For some time I have been thinking about the
relationship of Musashi’s book “The Book of Five Rings” interpreted for general
karate (Not style specific). So I used Bing to find a version at http://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Book-of-Five-Rings-by-Musashi-Miyamoto.pdf
I know there are many other translations ( and I believe I still have some
somewhere ) but this is a good a starting place as anywhere. I have but added a
few thoughts at this time.
Chapter 2
THE WATER BOOK
The spirit
of the Ni Ten Ichi school
of strategy is based on water,
and
this Water Book
explains methods of victory as the
long-sword form
of the Ichi school. Language does not extend to explaining the Way in detail,
but it can be grasped intuitively. Study this
book; read a word then pon- der on it. If
you interpret the meaning loosely you will mistake the Way.
The principles of strategy are written down here in terms of single combat,
but you must
think
broadly so that you
attain an understanding for ten-thousand-a-side battles.
Strategy is different from other things
in that if you
mistake the Way even a little you will become
bewildered and fall into bad ways.
If you merely read this book
you
will not reach the Way of Strategy. Absorb the things written in this book. Do not just read,
memorize or im- itate,
but
so that you realize the principle from
within your
own
heart study hard to absorb these
things into
your body.
Spiritual Bearing in
Strategy
In strategy your spiritual bearing must not be any different from
nor- mal. Both in fighting and in everyday life you should be
determined though calm. Meet the
situation without tenseness
yet not recklessly,
your spirit settled yet unbiased. Even when your spirit
is calm do not let your body relax, and when your body
is relaxed do not let your spirit
slacken. Do not let your
spirit
be influenced by
your body, or your
body be influenced by your spirit. Be neither insufficiently spirited nor over spirited. An
elevated spirit is weak
and
a low spirit is weak. Do not
let the enemy
see your spirit.
Small people must be completely familiar
with the spirit of large
people, and large people must be familiar with the spirit of small people.
Whatever your size, do not be misled
by the reactions of your own body. With
your spirit open and unconstricted, look at things from a high point of
view. You must
cultivate
your wisdom
and spirit.
Polish
your
13
wisdom: learn public
justice,
distinguish between good and evil, study the Ways of different arts
one by one. When you cannot be deceived by men you will have realized the wisdom of strategy.
The wisdom of strategy is
different from other things. On the battle- field, even when you
are hard-pressed, you should ceaselessly research the principles of
strategy so that you can develop a
steady spirit.
Stance in Strategy
Adopt a stance with the head
erect, neither hanging
down, nor looking up, nor twisted. Your forehead and the space between your eyes should not be wrinkled. Do
not
roll
your
eyes
nor
allow
them
to
blink,
but slightly
narrow them. With your
features composed, keep the line
of your nose straight with a feeling of slightly
flaring
your
nostrils. Hold
the line of the rear of the neck straight: instill vigour into your
hairline, and in the same way from the shoulders down through
your entire body. Lower both
shoulders and, without the buttocks jutting out, put strength
into your legs
from the
knees to the tips of your
toes. Brace
your abdo-
men so that
you do not bend at the hips. Wedge your companion sword in your belt
against your abdomen, so
that your belt
is not slack - this is called
"wedging in".
In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make
your
everyday stance
your
combat
stance. You
must research this well.
The Gaze in Strategy
The gaze
should
be
large and
broad.
This is the
twofold
gaze
"Perception and Sight". Perception is strong and sight week.
In strategy it
is important to see distant things
as if they were close and to
take
a distanced view of close things. It is important in
strategy to
know the enemy's sword and not to be distracted by
insignificant move- ments of his sword. You
must study
this. The gaze is the same
for single combat
and for large-scale strategy.
It is necessary in strategy to
be able to look to both sides without mov-
ing the eyeballs. You cannot master this ability quickly.
Learn
what
is written here; use this gaze in everyday life and do not vary it whatever happens.
Holding the Long Sword
Grip the long sword with a rather floating feeling
in your thumb and forefinger, with the
middle finger
neither tight
nor
slack,
and
with
the last
two fingers tight. It is bad to have play in your
hands.
When you take up a sword, you must feel
intent on cutting the enemy. As you cut an enemy you must not change your grip,
and
your
hands must not "cower". When
you
dash
the
enemy's sword aside, or ward it off, or force it down, you must slightly change the feeling
in your thumb and forefinger. Above all, you must be intent
on cutting the enemy in the way you grip the sword.
The grip for
combat
and
for
sword-testing is the same. There is no such thing
as a "man-cutting
grip".
Generally, I dislike fixedness in
both long swords and hands. Fixed- ness means a
dead
hand. Pliability is a living hand. You must bear
this in mind.
Footwork
With the tips
of your toes somewhat floating, tread firmly with your heels. Whether you move
fast
or slow, with large or
small steps, your feet must always move
as in normal walking. I
dislike the
three walking
methods know as "jumping-foot", "floating-foot" and "fixed-steps"
.
So-called "Yin-Yang foot" is important in
the
Way.
Yin-Yang
foot means not moving only one
foot.
It means moving your
feet
left-right and right-left when cutting,
withdrawing, or warding off a cut.
You should not move on one foot preferentially.
The Five Attitudes
The five
attitudes are:
Upper, Middle, Lower, Right Side,
and
Left Side.
These are
the give. Although attitude
has these five
divisions, the one purpose of all of them is to cut the enemy. There are none
but these five attitudes.
Whatever attitude
you
are in, do not
be conscious of making the
atti- tude; think
only
of cutting. Your attitude should be
large or small ac- cording to the situation. Upper, Lower and Middle attitudes
are decisive. Left Side and
Right
Side
attitudes are
fluid.
Left
and
Right
attitudes should
be used if there is an obstruction overhead
or to one side. The de- cision
to use Left or Right depends on the place.
The essence of the Way is this. To understand attitude
you must thor- oughly understand the middle attitude. The middle attitude is the heart of attitudes. If we look at strategy on a broad scale, the Middle attitude is
the seat of the
commander, with
the
other
four
attitudes following the commander. You must appreciate this.
The Way of the Long Sword
Knowing the Way of the long sword means
we can wield with two fin- gers
the sword we usually carry. If we know the path of the sword well, we can wield it easily. If you
try
to wield the long sword quickly you will mistake the Way. To wield the long sword well you must wield
it calmly.
If you try
to wield it quickly, like a folding fan or a short sword, you will err by using "short sword chopping". You cannot cut down a
man with a long sword using this method.
When you have cut downwards with the longsword, lift it straight up-
wards; when you cut sideways, return the sword along a sideways path. Return the sword in
a
reasonable way,
always stretching the elbows broadly. Wield the sword strongly. This is the Way of the longsword.
If you learn
to use the five approaches of my strategy, you will be able to wield a sword well. You must
train
constantly.
The Five Approaches
1. The first approach is
the Middle attitude. Confront
the enemy with the point
of your
sword against
his face. When he attacks, dash
his sword to the right
and
"ride" it. Or, when the enemy attacks, deflect the point of his sword by
hitting downwards, keep your long
sword
where it is, and as the enemy renews his
attack cut
his arms from
below.
This is the first method.
The five approaches are this kind of thing.
You must train repeatedly
using a long sword in order to learn
them.
When
you master my
Way of the long sword, you will be able to control any
attack the enemy
makes.
I assure you, there are no attitudes other than the five attitudes of the long sword of
Ni To.
2. In the
second approach with the long sword, from
the
Upper atti-
tude cut
the enemy just as he attacks. If the enemy evades the
cut, keep your sword where it is and,
scooping up
from
below,
cut him as he re- news the attack.
It is possible to repeat the cut from here.
In this method there
are various changes in timing and spirit. You will be able to understand this by training in
the Ichi school.
You will always win with the five long sword methods.
You must train
repetitively.
3. In the third approach,
adopt the Lower attitude, anticipating scoop- ing up. When the
enemy attacks, hit his hands from below. As you do so
he may try to hit your sword down.
If this is the case, cut his upper
arm(s) horizontally with a feeling of "crossing". This means that from the lower
attitudes you hit the enemy
at the instant that he attacks.
You will encounter this
method often,
both
as a beginner and
in later strategy. You must train holding a
long sword.
4. In this
fourth approach, adopt the Left Side attitude. As
the enemy attacks hit his hands from below. If as you
hit his hands he attempts to dash down your sword, with
the
feeling
of hitting his hands, parry the path of his long sword and cut across from above your shoulder.
This is the
Way
of the long sword. Through
this method you win by parrying the line of the enemy's attack.
You must research this.
5. In the fifth approach, the sword is
in the Right Side
attitude. In ac- cordance with the enemy's attack, cross your long sword from below at the side to the Upper attitude.
Then cut straight from above.
This method is
essential for knowing the Way of the long
sword well.
If you can use this method, you can freely wield a heavy
long sword.
I cannot describe in
detail how to use these five
approaches. You must become
well
acquainted with
my
"in
harmony with
the
long
sword" Way, learn large-scale timing,
understand the enemy's long sword, and
become used to the five approaches from the outset.
You will always win
by using these five methods, with
various timing considerations discern- ing the enemy's spirit. You must consider all this carefully.
The "Attitude No-Attitude" Teaching
"Attitude No-Attitude" means that
there
is no need
for what are know as long sword attitudes.
Even so, attitudes exist as the five ways of holding the
long
sword. However you hold the sword it
must be in such a way
that
it is easy
to cut the enemy well,
in accordance with the situation, the place, and your relation to
the enemy. From the Upper attitude as
your spirit lessens you can adopt the Middle attitude, and from the Middle attitude you can raise the
sword
a little in your technique and adopt the Upper attitude. From the lower
attitude you
can raise the sword and adopt the Middle attitudes as the occasion demands. According
to the situation, if you turn your sword from either the Left Side or Right
Side attitude towards
the centre, the Middle or
the Lower attitude results.
The principle
of this
is
called
"Existing Attitude
-
Nonexisting
Attitude".
The primary thing when you take a sword in
your hands is
your inten-
tion to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit,
spring, strike or touch the
enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the
en- emy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this.
If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you
will not be able actually to
cut him. More
than
anything, you
must
be thinking of
carry- ing your
movement through to cutting him. You must thoroughly re- search this.
Attitude
in strategy on
a larger scale is called "Battle
Array". Such
atti- tudes are all for winning battles. Fixed formation is
bad. Study this well.
To Hit the Enemy "In One Timing"
"In One Timing"
means, when you have closed
with
the enemy, to hit him as quickly
and
directly as possible, without
moving your body
or settling your spirit, while you see that he is still undecided. The timing of hitting before the enemy
decides to
withdraw, break
or
hit,
is this "In
One Timing".
You must train to achieve
this timing, to
be able to hit in the timing of an instant.
The "Abdomen Timing of Two"
When you attack and the
enemy quickly retreats, as you see him tense you must feint
a cut. Then, as he relaxes, follow up and hit him. This
is the "Abdomen Timing of Two".
It is very
difficult
to attain this by merely reading this book, but you will
soon understand with a little instruction.
No Design, No
Conception
In this method, when the enemy attacks and you also decide to attack, hit with your body, and hit with
your
spirit,
and
hit from
the Void with your
hands, accelerating strongly.
This is the
"No
Design,
No
Concep- tion" cut.
This is the most important method of hitting. It
is often used.
You must train hard to
understand it.
The Flowing
Water
Cut
The "Flowing
Water
Cut"
is used when you are struggling blade
to blade with the
enemy. When he breaks
and
quickly
withdraws trying to spring
with his
long sword, expand your body and spirit
and
cut him as slowly as possible with
your
long
sword, following your body like stag- nant
water.
You can cut
with
certainty if you learn this. You must
dis- cern
the enemy's grade.
18
Continuous Cut
When you attack
and
the enemy also
attacks, and your swords spring together, in one action
cut his head,
hands and
legs. When you cut sever- al
places with one sweep of the
long
sword, it is the
"Continuous
Cut". You must practice
this
cut;
it is often
used.
With
detailed practice
you should be
able to understand it.
The Fire and Stones
Cut The
Fires
and Stones Cut means that
when the
enemy's long
sword
and your long sword clash together you cut as strongly as pos- sible without raising the sword even a little. This means cutting quickly with the hands, body
and
legs
- all three
cutting strongly. If
you train
well enough you will be able to strike strongly.
The Red Leaves Cut
The Red Leaves Cut [allusion to falling, dying leaves] means knocking down the enemy's long sword. The spirit should be getting control of his sword. When
the enemy is in a long
sword attitude in
front of you
and intent on cutting, hitting and parrying, you strongly hit the enemy's long
sword
with the Fire and Stones Cut, perhaps in
the
spirit
of the "No
Design, No Conception" Cut. If you then beat down the point of his sword with
a sticky feeling, he will necessarily drop the
sword. If you practice
this cut it becomes easy
to make the enemy drop his sword. You must train repetitively.
The Body in
Place
of the Long Sword
Also "the
long sword in place of the body". Usually
we move the body and
the sword at
the same time to cut the enemy. However, according to the enemy's cutting
method, you can dash against him with your
body first,
and afterwards cut
with the
sword. If his body is immoveable, you can cut first with the long sword, but generally you hit
first
with
the body and then cut with
the long sword. You
must research this well and practice hitting.
Cut and Slash
To cut and
to slash
are two different things. Cutting, whatever form of cutting it is, is decisive, with a resolute spirit. Slashing is nothing more than touching the enemy. Even
if you slash strongly, and even if the en- emy dies instantly, it
is slashing. When you cut, your spirit is resolved.
You must
appreciate this.
If you first slash the enemy's hands or
legs, you must then cut strongly. Slashing is in spirit the same
as touching.
When you realize this,
they become indistinguishable. Learn this well.
Chinese Monkey's Body
The Chinese Monkey's Body is the spirit of not stretching out your arms. The spirit
is to get in quickly,
without in the least
extending your
arms, before the enemy
cuts.
If you are intent upon not stretching out
your arms you are effectively far away, the spirit is to go in with
your whole body. When you come to within arm's
reach
it becomes easy to move your body in. You must research this well.
Glue and Lacquer Emulsion Body
The spirit of "Glue and Lacquer Emulsion Body" is to stick
to the en- emy and not separate from him. When
you
approach the
enemy,
stick firmly with your head,
body
and
legs. People tend to advance their head and legs
quickly, but their body lags
behind. You should stick firmly so that
there
is not the slightest gap between the enemy's body
and
your body.
You must consider this carefully.
To Strive for Height
By "to
strive for height"
is meant, when you
close with the
enemy, to strive
with
him
for superior height without cringing. Stretch your legs, stretch your hips,
and
stretch
your
neck face to face with
him. When you think
you
have
won,
and
you
are
the
higher, thrust in strongly. You must learn this.
To Apply Stickiness
When the enemy attacks and you also attack with the long sword, you
should go in with a sticky
feeling
and
fix your long sword against
the enemy's as
you receive his cut. The spirit of stickiness is not hitting very
strongly, but hitting so
that the long
swords do not separate easily.
It is best
to
approach as
calmly
as
possible when hitting
the enemy's long sword with stickiness. The difference between
"Stickiness" and "Entanglement" is that stickiness is firm and
entanglement is weak. You must
appreciate this.
The Body Strike
The Body Strike means to approach the enemy through a gap in his guard. The
spirit is to strike him with your body. Turn your face
a little
aside and strike the enemy's breast
with
your
left shoulder thrust
out. Approach with the spirit
of bouncing
the
enemy away,
striking
as
strongly as possible in time with
yout
breathing. If you achieve
this method of closing with the enemy,
you
will be able to knock
him ten or twenty feet away. It is possible to
strike the
enemy until he is dead. Train
well.
Three Ways to
Parry
His Attack
There are three
methods to parry a
cut:
First, by dashing the enemy's long sword to your right, as if thrusting at his eyes, when he
makes an attack
.
Or, to parry by thrusting the enemy's long sword towards his right eye with the feeling of snipping his neck.
Or, when you have a short
"long sword", without
worrying about par- rying the
enemy's long sword, to
close with him quickly, thrusting at his face with your
left hand.
These are the three methods of
parrying. You must bear
in mind that you can always clench your left
hand
and thrust at
the enemy's face with your
fist. For this it is necessary to train well.
To Stab at the Face
To stab at the face means, when you
are in confrontation with
the en- emy, that your
spirit
is intent of stabbing at his face, following
the line of the
blades with
the point
of your
long sword. If you are intent on stabbing at his face,
his face
and body will become rideable. When the enemy becomes as if rideable, there
are
various opportunities for win- ning. You must
concentrate on this. When fighting and the enemy's body becomes as if rideable, you can win quickly, so you ought not to forget to stab
at
the
face. You
must pursue the value of this technique through training.
To Stab at the Heart
To stab at the
heart
means, when fighting
and there are obstructions
above, or to the sides,
and
whenever it is difficult
to cut, to thrust at
the enemy. You
must
stab
the
enemy's breast
without letting
the
point
of your
long sword
waver, showing
the enemy
the ridge
of the blade
square-on, and with the
spirit of deflecting his long sword. The
spirit of this
principle is often useful when we become tired or for some reason
our long sword will not cut. You must
understand the application of
this method.
21
To Scold "Tut-TUT!"
"Scold" means that, when the enemy tries to counter-cut as you attack, you counter-cut again from
below
as if thrusting at him, trying to
hold him down. With
very
quick
timing you
cut, scolding the enemy. Thrust
up, "Tut!", and cut "TUT!" This timing is encountered time and time again in exchange of blows. The way
to scold Tut-TUT is to time the cut
simultaneously with raising
your
long
sword as if to thrust the enemy.
You must learn
this through repetitive practice.
The Smacking Parry
By "smacking parry" is meant that when you clash swords with the en- emy, you meet his attacking cut on your
long sword with a tee-dum, tee- dum rhythm, smacking
his sword and cutting him. The
spirit
of
the smacking parry is not parrying, or smacking strongly,
but smacking the enemy's long sword in accordance with his attacking cut,
primarily in-
tent on quickly
cutting him.
If you understand the timing of smacking,
however hard your long swords clash together, your swordpoint will not be knocked back even a little. You must
research sufficiently to
realize this.
There are Many Enemies
"There are many enemies" applies when you are fighting one against many. Draw
both
sword and
companion sword and assume a wide- stretched left and right attitude. The spirit is to chase the enemies around
from side to side,
even
though they
come
from
all four directions. Ob- serve their attacking order, and go to meet first
those
who
attack
first. Sweep your eyes
around broadly, carefully examining the attacking or-
der, and cut left and right alternately with your swords. Waiting is
bad. Always quickly re-assume your
attitudes to both sides, cut the enemies
down
as they advance, crushing them in the direction from which they attack. Whatever you do, you must drive the enemy
together, as if tying a line of fishes,
and
when they
are seen to be piled up, cut
them down strongly without giving them room
to move.
The Advantage when Coming to Blows
You can know
how to win through strategy
with the
long sword, but it cannot
be clearly explained in
writing. You must practice
diligently in
order to understand how to win.
22
Oral tradition: "The
true Way of Strategy is revealed in the long sword."
One Cut
You can win with certainty with the spirit of "one cut". It is difficult to attain this
if you do not learn strategy
well. If you train
well in this Way, strategy will come from your heart and you will
be able to win at will. You must train diligently.
Direct Communication
The spirit of "Direct Communication" is
how the true Way of the Ni To
Ichi school is received and handed down.
Oral tradition: "Teach your body strategy."
Recorded in the above book is an outline of Ichi school sword-fighting.
To learn how to win
with
the
long
sword in strategy, first learn the five
approaches and the five
attitudes, and absorb the Way of the long sword naturally in
your body. You
must understand spirit and timing, handle the long sword naturally, and move body
and
legs in harmony with your spirit.
Whether beating one man or two, you will
then know
values in strategy.
Study the contents of this book, taking one
item at a time, and through
fighting with enemies you will gradually come to know the principle of the Way.
Deliberately, with a patient spirit, absorb the
virtue of all this,
from time to time
raising
your
hand in combat. Maintain this spirit whenever
you cross swords with and enemy.
Step by step walk the thousand-mile road.
Study strategy over
the
years
and
achieve
the
spirit
of the warrior.
Today is victory over yourself of
yesterday; tomorrow is your victory
over lesser men. Next, in order
to beat more
skillful men, train
according to this book, not allowing your heart to be swayed along
a side-track.
Even if you kill
an enemy, if it is not based
on what you have learned it is not the true Way.
If you attain this Way of victory, then you will be able to beat several tens
of men. What remains is
sword-fighting ability, which you can
at- tain in battles and duels.
There is a lot to think about here, of course
karate is not about fighting with swords. But if one replaces the idea of sword
attacks with strikes, kicks, locks and throws perhaps that will give some idea
of how these ideas could be considered.
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