Question about The Book of Five Rings

D

David Roberson

New member
As someone who has recently started studying Musashi's "The Book of Five Rings," I wanted to raise a question for response by other martial artists here.

In the Thomas Cleary translation, Musashi is quoted as saying, "You should not have any special fondness for a particular weapon." It's not clear to me whether Musashi is saying that a martial artist should not have a special fondness for any one of the various weapons that a warrior uses (sword, spear, bow, gun, etc.) or that a martial artist should not favor one particular sword or spear over another.

Maybe another translation expresses the thought differently, or maybe someone who has studied Musashi in greater depth knows precisely what he's saying. To me, it seems reasonable that the type of weapon one uses should to the degree possible be determined by the situation -- the old proverb "Don't take a knife to a gun fight" comes to mind -- and not by personal preference (i.e., I like handguns so I try to use a handgun even in a situation where a knife or a rifle would be better).

But perhaps Musashi is saying that you shouldn't have a favorite pistol, or a favorite knife or shotgun? If so, clearly most of us today deviate from what he would consider the true way of the martial artist -- we favor the 1911 over the P99, the Kaspar over the Kabar, the Remington over the Mossberg, etc.

Anyone have any insights into what he means, or have comments on this issue?
 
When I read it, I interpreted it to not have a preference for a specific weapon. For example, don't rely on having a 1911 over a Glock. Basically, I think that Musashi was getting at: "There is no magic sword". Just because I happen to carry a 1911 right now, that doesn't mean I can't do a good job with a Glock or Sig.

I don't think he was getting at the bow vs. sword vs. spear debate. This is because IIRC Musashi almost always used a sword or two. Even when he didn't fight with a sword, he used a bokken. But of course it is valuable for any warrior to be proficient in the use of all kinds of weaponry.

In his youth, he actually fought as a foot soldier in the battle of Sekigahara. So it is reasonable for one to assume that he was proficient with the yari as well. But the only weapon he persued with great vigor was the sword. He also killed Shisido Baiken with a thrown dagger to his chest. So it is safe to assume that Musashi knew how to use various weaponry although he favored the sword.
 
I agree with ronin308. I think Musashi was talking about using the right weapon for the right job.

Never use your katana indoors, the wakizashi is for close quarters work indoors. Or, to use a Tony Blauer reference in the same vein, you don't use your best move in combat, you use the worst move for your opponent.
 
David:

I've found the translations by Steve Kaufman of Musashi's Five Rings and Sun Tzu'z Art of War to be excellant. Kaufman is a martial artist with forty-odd years of experience in karate and his translations reflect his martial background.

Anyway, under the heading "The Advantage of Using Weapons in Strategy", in the "Book of Earth", Musashi states, "Consider the times you are living in and the weapons available to you. As times change and new weapons are made available to you, you must continue to study the nature of these weapons and learn to work with them in learning my strategy."

Later on in the same section, he says that "weapons may have decorations on them to enhance the spirit of the warrior but they should primarily be built for durability."

To me, Musashi was saying that you should have no favorite tool (be it sword, bow,lance or pistol, shotgun, rifle) and that it was incumbent upon the warrior to be proficient in all weapons that were available to him.
 
I think that in the context of his character either could be true. I know at least one instance when Musashi carved the bokken he was going to use in a duel on the way to the fight.

However I think he was really talking about the later in the context of the book. In the Book of Five Rings he talks about not using the long sword like the short sword. Each has its own use, with the short sword being quick and the long sword being deliberate. Trying to use one like the other is a mistake. He also talks about bringing whatever weapons you have to bear against your enemy (it is here he suggests using both swords at once) and the proper weapons. Like Bruce Lee he is emphasizing the importance of flexibility.
 
Awesome posts folks.

I see it in the same context as the chapter of the void. Don't focus on a particular school of thought, don't focus on a particular weapon - no stagnation. VERY much like Lee's later realizations of his own tao/do.

The subtle implications in the kanji Musashi chose must be extremely difficult to translate indeed. Haven't read the book in years.
 
"A weapon not drawn, is a weapon wasted"

"You should not have any special fondness for a particular weapon."
Click to expand...

I have taken this to mean that you go with what you got. If a beer bottle is closer to hand (in a CQC situation) than the blade in your pocket, then use the bottle!

Use what is available and use everything you got!
 
People like to do things that they do well,and don't like to do things they don't do well. By the same token if someone has a particular fondness for a weapon he (or she) will like to practice with it more than one he is not so proficent with. I think Musashi was trying to get the message across that a warrior needs to be well rounded......practice with all your weapons not just one.
 
I'm a long-time lurker and infrequent poster, and I found this topic irresistible because I consider myself to be somewhat of a linguist (albeit an amateur, and certainly not an expert in martial arts or 17th-century Japanese writing :)

Two things have always helped me interpret writing: perspective and context. First, I'll offer a new perspective with an alternate translation (Victor Harris) of the same passage:

"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. You should not copy others, but use weapons which you can handle properly. It is bad for commanders and troops to have likes and dislikes. "

The second sentence of this rendering implies that Musashi cautions against having a favorite class of weapon (e.g. long sword, companion sword, spear, halberd, etc.) that you study exclusively at the expense of all others; since I imagine that someone who is skilled with the long sword will be just as proficient with one long sword as with another.

Second, the context in which this passage appears further lends itself to the proposition that Musashi refers to classes of weapons rather than particular weapons of a given class. The entire section "The Benefit of Weapons in Strategy" focuses on the time and place in which certain weapons (i.e. classes of weapons) are most useful; e.g. when a bow is better than a gun and vice versa, where and when to use a spear or halberd rather than a sword, when not to use a companion sword, etc.

I see a good application for modern-day CCW "warriors": Don't spend all your time training with only one weapon (your gun, your knife, your baton, your hands, etc.), since you never know when, where, or under what circumstances you will need to use your training. All of your range time may amount to nothing if a situation goes "code black" in a crowded area where you aren't sure of what is behind your target!
 
Voltaire, many thanks for your comments. This has given me a useful perspective from which to consider Musashi's comments.

Great thread. Thanks to all who have contributed.
 
Nice to get three angles supporting a very coherent interpretation just like that. This is why I hang around here. Thank you, all.

Not all things exist to be disputed...
 
GOMEZ wrote:

To me, Musashi was saying that you should have no favorite tool (be it sword, bow,lance or pistol, shotgun, rifle) and that it was incumbent upon the warrior to be proficient in all weapons that were available to him.


This I fully agree with. To be able to use anything as a weapon, not just to be an expert or skilled with a style or type. But to be a warrior in mind, spirit, & reality. A sword, Glock, 2X4, car, pencil, rock, etc.

All of you shooters should agree that the only weapon is between your ears, that is what uses whatever tool is available to meet whatever challenge comes along.


- Mike B.
cashooter
 
Be centered in thought and action

use what you have brought to its full advantage.

Preparation lies first in what is within. Second, the weapon is an extension of ones spirit.
 
"From one thing, know ten thousand things".

Timing is everything. Timing in the use of a particular weapon, tactic, strategy. As Musashi said, (and Bruce Lee as well), know your opponent's timing, and then use a timing your opponent will not expect.
 
Musashi lived in a time when masters of given weapons spent considerable time and effort devising methods of using those given weapons in every conceivable way.

I.e. a master of the spear, while perhaps quite adept at employing other weapons, held to using the spear outside of battlefield combat in the pursuit of evaluating, improving, and ultimately perfecting his spear technique.

Take the fellow who served up Musashi's sole defeat. Of all the weapons at his disposal, he opted for his specialty when faced with the prospect of a potentially lethal encounter with the acknowledged master of the twin blades, a jo. A jo! Crazy? If he had lost his head, we'd likely all agree that he was. But he won with a staff four feet in length, give or take a few inches, and thus assured his place at near legendary status in martial art lore.

Anyway...

I feel Musashi was commenting that one should not have a particular fondness for a particular weapon as a general rule; i.e. do not always rely on twin swords, short staffs, spears, etc. They all have a time and a place, and a prudent warrior will know when and where to use them.

But I could be wrong.
 
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