{"id":9093,"date":"2018-06-22T21:20:41","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T21:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/?p=9093"},"modified":"2020-02-24T11:50:23","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T11:50:23","slug":"the-book-of-5-rings-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2018\/06\/22\/the-book-of-5-rings-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"The Book of 5 Rings &#8211; Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Born in the 16th century, near the end of the Japanese civil war, Miyamoto Musashi was a nomadic samurai who fought in a small number of battles, but dozens of duels. He is known as Japan&#8217;s greatest swordsman.<\/p>\n<p>The book has had a huge impact on culture in East Asia and on business etiquette.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8LEP0Q2ex9k?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There are several cross-overs in the book with Stoic philosophy and even Buddhist mindfulness, with Musashi emphasising several times:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Get Beyond Love and Grief<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Live for the Good of Man<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>i.e. Don&#8217;t be overly dramatic, get on with what needs to be done without complaining.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Do Nothing that is of No Use<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Don&#8217;t have a &#8216;flash&#8217; fighting style, as this is of no practical use.<br \/>\nDon&#8217;t complain, as this has no use.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Step by Step Walk the Thousand Mile Path<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve determined where you want to be, be present in the moment and take it a step at a time.<\/p>\n<p>Musashi also talks about being focused during a battle or duel; or dying. He no doubt was an expert at achieving &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/psychology\/flow-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flow state<\/a>&#8216; and achieved this by constant practice, rather than a typical form of meditation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mush.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9096\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2018\/06\/22\/the-book-of-5-rings-summary\/mush\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mush.jpg?fit=850%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"850,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mush\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mush.jpg?fit=850%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-9096\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mush.jpg?resize=640%2C301&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"mushashi\" width=\"640\" height=\"301\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Again, the above quote makes me think of both Stoic &amp; Buddhist philosophy.<\/p>\n<p>Self-absorption is a distraction and useless when it comes to battle. It&#8217;s also pretty bad for your mental health.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>In Strategy You Must Know The Ways of Other Schools<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Basically the philosophy of MMA, JKD and cross-training in the martial arts. If you are a Gracie BJJ practitioner, you should still know the ways of Tenth Planet so you can defend or counter them.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>A Thousand Days of Training to Develop. Ten Thousand Days of training to Polish<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This quote sounds a lot like the 10,000 hours rule &#8211; to become a master at something, you need to practice for 10,000 hours. There&#8217;s also the 80\/20 rule &#8211; in that you can gain 80% competency in 20% of the training required to become &#8216;masterful&#8217; at something.<\/p>\n<p>The 80\/20 rule can actually be applied to lots of different scenarios &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zPoA6dzKmtg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">see this video<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Resentment and Complaint are Appropriate Neither for Oneself or Others<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Complaining is pointless. Resentment is pointless. Both waste and take up energy, so don&#8217;t bother with either.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Do Not Act Following Customary Beliefs<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Question everything. Conventional wisdom would have us belief that high carbohydrate diets are the healthiest &#8211; but are they? Lose your preconceived ideas and research it for yourself.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Accept Everything Just the Way it is<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Another Stoic-like quote and reference to not being a complaining bellend. Change things if you can, if you cannot, accept them.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Never let Yourself by Saddened by a Separation<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If someone dies, or leaves, be respectful but not saddened. This serves no purpose.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\"><strong>Pragmatic Thinking is Essential<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Reminds me of the book by Dan Harris called 10% Happier, whereby he filters the thoughts that he attends to with the phrase &#8220;is this helpful?&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Being angry, jealous and resentful is generally not helpful, unless you can manage these thoughts to motivate yourself to do something positive.<\/p>\n<p>Feeling sorry for oneself is rarely helpful to anyone. So don&#8217;t do it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first. Bows are difficult to draw, halberds are difficult to wield; as you become accustomed to the bow so your pull will become stronger.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Everything is difficult at first. Tolerate the struggle, learn, build strength and improve.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>My favourite quotes from the book:<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.<br \/>\n2.\u00a0Accept everything just the way it is.<br \/>\n3.\u00a0Never be jealous.<br \/>\n4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.<br \/>\n5. Be detached from desire your whole life long.<br \/>\n6. Do not regret what you have done.<br \/>\n7.\u00a0Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.<br \/>\n8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.<br \/>\n9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.<br \/>\n10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.<br \/>\n11. In all things have no preferences.<br \/>\n12. Be indifferent to where you live.<br \/>\n13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.<br \/>\n14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.<br \/>\n15. Do not act following customary beliefs.<br \/>\n16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.<br \/>\n17.\u00a0Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.<br \/>\n18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.<br \/>\n19.\u00a0Do not fear death.<br \/>\n20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.<br \/>\n21. Never stray from the Way.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The only thing I would potentially add to Musashi&#8217;s teachings for modern day use, would be to have an enduring sense of humour &#8211; as outlined in Victor Frankl&#8217;s Book Man&#8217;s Search for Meaning &#8211; a dark sense of humour &amp; sense of purpose helped him to survive the concentration camps:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/viktorfrankl2.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9095\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2018\/06\/22\/the-book-of-5-rings-summary\/viktorfrankl2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/viktorfrankl2.png?fit=918%2C414&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"918,414\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ViktorFrankl2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/viktorfrankl2.png?fit=918%2C414&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-9095\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/viktorfrankl2.png?resize=640%2C289&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"mans search for meaning quote\" width=\"640\" height=\"289\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Having said that, Musashi gave zero fucks so maybe didn&#8217;t require any level of comic relief, as he would not have seen a duel or battle as a hardship or something to be endured &#8211; next level shit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Born in the 16th century, near the end of the Japanese civil war, Miyamoto Musashi was a nomadic samurai who fought in a small number of battles, but dozens of duels. He is known as Japan&#8217;s greatest swordsman. The book has had a huge impact on culture in East Asia and on business etiquette. There [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41980142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12504,2007,1868],"tags":[7215,784152941,15031,776267,34941026,1873520,33839271],"class_list":["post-9093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mma","category-musings","category-philosophy","tag-book-review","tag-books","tag-martial-arts","tag-miyamoto-musashi","tag-mma-2","tag-philosophy-2","tag-the-book-of-5-rings"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Book of 5 Rings - Summary - Fitness &amp; MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2018\/06\/22\/the-book-of-5-rings-summary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Book of 5 Rings - Summary - Fitness &amp; MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Born in the 16th century, near the end of the Japanese civil war, Miyamoto Musashi was a nomadic samurai who fought in a small number of battles, but dozens of duels. 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The Good, The Bad and The Bellends","author":"Dave","date":"March 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Good - Martial arts for self-improvement. Martial arts develop confidence, self esteem and a whole host of other goodies. https:\/\/youtu.be\/prQVI3l1KX4 Good - Joe Rogan. The Joe Rogan podcast is (indirectly) one of the best things to come out of the UFC. I've literally learnt more about diet and nutrition from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;MMA&quot;","block_context":{"text":"MMA","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/mma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/conochild.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/conochild.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/conochild.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16062,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2025\/09\/07\/aim-for-the-middle-contentment-vs-pleasure-jocko-ted-talk\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":1},"title":"Aim for the middle &#8211; contentment vs pleasure [Jocko Ted Talk]","author":"Dave","date":"September 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Just some random shit I was thinking about... People who seek pleasure, tend to be very up and down. Not that I'm judging - but boxers and MMA fighters for example, you get a massive dopamine hit and euphoria when fighting (and winning) in front of a crowd, but the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/R2dO_qJU7Sk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9003,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2018\/04\/07\/why-every-mma-fighter-should-learn-to-fight-southpaw\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":2},"title":"Why Every MMA Fighter Should Learn to Fight Southpaw","author":"Dave","date":"April 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I remember one of the first times that I attended a boxing class - the first thing I was asked was \"what 'handed' are you?\", to which I replied - right handed - \"orthodox stance then\" was the reply. I'm not complaining, this is pretty standard stuff in boxing -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;MMA&quot;","block_context":{"text":"MMA","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/mma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/tjdillashawdart.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/tjdillashawdart.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/tjdillashawdart.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9035,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2018\/04\/26\/bruce-lee-fighting-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":3},"title":"Bruce Lee Fighting Style","author":"Dave","date":"April 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce Lee took the concepts of different fighting styles including Wing Chun Kung Fu and fencing and modified them to suit his particular preferences and skills. He created the concept of JKD - arguably the best style of fighting for self-defence (other contenders include MMA & Krav Maga). JKD was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;MMA&quot;","block_context":{"text":"MMA","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/mma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/zMclEOrRpY4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3682,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2016\/02\/14\/the-importance-of-competition-in-any-sport\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":4},"title":"The Importance of Competition &#8211; In Any Sport","author":"Dave","date":"February 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A really positive way to look at competition: 1. Every time you compete and win - you feel great and you feel like you've achieved something, especially if you've trained hard. 2. Every time you lose, you test your character and more importantly perhaps, you make someone else happy (see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;MMA&quot;","block_context":{"text":"MMA","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/mma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Inspirational quote","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/critic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5915,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2016\/09\/28\/the-chimp-paradox-stone-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":5},"title":"The Chimp Paradox &#8211; Stone of Life","author":"Dave","date":"September 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Not really MMA related, but I've been meaning to do this for ages In the book the Chimp Paradox - the author suggests creating your own 'stone of life' which are basically 3 or 4 principles or rules to accept and live your life by. My Stone of Life example\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"chimpanzee-718273_960_720","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/chimpanzee-718273_960_720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/chimpanzee-718273_960_720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/chimpanzee-718273_960_720.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/chimpanzee-718273_960_720.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41980142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9093"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11415,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9093\/revisions\/11415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}