{"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":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_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 v27.9 - 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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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":[]},{"id":3930,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2016\/03\/12\/mma-the-good-the-bad-and-the-bellends\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":1},"title":"MMA &#8211; 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":11396,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2020\/02\/08\/quitters-never-win-by-michael-bisping\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":2},"title":"Quitters Never Win by Michael Bisping &#8211; Review","author":"Dave","date":"February 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Having listened to Michael Bisping on the Joe Rogan Experience a year or so ago - he made me feel a lot better about my annoying sport and MMA related injuries. The guy not only has one eye, he has a weird neck\/shoulder injury that seizes up all the time\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Michael Bisping Career infographic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/infographicbisping.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"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":3},"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":6781,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2017\/05\/11\/extreme-ownership-depression-mma\/","url_meta":{"origin":9093,"position":4},"title":"Jocko Willinks &#8211; Extreme Ownership","author":"Dave","date":"May 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ljqra3BcqWM This is a pretty cool video and book\u00a0about taking ownership when things go wrong. This relates to the psychological state of 'learned helplessness' which is defined as: \"a condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed.\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\/ljqra3BcqWM\/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":5},"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":[]}],"_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}]}}