammunition, but that at the very least is a signal to keep shooting.
But, with weapons, just as with other things, you should not make distinctions or preferences. Going too far is the same as going not far enough. Without imitating others, you should take what is appropriate to yourself and use a weapon you can handle. It is wrong for either a general or a soldier to have a preference for one thing and to dislike another. It is essential to make efforts in these things.
Please, tell me about how your Daniel Defense AR15 is a king among all other AR15s… that are just like it… or your Glock is perfection and no other pistols should be made… or the P320 is going to go off by itself… I think you get the point. Musashi is correct and we should all strive to do better in this. We may learn the advantages and disadvantages of a particular tool, and select that tool based on those traits. If a tool is made available to us we should focus on its advantages rather than disadvantages. Chesterton’s Fence for weaponry. Why was this tool created, what is its purpose, why was it made this way? Consider being a weapons master, capable of using all from your art proficiently and fluidly as you need them. Rather than, for example, being very good with an AR platform rifle, but clumsy on a P90, lever gun, shotgun, UMP, Tavor or MDR, G3, AK, or any other number of bullet launchers.
Next Musashi gives us another list
Think without any dishonesty. Forge yourself in the Way Touch upon all of the arts. Know the Ways of all occupations. Know the advantages and disadvantages of everything. Develop a discerning eye in all matters. Understand what cannot be seen by the eye. Pay attention to even small things. Do not involve yourself with the impractical.
Four centuries ago Musashi tells us a key truth of the world that for many had to be brought to them by Jordan Peterson. Tell the truth, or at least do not lie. In doing so you stop thinking in lies and tolerating lies in yourself an others, and thus the superpower is had. Tolerating untruths allows for larger and larger warps in the mind, as discussed earlier.
Be a polymath or at least try. Do not over specialize, do not pigeonhole yourself. It is critically important that you are adaptable. An animal that cannot live another way or occupy another niche is sure to die if conditions change. One finds themselves then fighting to keep conditions the same. This is unnatural and will come eventually with a bill. The nature of the universe is change and evolution. I consider myself here, re-purposed 2 times over. How I make my money is not what I trained to do nor my interest, nor part of my being, but it is useful and has allowed me to survive and do somewhat well to pursue those other endeavors on my own. Being highly skilled in many things will teach you greatly about your main thing, and sometimes allow you to pursue that thing when one cannot make their living that way.
In the final section of this chapter Musashi discusses following the Way rightly. That which you could not defeat with your body you can with your mind. In large numbers many people following the Way supply good men as soldiers, which carrying themselves correctly will well-regulate the country, and in maintaining the people, which leads to a good and orderly society. Thomas Jefferson spoke of this in regards to the art of the gun, so did George Washington. We know this is so as those correctly following the Path, the Way, are better men better suited to better lead and guide such that we may live in a good world. We know that the loss of the Path and the denigration of it has lead to a weaker, debased, deranged society due to men that are the same. As more of us find the Way and practice it rightly we find things begin to turn around for ourselves first and then beyond.
Next Water.