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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
fast-paced
It is an interesting book. It was fast an easy to read, great quotes that really make you think. What I liked the most is that you can apply the majority of the rules to your discipline or field, not necessarily to martial arts.
Not as interesting as I hoped, which maybe isn't surprising since violence and combat don't interest me a lot.
So it goes. I suppose I was looking for something with a deeper worldview.
So it goes. I suppose I was looking for something with a deeper worldview.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced
This book is apparently meant to be studied religiously.
If you just read it once, you probably won't get as much out of it.
There are points that were abstract enough to be applied in other contexts, but especially in the middle three books there is a lot of talk that is seemingly technical to swordfighting where it isn't as easy to distill the meaning for other domains. At the same time it is kept very vague, so the book won't really teach you that much by itself. Which is not surprising as it is heavily influenced by Zen.
I'll probably reread it some time, as it was fairly inspiring.
If you just read it once, you probably won't get as much out of it.
There are points that were abstract enough to be applied in other contexts, but especially in the middle three books there is a lot of talk that is seemingly technical to swordfighting where it isn't as easy to distill the meaning for other domains. At the same time it is kept very vague, so the book won't really teach you that much by itself. Which is not surprising as it is heavily influenced by Zen.
I'll probably reread it some time, as it was fairly inspiring.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
fast-paced
Kind of an odd read, but interesting. Would need to revisit it to fully understand the underlying messages
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
If you want to learn how to fight with a sword, boy is this not the book for you! As Miyamoto Musashi and Yagyu Munenori are at pains to repeatedly state, these texts are not a practical guide to swordplay; rather they are philosophical texts that underpin the essentials of sword mastery.
And it's really two books in one. Musashi's Book of Five Rings is a spartan text that simplifies the practice of swordsmanship to base principles; Munenori takes a poetic approach (which Musashi would probably dismiss) which expands more on the mentality of the sword.
Both are very interesting if you have an interest in kendo or other martial arts, but if you're starting from base principles don't expect to become a master swordsman just from reading this book.
And it's really two books in one. Musashi's Book of Five Rings is a spartan text that simplifies the practice of swordsmanship to base principles; Munenori takes a poetic approach (which Musashi would probably dismiss) which expands more on the mentality of the sword.
Both are very interesting if you have an interest in kendo or other martial arts, but if you're starting from base principles don't expect to become a master swordsman just from reading this book.
It’s interesting, and he’s clearly thought about his philosophy, but it’s something where you need to stretch to apply it to something outside of swordplay.
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced