A short essay on some of the writings of Miyamoto Musashi, Yagyu Munemori, and Zen master Takuan and Suzuki Shozan.

The Sicknesses

Yagyu said “sickness means fixation or lingering of the attention, this stops any spontaneous, responsive actions”.

For example if you start to think about what to do and your opponent moves, you can not cut him spontaneously at that moment because your mind is on something else. If you can fence without thinking then everything becomes more fluid, responsive and spontaneous, there is a Zen proverb “this is it, but if you fixate on it, then it isn’t anymore.

Takuan once said to Yagyu “when you practice as a beginner, fencing an opponent you do not think of how to fight with a sword because you do not know how to, but as you become familiar with a sword you start to think i.e. how the sword should be or your hands etc, but as you become advanced with a sword you should revert back to being a beginner and don’t think”.

Therefore how a beginner thinks and how a skilled person thinks should be no different.

Therefore the beginning and the unchangeable wisdom of the end are the same, so you will be in a state of mind were there is no concern.

When there is nothing on your mind, to do anything becomes easier. In the beginning you don’t know anything, you don’t have any questions on your mind but when you start to study you have many questions which makes things difficult to do.

When what you have studied leaves your mind completely, then you can do any technique easily. You spontaneously follow without being aware that you are doing so. If you don’t practice the actions of the technique you will only have the fundamentals in mind and you can’t do anything about it, (you will not see any deeper than what is behind the action).

Theory is ineffective without the actions and vice versa.

Emptying the mind teaches to act with spontaneous efficiency, free from doubt, hesitation, fear, surprise and anger. If the mind is free from sickness (thoughts) you will be able to spontaneously perceive what your opponent is doing, or is going to do, so you should be able to control the situation more easily.

Timing

Yagyu said “afflictions are illnesses of the mind”, meaning that the mind is dwelling anywhere for so long as it takes to strike a blow. You must try to see and act with your eyes and body and not with your mind.

If your opponent’s sword is slashing at you and you think about blocking it, then your mind has become fixed on your opponent’s sword and you can not do anything except try to defend your self.

If you don’t think about your opponent’s sword slashing at you then you will be able more easily to cut your opponent.

You must not fix your mind on your opponent, his sword, the distance or the timing; this also applies to thinking about your own safety (being hit).

When you clap your hands a sound comes out immediately without any interval, if your mind is on your opponent’s sword when he is slashing at you, there will be a gap and your action may not work.

If for example your opponent cuts for your head and you are watching and thinking about your opponents sword, by the time you come to cut your opponent it may be too late because there was a gap, starting from when you blocked your opponents sword to when you wanted to cut him.

If you don’t think about your opponents sword then there should be no gap, and you will be able to block and cut or just cut your opponent more easily.