The Book of Wind

In the Book of Wind, Miyamoto breaks down why his way is the best way. He writes about other schools and their teachings and how they take pride in what they teach, however he points out all of their key flaws and writes on true strategy on their behalf.

I have demonstrated clearly in the body of this book that none of these is the true Way. I have shown all of what is good and right and all of what is bad and wrong, based on the true principles. My Ichi School idea is fundamentally different. The other schools consider this a performance, or a means of making a living. They grow their flowers, or paint decorations for sale. This is not the Way of Strategy.

In the following sections, Miyamoto points out the problems in each school. For instance, one school that teaches the very long sword prefers it over its distance. Its length supposedly keeps enemy swords out of reach of the wielder's body. However, Miyamoto points out that in snug quarters, the very long sword is not as adaptable as the long sword. 

There is also a school that prefers the short sword: Kodachi. They would rely on surprise attacks and springing feet (which Miyamoto has much to say about footwork in this chapter as well). Miyamoto points out that the short sword may have its uses, but it is not the perfect weapon. It makes the user more defensive, which Miyamoto despises.

The right way to win is to chase your opponent with a strong and erect body.

Users of the short sword must flee the long sword because of its length; in order to win they can not rely solely on surprise tactics, especially when fighting an army. However, I would like to mention that a skilled short-swordsman, if he knows his terrain and can trick his opponents easily, may stand a chance (projecting... sorry).

The Book of Wind is really a great book in the full text of the Book of Five Rings. There are more examples in this book, but I believe that you would be better off just reading it yourself instead of relying on this blog. I personally like to keep my pieces short-ish, so listing all of the wisdom of Miyamoto would be hard to do that unless I was to break the book further.