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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Fun, short book of wisdom. Had fun reading it "This should be studied in detail".
I think this will definitely help my fencing, because I'm feeling like I'm stuck at a plateau. I need to think of a fencing bout as life or death to get better, and this advice is right toward that.
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challenging
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Reads more like a syllabus for a class you'll never get to take than it does a guide of any practical use. Only in the most melodramatically metaphorical sense can this be applied to literally anything beside swordsmanship, and even then it's so vague that I'm not sure how any modern swordperson is supposed to take anything useful away from it. I chuckled at the section when he outlines being unrelenting and "holding down the pillow," because that's the same logic behind the combat in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, so if you're a big nerd like me this is great as a bizarre strategy guide for that game (which has obviously taken a not-insignificant amount of inspiration from this book) but if you're also like me then you played that game in 2019 so now it's irrelevant so idk maybe skip this.
This was a fun quick read! I don't know anything about sword fighting but I found the ideas to be compelling and you gotta love a dude who starts with "I've never been defeated, I've never had a teacher, my way is the best, and everyone else is wrong" like!! What an icon
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This is a work in translation. The original was written sometime in the 1600's, yet it could have easily been written this year. There are many translations of Musashi's work, some reinterpreted for other arenas such as business. This version keeps the focus on strategy for the student of the Way of the warrior. It is applicable to martial artists who utilize weapons as well as those who do not. I will recommend it to advanced students, because on the whole it is a bit much for beginners.
As a fifth degree black belt in Shorin-Ryu Karate, I found the Book of Water and the Book of Fire most useful. One should note that Musashi lived in a era and culture in which it was acceptable for him to kill his enemies, and thus the book focuses on embracing the mentality and willingness to kill your opponent. In our modern world, we do have to keep in mind that there are times and places where deadly force is acceptable and times when it will get you locked up. It may be useful to substitute "defeat" for "kill," in many instances because one can defeat others in a fight as surely as killing them, and the essential strategy is the same.
As a fifth degree black belt in Shorin-Ryu Karate, I found the Book of Water and the Book of Fire most useful. One should note that Musashi lived in a era and culture in which it was acceptable for him to kill his enemies, and thus the book focuses on embracing the mentality and willingness to kill your opponent. In our modern world, we do have to keep in mind that there are times and places where deadly force is acceptable and times when it will get you locked up. It may be useful to substitute "defeat" for "kill," in many instances because one can defeat others in a fight as surely as killing them, and the essential strategy is the same.
informative
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slow-paced