The Book of Five Rings - holybooks.com

1 The book of five RingsMiyamoto, MusashiPublished: 1644 Categories(s): Non-Fiction, PhilosophySource: Miyamoto:Miyamoto Musashi ( June 13 (Japanese calendar: May 19), 1645), also known as Shinmen Takez , Miyamoto Bennosuke, or by his Buddhist name Niten D raku was a famous Japanese samurai, and is considered by many to have been one of the most skilled swordsmen in history. Musashi, as he is often simply known, became legendary through his outstanding swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age. He is the founder of the Hy h Niten Ichi-ry or Niten-ry style of swordsmanship and the author of The book of five Rings , a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today. Source: WikipediaNote: This book is brought to you by for personal use, do not use this file for commercial ,calledNiTenIchi Ryu, and now I think I will explain it in writing for the first (1645).

2 IhaveclimbedmountainIwatoofHigoinKyushut opayhomagetoheaven,praytoKwannon, ,ShinmenMusashiNoKamiFujiwaraNoGenshin, the Way of ,IstruckdownastrategistoftheShintoschool , ,neveroncefailingtowininmany , ,ortheorderofheaven,orthatotherschools's trategywas , , the tenth month, at the hour of the tiger (3-5 )3 Chapter1 THE GROUND , who really understands the Way of ,theWayofConfuciusgoverningtheWayoflearn ing,theWayofhealingasadoctor,asapoetteac hingtheWayofWaka,tea,archery, 'sisthetwofoldWayofpenandsword,andheshou ldhave a taste for both , ,women,peasantsandlowlierfolkhavebeenkno wntodiereadilyinthecauseofdutyoroutofsha me, ,orenjoiningbattlewithlargenumbers,wecan attainpowerandfameforourselves or our lord. This is the virtue of Way of StrategyInChinaandJapanpractitionersofth eWayhavebeenknownas"masters of strategy". Warriors must learn this , ,andmadeschoolsbasedonthisteaching,trave lingfromcountrytocountry instructing men.

3 This is the recent meaning of cannot be seen within the confines of sword-fencing , ,boththoseteachingandthoselearningtheway areconcernedwithcolouringandshowingoffth eirtechnique, "ThisDojo"and"ThatDojo". "Immaturestrategyisthecauseofgrief". :asgentlemen,farmers, artisans and ,heseesspringsthrough to autumns with an eye on the changes of is always to live by taking profit. This is the Way of the the gentleman warrior, carrying the weaponry of his ,somusthenothavealittletasteforthis? , gentleman, the farmer, the artisan and the the Way of the Carpenter to ,housesofwarriors,theFourhouses,ruinofho uses,thrivingofhouses,thestyleofthehouse ,thetraditionofthehouse, , , , ,thecommandermustknownaturalrules,andthe rulesofthecountry, ,andtheplansofpalaces, ,choiceofwoods is , ,evenifalittleweak,isusedforthethreshold s,lintels,doors,andslidingdoors, ,thoughitbegnarledandknotted, as scaffolding, and later for ,makersofslidingdoors,thresholdsandlinte ls, , , , as the principle of Way of StrategyLikeatrooper, , ,shapesfloorboardsandshelveswithaplane,c utsfineopenworkandcarvingsaccurately, can become a 'sattainmentis,havingtoolswhichwillcutwe ll,tomakesmallshrines,writingshelves,tab les,paperlanterns, for the trooper.

4 You ought to think deeply about ,thatthejointsarenotmisaligned, ,deeplyconsiderthethingswritteninthisboo kone at a time. You must do sufficient of the five Books of this book of ,Water,Fire,Wind(tradition),andVoid(thei llusionarynature of worldly things) , out on the ground, the first book is called the Ground , , , ,whenyoufreelybeatoneman, , ,toknowtenthou-sand things. Things of Ichi school are written in this the Water ,whetherthefirebesmallorbig; ,itisdifficultforlargenumbersofmentochan geposition, , in the Fire ,present-daytraditions, ,andyourspiritdiverges, , , ,althoughitincludessword-fen-cing, by strategy in other schools in the Tradition (Wind) , ,knowingrhythmofanysituation, of the Name Ichi Ryu Ni To (One school - two swords)Warriors,bothcommandersandtrooper s, ; ,whateverthereason,awarriorcarriestwoswo rds at his belt. It is the Way of the warrior."Nito Ichi Ryu" shows the advantages of using both :whenyousacrificeyourlife, not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet ,itisdifficulttowielditfreelytoleftandri ght, , ,whenrunningonun-evenroads,onswampygroun d,muddyricefields,stonyground, , ,whenitisdifficulttocutanenemydownwithon ehand, ;theWaytolearnthisistotrainwithtwolongsw ords, , ,halberdsaredifficulttowield; , you will gain the power of the Way and wield the sword ,theWaterBook, ,youcanwinwithalongweapon, ,theWayoftheIchischoolisthespiritofwinni ng, , and especially if you want to take a , thing you cannot see.

5 You must study Benefit of the Two Characters Reading "Strategy" ,thosewhomasterthebowarecalledarchers,th osewhomasterthespeararecalledspearmen,th osewhomasterthegunarecalledmarksmen, "longswordsmen",nordowespeakof"companion swordsmen".Becausebows,guns,spearsandhal berdsareallwarriors' , "strategybymeansofthelongsword".Ifheatta insthevirtueofthelongsword, ,soahun-dredmencanbeatathousand, ,onemanisthesameastenthousand,sothisstra tegyisthecomplete warrior's ,suchasCon-fucianism,Buddhism,certaintra ditions, , Benefit of Weapons in StrategyThere is a time and place for use of , in all ; , , weapons for the ,ifyoulearn"indoor"techniques, ,especiallybattlesonamoor, ,itisunsatisfactoryinsieges, , , , , , , , These are things you must learn in a great deal of , ,shootingbowsandguns, abilities there is timing. There is also timing in the ,inhisthrivingandde-clining, ,thereistimingintheWay10ofthemerchant, ,andfromamongthelargeandsmallthingsandth efastandslowtimingsfindtherelevanttiming , , otherwise your strategy will become 'timing,andthususingatimingwhichtheenemy does not to appreciate , ,Water,Fire,Tradition(Wind),andVoid.

6 This is the way for men who want to learn my strategy:1. Do not think The Way is in Become acquainted with every Know the Ways of all Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for Perceive those things which cannot be Pay attention even to Do nothing which is of no , , ,conquermenwithyourbody, ,willitnotmeanthatyouareinvincible?11 Moreover,inlargescalestrategythesuperior manwillmanagemanysubordinatesdextrously, bearhimselfcorrectly,governthecountryand fosterthepeople,thuspreservingtheruler' ,tohelponeselfandgainhon-our, it is the Way of WATER BOOKT hespiritoftheNiTenIchischoolofstrategyis basedonwater, , ;readawordthenpon-der on it. If you interpret the meaning loosely you will mistake the ,butyoumustthinkbroadlysothatyouattainan understandingfor ten-thousand-a-side a little you will become bewildered and fall into bad ,memoriseorim-itate,butsothatyourealizet heprinciplefromwithinyourownheartstudy hard to absorb these things into your Bearing in , , , enemy see your , , , :learnpublicjustice,distinguishbetweengo odandevil, you will have realized the wisdom of ,evenwhenyouarehard-pressed,youshouldcea selesslyresearchthe principles of strategy so that you can develop a steady in StrategyAdoptastancewiththeheaderect,nei therhangingdown,norlookingup, , , :instillvigourintoyourhairline, ,withoutthebuttocksjuttingout, ,sothatyourbeltisnotslack-thisiscalled "wedging in".

7 Inallformsofstrategy, must research this Gaze in "Perception and Sight". Perception is strong and sight ' and for large-scale ; the Long Sword14 Gripthelongswordwitharatherfloatingfeeli nginyourthumbandforefinger,withthemiddle fingerneithertightnorslack,andwiththelas t two fingers tight. It is bad to have play in your , ,andyourhandsmustnot"cower".Whenyoudasht heenemy'sswordaside,orwarditoff,orforcei tdown, ,youmustbeintentoncuttingtheenemyinthewa y you grip the thing as a "man-cutting grip".Generally, , ,withlargeorsmallsteps, know as "jumping-foot", "floating-foot" and "fixed-steps".So-called"Yin-Yangfoot" ,withdrawing, not move on one foot five AttitudesThefiveattitudesare:Upper,Middl e,Lower,RightSide, , ,donotbeconsciousofmakingtheatti-tude; , to use Left or Right depends on the ,theMiddleattitudeis15theseatofthecomman der,withtheotherfourattitudesfollowingth ecommander.

8 You must appreciate Way of the Long , ,likeafoldingfanorashortsword,youwillerr byusing"shortswordchopping".Youcannotcut downamanwith a long sword using this ,liftitstraightup-wards;whenyoucutsidewa ys, ,alwaysstretchingtheelbowsbroadly. Wield the sword strongly. This is the Way of the ,youwillbeableto wield a sword well. You must train five ,dashhisswordtotherightand"ride" ,whentheenemyattacks,deflectthepointofhi sswordbyhittingdownwards,keepyourlongswo rdwhereitis, first , ,therearenoattitudesotherthanthefiveatti tudesofthelongsword of Ni , ,keepyourswordwhereitisand,scoopingupfro mbelow,cuthimashere-news the attack. It is possible to repeat the cut from with the five long sword methods. You must train ,adopttheLowerattitude, , ,cuthisupperarm(s)horizontallywithafeeli ngof"crossing".Thismeansthatfromthelower attitudes you hit the enemy at the instant that he ,bothasabeginnerandinlaterstrategy.

9 You must train holding a long , ,withthefeelingofhittinghishands,parryth epath of his long sword and cut across from above your the line of the enemy's attack. You must research , 'sattack,crossyourlongswordfrombelowatth e side to the Upper attitude. Then cut straight from you can use this method, you can freely wield a heavy long "inharmonywiththelongsword"Way,learnlarg e-scaletiming,understandtheenemy'slongsw ord, ,withvarioustimingconsiderationsdiscern- ing the enemy's spirit. You must consider all this "Attitude No-Attitude"Teaching"AttitudeNo-Attitude "meansthatthereisnoneedforwhatareknowas long sword , ,inaccordancewiththesituation,theplace, , ,ifyouturnyourswordfromeithertheLeftSide orRightSideattitudetowardsthecentre, the Middle or the Lower attitude "ExistingAttitude-NonexistingAttitude".T heprimarythingwhenyoutakeaswordinyourhan dsisyourinten-tiontocuttheenemy, ,hit,17spring,strikeortouchtheenemy'scut tingsword, ,springing,strikingortouchingtheenemy, , "BattleArray".

10 Suchatti-tudes are all for winning battles. Fixed formation is bad. Study this Hit the Enemy "In One Timing""InOneTiming"means,whenyouhaveclo sedwiththeenemy,tohithimasquicklyanddire ctlyaspossible,withoutmovingyourbodyorse ttlingyourspirit, ,breakorhit,isthis"InOne Timing".Youmusttraintoachievethistiming, tobeabletohitinthetimingofan "Abdomen Timing of Two"Whenyouattackandtheenemyquicklyretre ats, ,asherelaxes, "Abdomen Timing of Two".Itisverydifficulttoattainthisbymere lyreadingthisbook,butyouwill soon understand with a little Design, No ConceptionInthismethod,whentheenemyattac ksandyoualsodecidetoattack,hitwithyourbo dy,andhitwithyourspirit,andhitfromtheVoi dwithyourhands, "NoDesign,NoConcep-tion" train hard to understand Flowing Water CutThe"FlowingWaterCut" ,expandyourbodyandspiritandcuthimasslowl yaspossiblewithyourlongsword, the enemy's CutWhenyouattackandtheenemyalsoattacks,a ndyourswordsspringtogether,inoneactioncu thishead, ,itisthe"ContinuousCut".