The Book of Void

In the Book of Void, Miyamoto discusses nothingness. It is definitely the shortest book in the Book of Five Rings, spanning to (really) a full page of text. The book is so short, that I will just quote it here for you.

In this Void Book, I will record the Ichi Way of Strategy.

The Void is where there is nothing or any form. Man cannot have knowledge of this because it is nothing. Since we have knowledge of what is, we therefore know what is not. That is the Void.

People sometimes think that which they do not understand is the Void. This is not true. This is confusion.

Military strategists and those who study war sometimes think that whatever they do not understand is the Void. But this is not the true Void.

In order to master the Way of Strategy, you must study the other martial arts, and you must not abandon the Way of the warrior at all. You must set your mind upon practicing every single day, hour by hour. You must develop the double spirit of the heart and the mind. And you must appreciate the two-fold use of perception and eyesight. When your mind is clear, and there are no clouds of confusion, this is the True Void.

Before you understand the True Void, you may think you have gained understanding either through Buddhism or through everyday thought. When you realize the true Way, you will understand that each of us sees the various ways through different eyes. Seeing these other ways is to reject the true Way.

Make sure you base your practice on a wide foundation, and learn a large number of martial arts. This way, you will understand the Void as the Way, and you will see the Way as the Void.

The Void is good, and contains no evil.

I believe that Miyamoto is saying that in order to understand the Void and also to understand the Way, we must concern ourselves with the study of all things. In that way we understand what is and what is not. The Way is, of course, the way of the warrior, which narrows down the broader sense of the Void a little, as we concern ourselves with the Way of Strategy and the Art of War which can only be learned through experience and study of Miyamoto further.

In understanding all things we are less judgmental and also are able to understand people and our surroundings. I think that is primarily what Miyamoto is getting at; with understanding comes a sort of knowing, allowing students to further their advantage in winning in all things whether it be battle or in whatever way they choose to live their lives...

Follow the links below to buy your book today. Though I have summarized the chapters here on my blog, I know that this book is invaluable to any serious martial artist. It goes over strategies read here as well as more that didn't make it into my posts.

For instance:

• posture
• holding your sword
• as well as numerous other techniques when in battle... or just having a friendly sparring match.

This version of Miyamoto's book is a modernized version. Some of the original text is a little hard to understand, so if you want an easier read, I recommend this one. It has everthing the original has but in more modern terms. Follow the links to find out more. Thanks again for reading!

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.

The Book of Fire

I've been contemplating this ever since yesterday. I feel that Miyamoto's Book of Five Rings is a text that really can't be explained in 5 posts. I guess from what I have heard about the book, I figured that it would be simple to share the wisdom of Miyamoto in a summary. That is certainly not the case.

So I'm going to share a little about each book from now on. It's just that each book is not easily summarized. Miyamoto has added so much to the text. He has many of his own techniques inside, named, with long explanations for each one... Imagine a blog post for each chapter now.

So what I've decided is to stick with a short summary with every intention to come back to this series with a more detailed post for each technique.

For now though, let's get back to the Book of Fire. Simply put, Miyamoto says that fire refers to fighting. Fire is ferocity or passion like I described in my theory on the fire mindset.

In terms of fighting, Miyamoto says there are three ways to engage an enemy:

The first method is to attack. This is called Ken No Sen, or to set him up. The second method is to hold him off as he attacks. This is called Tai No Sen, or waiting for him to take the initiative. The third method is to attack at the same time as the enemy. This is called Tai Tai No Sen, or to both accompany and forestall him at once.

 For this post, I would like to go over these in more detail.

Ken No Sen:

Miyamoto writes that Ken No Sen is about initiative. He gives readers three strategies in regards to initiative.

1. You want to remain calm but move quickly and take your opponent by surprise. Be wise about how much effort you put into your attacks, you do not know at this point how your opponent will react (fear is a common reaction), keep some energy in reserve in case you need to forestall.
2. This second strategy is about overwhelming your opponent with speed. Keep your resolve and move quickly. Confuse and overwhelm with fast powerful attacks.
3. Last one, attack with a calm mind and spirit (control the fire mindset) and create in your mind the feeling of victory. Intend to win and unleash your knowledge calmly and methodically.

Tai No Sen:

Miyamoto writes that when waiting for your opponent to attack, maintain a serene disposition. He also suggests to act weak. As your opponent approaches, watch. When he relaxes, it means that your ploy worked. At the moment he believes you are not a threat, overtake him with a strong attack. Become ferocious fire in an instant!

Tai Tai No Sen:

This type of engagement is a little awkward, but if you have ever sparred before you've seen it. As soon as your opponent moves in for an attack, attack! It takes a watchful eye and experience to do this correctly. You must be able to predict the attack and dodge and counter appropriately in your attack. Sounds a bit strange, but when you think about it, how else would you attack your attacker?

The Book of Fire is just as long as the Book of Water and filled with strategy techniques. Many are no-brainers while some are those that give you that epiphany feeling. Still a very good book. Check it out or get your own copy.

The Book of Water

Much like my theory on the water mindset, the book of water is about learning. Best and most cliche way to look at it is that the book of water is full of tips and tricks on how best to hold your sword and also ways to utilize it properly with differing strategies--much like a jug of water. Your mind should be empty in order to take in the knowledge with the book.

Miyamoto says this about the mind and body:

"Do not allow your mind to become slack however, or your body to relax. Your body should not relax in correspondence with your mind, and your mind must remain resolute when the body is calm. Keep control of your mind and do not allow your spirit to weaken."

I find this to be one of the strongest points made in the chapter. The mind wanders very easily (mine's doing it right now); the one who is able to control his mind is the one who has full discipline and is able to achieve anything he sets his mind to.

Also the Book of Water mentions the art of understanding. From understanding techniques to understanding one's opponents. Miyamoto speaks of height differentials in warriors:

"Men of small stature must thoroughly know and understand the body and spirit of men of larger stature.  Likewise, large men must understand the spirit of men who are smaller. No matter what your physical size, always keep your mind in check and know the difference between good and bad actions. Do not allow yourself to be deceived."

As I said, Miyamoto's Book of Water is a jug of what to do and what not to do. I won't go into too much detail (because if you want to know, you should just get a copy), but he talks about posture, gaze, holding a sword and footwork, which is very useful in helping warriors move quickly or stand firm against an opponent.

Honestly this book is very large, and for me to go through everything strategy in it in one blog is a bit much. For now I will leave you with this, the book of water is about study and practice. Study your opponent and study the art of strategy. Practice the strategies and win.

The Book of Earth

As far as I can tell my theories on the the mindsets really don't correspond with the Five Rings, though, from a mental aspect, I still believe that what I wrote is valid in it's own way.

Miyamoto begins the Book of Earth by describing what the way is. There isn't one way, there are several. Today, we could observe the way of the blogger, the way of the scientist, the way of the inventor, the way of the businessman... Every person has a way and they aren't restricted to their profession.

However, if one wants to be successful in the path they choose, he must learn everything there is to know about "their" way. This is in essence strategy, which is to learn and always be learning so that you are ahead of your competition.

So in a way, every person adopts the way of strategy whether they know it or not. But knowing this does not make you a strategist. That would be high a compliment for any novice to claim and surely Miyamoto would be laughing in his grave.

Strategy, which is what Miyamoto is writing about, is the art of a warrior. That may seem extreme after what I said about ways, but if you break down the idea of war, it is one side vs another and one side usually ends the victor--like a competition.

In essence we are all warriors of our own ways. We all seek to expand our knowledge of our way. Which is the Book of Earth: knowing.

Miyamoto used an example of a carpenter-overseer in The Book of Five Rings.

"The carpenter-overseer must know the theory of architecture which governs the towers and temples, and the plans of castles, and he must employ people in order that they will build the houses"

Building a house takes a great deal of knowledge; the carpenter-overseer must must be familiar with the tools at his disposal as well as his materials and how to utilize them wisely. Just like a general of an army, the carpenter must know where to cut, where to sand, where to place, where to hammer... And also the carpenter must know his employees in order to employ them correctly.

Which ones are good at constructing sliding doors? Which ones are good at constructing doorjambs? The carpenter is familiar with his workers so that they together can produce great work.

Miyamoto also goes into great detail of weapons and which to use and when to use and also goes further to say that none is better than all, though the long sword is useful in nearly any situation. He also describes timing, which is fundamental in kenpo karate when attacked.

Knowing when to attack and when to counter are pinnacle skills to learn as a martial artist. Knowing this improves your strategy just as knowing how to counter a on coming punch.

So the Book of Earth focuses mainly on knowing your way and also knowing when to make your move.

The Five Swords Technique as well as things to come.

These videos from Expert Village are pretty good. Sorry about posting two videos instead of a real post; I'm reading a book I just bought (The Book of Five Rings) which I think will help me better understand my theories of the different mindsets that I posted earlier. I guess I should have mentioned that in the posts; if I didn't, I'm sorry. The five elements and the emotional and mental implications they had inspired me to write those first posts but I would like to read Miyamoto's actual text before I delve any further into the subject.

Thank you very much for reading and please take a look at the Five Swords Technique