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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
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
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
This is a great example of waiting till the right time to read a book. I’ve owned this for probably 15 years, and don’t know that I would have appreciated it as much if I’d read it earlier. While I didn’t understand everything (a lot of practice and you’ll figure it out), I really enjoyed what I did understand.