Think that what is written down here was done just for you, and do not consider simply looking at it, familiarizing yourself with it, or trying to imitate it.
Integrate what Musashi has to say into your very being. If it is necessary to think to yourself what Musashi teaches such that you know to do that, rather than it being your thoughts, you are doing it wrong. I often explain to others something is a Musashi thing that I am demonstrating, however, it is mine. I do that thing because it is natural and right to me now. Unfortunately others do not care about effectiveness but credentials, so, I shortcut the argument by pointing to Musashi. Probably lazy, but I’m tired of having to sell these things when the merits are not recognized because the person cares more about where it is from than what it does. They wish to imitate and collect rather than integrate.
Keep the mind in the exact center, not allowing it to become sidetracked; let it sway peacefully, not allowing it to stop doing so for even a moment. You should investigate this thoroughly.
Your frame of mind in battle is the same as your every day mind. Conversely your every day mind is the same as your combat mind. You should not tunnel but see all around you, but do not wander such that you miss what is in front of you. These are paradoxes of battle, but they are true. You must focus, but not singularly so. It is necessary for one’s mind to wander a bit such this is where inspiration and creativity spawn novel and useful ideas. Much like the Greeks teachings of moderation in all things, you must find balance. Yet be one. Modern parlance this is situational awareness and avoiding tunnel vision, while still being able to target focus. It’s being “on” all of the time because you never know when a hostile may decide now is the time, yet not so on that you burn yourself out so you are too fatigued to fight if it happens. A theme in the Book of Five Rings is that you must be the same person at all times, no “Game Face”, no “Go Time”. You practice the Martial Arts, walk the Path, utilize and learn its wisdom at all times. This is natural to do because you find the wisdom of the Martial Arts in all things and useful in all things.
There is something particularly unique in the wisdom of the martial arts. Even when the action is extraordinarily lively on the battlefield, you should take the principles of the martial arts to the extreme and keep your mind unmoved.
Do not think with emotion. Do not consider fear. Detach. Be present but not. See all things and move decisively, efficiently, and calmly. Take neither too much action or not enough. Ignore that which does not matter, even if flashy or spectacular, have your attention drawn to that which is true danger or an opportunity for victory.
… master the use of the eyes, and do not change that under any circumstances.
Musashi describes the difference between observation and seeing. The translator has a nice footnote here that “observation” also includes the terms “contemplation” or “looking through” or even “mediating on the mind”. Seeing being much more physical of a meaning. We are taught this in modern security, situational awareness, and personal defense courses. I’ve even been exposed to it in medical training. It is important to observe and understand that which you sense with your eyes. To know beyond that which is sensed on the surface. Understand that much of modern science is deducing great knowledge from indirect measurements that one may think are unrelated. One must not only to register what they sense with their eyes, or only recognize it, but must understand it and its meaning. One must be active in the use of their senses and the compilation of an understanding of the world around them. A warrior must be able to deduce like a scientist what else is present beyond what the body’s sensors provide.
The Way to Hold a Sword. Another section where I find the wisdom of pistol craft is much like that of a sword. Musashi tells us “It is wrong to have a relaxed grasp; you should take up the sword with the idea of cutting your opponent down”. Much the same we should do with our firearms. We should grasp them as we would if someone were trying to kill us, and we must smite them such they may not. He tells us our grasp on our weapon should not change regardless of if we are testing it, evaluating a new one, or in battle. One must respect and understand their weapon and its purpose, not becoming lax in its use. When we wield our weapons we do so with purpose and intent, even if in training or practice.
The Yin-Yang Foot means never moving just one foot … I repeat: you should never step with just one foot.
Consider this in how you move and place your feet. It applies to the gunfighter exactly how it applies to any warrior through history regardless of their weapon. How do you point your toes while moving? Do you adjust your stance such that you may move in any direction at any time? Do you maintain your balance as you move or do you find that you become something akin to gimbal-locked, where if you move further you will fall down or be unable to continue? This seems very small but it is a very big deal, especially when moving in and around cover, through and among structures, and when needing to address unknown and unforeseen threats. You should investigate this thoroughly.
No matter which of these stances you take, you should not think of the stance itself, but rather that you are going to cut your opponent down.
This section is fairly specific to sword fighting. Killer intent is key here. It is not important the exact way you clear cover or slay your opponent. Only that you do so with intention of killing your opponent with the understanding they intend to do the same to you. Musashi discusses the Middle Stance as being best. I believe this is because it is as the center, you adopt other stances from it and return to it. Our default flat range stance is our middle stance. This is where we find our fastest cadence and our best accuracy, we flow out of it sacrificing some of our accuracy and speed for mobility and to present a more difficult target, whether due to the motion alone or to utilize cover. We take side, in our case leaning stances, in order to shoot around cover and provide less of a target. But, whenever we can we try to return to that planted isosceles stance even if for but a moment. As Musashi writes we do not think of these stances, only what we must do.
Consider drawing in and parrying opponents and how this may play into forcing mistakes such you may capitalize on them knowing they are about to occur. In real gunfights just like swordfights your opponent has agency, they have a say, they will take strikes they will send rounds. Make those strikes and rounds serve your purpose and not unduly endanger you. In Musashi’s framework combat is a mental game primarily. It’s strategy and tactics, all else is lesser. Physical abilities enable strategies and tactics, but one should not rely on being physically superior, or even matched.
The next sections are about the five fundamentals of his sword style. They are very specific to swords and tactics with swords. There is something to learn here that applies to gunfighting. “… you train in the way of the sword with your hands”. You need to be on the range, you cannot only read and watch YouTube videos. One might glean from the fundamentals section the rhythm of battle, of your misses and your opponents’ and how to recover and deftly move into a killing strike. Again it’s efficiency of motion and killer intent. Musashi writes of discerning the path of your opponent’s sword by knowing how one moves their own. To gunfighting this is about seeing cover and concealment, lanes of fire, ricochet risks, being able to know where your opponent cannot go, deny lanes of fire that are dis-favorable to you (you’re in actual danger, or your movement restricted if these lanes are used) and get your opponent to shoot down lanes that are of little to no risk to you, but will cause the opponent to waste their ammunition and announce their position.
The lesson of the stance-no-stance is useful to us. Much of what is written in this section is again about being fluid rather than robotic and stilted in your positioning and movements. It also directs us to position our weapon with a mind to strike our opponent down. Move with your barrel directed at your target, move such that even if launching a wild unaimed shot while moving quickly it will still strike in the vicinity of your opponent if not your opponent. Do not witness your own death because your barrel was pointed in a non-useful direction. Yet, do not become stilted and restricted in your movement because you are running around like a tank turret. “It is essential to think that anything at all is an opportunity to cut him down.” Use your movement, your positioning, your skills to ensure that at any opportunity you can strike fatally at your opponent. Do not allow opportunities to prevail to waste because your weapon is not ready, and your intent is not resolved. “It is wrong to be inflexible. You should make great efforts in this.
Striking Your Opponent in One Count. This is draw and fire… Stand and Deliver… the duel at high noon… “… taking a position where you and your opponent may strike each other and before he has settled on a tactic and without putting your mind anywhere striking him quickly and directly.” Musashi encourages us to practice this and learn to strike quickly in the rhythm of the interval. It requires taking initiative, which is difficult to do in lawful self defense. This is watching face, hands, waist such that if any furtive movement is made and a weapon being reached for you may smite your opponent before they are able to touch their weapon. This is why people get shot, rightfully, when reaching for their cell phones while in an encounter with a police officer. The officer does not have time to wait to be certain. No thought - no concept strike falls in this category. You practice your draw and fire to the point that you decide a round must be sent, where, and your body executes the rest. It happens. You do not consider defeating garment, establishing grip, seeing your sight, aiming, trigger control. No. Your body does what you have practiced over and over again. You see the threat, see where the round goes, and send it. It goes. You don’t think on it, just command. “This is often an effective strike, and you should practice and master it thoroughly.”
Musashi tells us the importance of positioning yourself and your weapon in such a way you can make a strong strike at all times. With a sword it is about having the leverage to utilize your strength to make a fast powerful blow in a direction that will cut down the opponent. With our guns it is about having a good control so we may mitigate recoil, ability to know where our barrel is pointing (which may or may not include using the sights) so we control where the rounds go, having a strong grip such we have a tight error cone, setting up follow up shots, not losing our weapon if it is struck or grabbed, etc.
The Connection Hit Take advantage of your opponent trying to move by hitting them even if somewhat ineffective. It is a strike made at any place at all. Constantly be landing hits, be causing pain whenever possible. Later in the book Musashi speaks of “Cutting the Corners”, this is where you strike at parts of the body that are not fatal to take a cut or a blunt strike, but induce pain, and bleeding and are annoying. This diminishes your opponent and makes them easier to strike down in the end. We shoot people’s hands and feet. We shoot them where they do not defend, we shoot them where they think a part is unimportant. It will matter. If they try to leave cover shoot at them and close. We diminish our opponents such they may not fight back against us effectively, each hit is a piece of their undoing.
Many of the specific techniques and mentalities Musashi writes of in this chapter are possibly useful in grappling and ECQC/Retention fights. It is probably worth studying the grappling arts then considering what Musashi says and see if it is applicable to you or there is wisdom that can be applied. This is not an area that I am extremely well versed in a way that I am willing to write specific guidance here. For example:
The essence of Lacquer and Glue is that when you have come close to the body of your opponent, stick to it without separating. When you have closed in on your opponent’s body, stick to it with strength - head, body, and feet. Often people will close in with their head or feet but will leave out the rest of their body. Keep your body pressed to your opponent’s, without letting even a small space in between. You should investigate this thoroughly.
Stabbing the face. Keep your mind intent on stabbing your opponent’s face. Stab him in the eyeball. This is a piece of killer intent. Controlled aggression that their face needs a hole or a few in it. It prevents you from retracting. If your opponent is flinchy because of your aggression and your intent on hitting their face, Musashi says you have already achieved victory. Consider this in reverse, if your opponent is causing you to recoil, to withdraw, to cower, or flinch this is a dire situation that must be corrected immediately.
Encountering many opponents. One of the legendary Musashi battles occurs after he killed the brothers at the head of a prominent sword fighting school. The students of this school, in revenge, ambush Musashi in the woods as he left town. The legend is he killed at least a dozen, maybe two dozen men in this fight. The tactic & strategy in this section is simple and effective and is how he did it. First is not to immediately run but to stand strong facing your opponents weapons drawn and ready. If surrounded it is critical to violently attack an opponent immediately, ideally killing them to get through and past them such that you can keep all of your enemies forward of you and on one side. “Cut into them vigorously to keep them in disorder.” You must continually undo and prevent any further flanking maneuvers. Ideally anyone that attempts to flank or leave the group should be immediately killed to discourage it in the other combatants. “Be intent on driving your opponents in one direction like a school of fish. When you see that they are falling all over each other, you should wade into them vigorously without any pause.” Musashi encourages us to practice grouping our opponents and chasing them to their doom. You herd your opponents to a place where they are with their allies, close, believe themselves safe in numbers together. Really you are pushing them to their deaths. Think of yourself as a shark working around the edges of a school of fish, bringing them in ever tighter, until at a critical moment you turn through them and feast. It works in just about any combat game you can think of from FPS to star-fighters. This technique works awesome in video games vs both players and bots. There’s really no excuse to not learn it.
“If you keep the One Strike in mind, you will assuredly gain the victory.” This section is very vague. The One Strike is determining to kill your opponent in one powerful decisive strike as soon as possible. Or, when exchanging blows punish your opponent in extremis for any mistake they may make. That at any time you are ready to end the fight with one violent and powerful action. Musashi instructs that if we do not study our Martial Art well it will not be there to develop our mind. Our mind is what takes the victory. The One Strike, this intent, is part of honing our mind to take decisive victories. I believe Musashi is telling us to avoid fighting battles by a thousand cuts, do not rely on winning by attrition. Actually defeat your opponents violently and decisively. Musashi’s legend and known battles he put this into practice. Never forget the author of this work defeated 61 warriors in single combat, plus more killed in warfare and other fights. Consider what he has to say and advises carefully, do not dismiss his strategy and tactics casually. He is one that lived by the sword but did not die by it.
Direct Transmission. The two-sword style is an oral tradition handed down directly from teacher to student. It is essential that we as gunfighters learn from others, ideally directly, and also once Masters we teach others. This goes beyond the martial arts.
By studying in the Martial Arts your body and mind sharpen and speed. Thomas Jefferson had similar words about the art of the gun centuries later when advocating marksmanship. “The journey of a thousand ri proceeds step by step, so think without rushing.” Musashi too tells us to get started, take a step, then another, each step manageable, frequent and in cadence. Each day you are better than the last. You pass those that did not improve today. Stress, Recovery, Adaptation. So is how we become strong, so is how we learn the Martial Arts, or do anything else. Do not fail to begin because the first step is never taken. It does not matter how small that step is, if in the right direction it is a good one, then do it again.
See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice, and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training. You should investigate this thoroughly
Next Fire.