If you want to learn the craft of war, ponder over this book. The teacher is as a needle, the disciple is as thread. You must practice constantly.
Miyamoto MusashiRead
The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of intention and focus in achieving one's goals, especially in conflict situations.
Miyamoto Musashi highlights that the key to successfully defending oneself or attacking is not just the physical actions of striking or parrying but the intentionality behind those actions. To be effective in battle, one must have a clear purpose and aim to defeat the opponent without becoming distracted by the techniques themselves. This principle can be applied to many areas of life where clarity of intention is crucial for success.
Themes
IntentionFocusActionSuccessBattle
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about achieving goals under pressure, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of focused intention.
More from Miyamoto Musashi
All quotes →If you fail to take advantage of your enemies' collapse, they may recover.
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One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.
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To cut and slash are two different things. Cutting, whatever form of cutting it is, is decisive, with a resolute spirit. Slashing is nothing more than touching the enemy.
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You win battles by knowing the enemy's timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect.
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In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence, the Way has existence, spirit is nothingness.
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