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?
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?