Forums > Social Chat > Musashi's Book of Five Rings in your fireplay - who's got him?

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FireMikeZLaguna dude
1,438 posts
Location: Laguna, California, US


Posted:
at OrangeFire, we'll soon be posting up Miyamoto Musashi's Book/Scroll of Fire from his sword skills masterpiece, The Book of Five Rings, and we'll have 2 translations, one a very choice version not yet on the net. it covers: performance attitude, swordwork for fire sword weilders, and the fire of body art, focused spirit, & expressive will in action.

we want to post it in honor of a Home of Poi male member, a recent member, we think, who is a fan of this work, and wonder if you know whom it is? and if there are other fans among us, let us dedicate it to you too. . . let us know!

The Book of Five Rings, written in about 1642, is read by EVERYONE in Japan and many in the US and Europe and around the world today, for: strategy, martial arts, key to business structure & techniques, personal philosophy, competition. . . much of the world now knows about global strategy traditions. it's a major world classic. sword-samurai Musashi had NO teacher, he says he found his methods himself. from teenage to 24 he had dozens of duels, never defeated in his life. wrote the book at about 60 y.o., tells you some moves but then forget all the damn techniques of every school, ya gotta focus on the intent specifically to kill, get in close, be totally flexible and change tactics the moment something's not working, improvise after you've trained your body in the necessary but mere skills as a pro because once your body has that skill language, just the minimum necessary, if you have to think when you act, you're already too late, ya gotta learn to fight swift and deadly before consciously quite knowing any exactness, never even stop to get exact ideas, have a perceptual sense of the key points of where your opponent's body and weapon are and be in your opponent's mind knowing where the opponent's going, and always surprise. go for cutting off the hands first, then there's no sword against you at all.

there are only a few global classics born in military strategy in its caliber: Sun Tzu's Art of War from China about 300 BCE? Napoleon read & quoted that one as did US chief Admirals in WWII. Clausewitz's Art of War from Austria? about 18th century now much forgotten.

btw, from looking around, we think OrangeFire's Fire Stories section, with just its few stories so far, is probably already the premiere collection on the web. But it's gonna get 20 times bigger by the end of the year, and will have links to firefigher tales, spiritual fire in global traditions, science of fire, fiction, and some really special works like this one. and we wanna give props where they're due, to anyone in our pyro family around the world, one flame.

please let us know whose fireplay at HoP is moved by this classic work of Musashi's!

thanx and fierce, winning flame to us all.

~ Mike

molten cheers,

~ FireMike

FireMikeZ@yahoo.com (personal messages welcome, no promo spam, please!)
Laguna, California, US


SickpuPpyNinja Rockstar!
1,100 posts
Location: Denver, Co. U.S.A.


Posted:
Then by all means dedicate it to me too

Jesus helps me trick people.


Raphael96SILVER Member
old hand
899 posts
Location: New York City, USA


Posted:
I have always loved that book.

I carry a copy in my fencing bag to read between matches when I compete.

I haven't been doing poi long enough to know yet if it influences my spinning, but given that it has certainly helped my fencing, I'd say there is a very good chance that it will.

Another book along similar lines is "The Unfettered Mind" by Takuan Soho.

Raphael

FireMikeZLaguna dude
1,438 posts
Location: Laguna, California, US


Posted:
Raphael96,

your member # is pretty new, did you mention Five Rings in your intro thread or something?

think we do have another newish member of the last month or 2 at most who mentioned it, but wasn't the one i thought, i asked him. and Bram suggested Cassandra of Paris, a veteran around here, but i think her martial arts aren't sword.

ah, good to see those who drink & strike deep with your swords & fire!

what's the feel of "The Unfettered Mind" by Takuan Soho?

~ Mike

[ 23 September 2002, 09:47: Message edited by: FireMike ]

molten cheers,

~ FireMike

FireMikeZ@yahoo.com (personal messages welcome, no promo spam, please!)
Laguna, California, US


Raphael96SILVER Member
old hand
899 posts
Location: New York City, USA


Posted:
While my intro thread mentions fencing (of course) I don't think I put anything in there about Musashi or the Book of Five Rings.

I find the book to be much more..personal than The Art of War. The former has more of a microtactics---->macrotactics feel rather than the reverse as The Art of War does.

The Unfettered Mind is interesting as it is a text written by a Zen Master for a Sword Master. It is quite an enigma that Zen Buddhism, which forbids the taking of life, found such favor amongst the ranks of the Samurai, who had to take many.

In terms of my being new...well, I started poi 15 days ago, so I couldn't be much newer.

Raph

CassandraFroggie ... Ribbit !!!
4,224 posts
Location: Back in Paris... for now !


Posted:
Cassandra of paris is a GREAT fan of Miyamoto Musashi !!!!!
And also ... 10 years of aikido did involve some "sword" manipulation... well ... bokken that is ... but then again ... Bokken was a weapon of choice for Musashi as well Also had a few lessons of Iaido

If I had more money, my room would be full of Katanas and Tsubas and I would have taken that seminar in Japan with a traditional Smith (forgeron is called smith I think ??? ) to learn how to treat and make blades

Shine on
Cassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"



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