The Best Miyamoto Musashi quotes

The way is in training. — Miyamoto Musashi

True warriors are fierce because their training is fierce. — Miyamoto Musashi

The Way is in training… Do nothing which is not of value. — Miyamoto Musashi

The purpose of today’s training is to defeat yesterday’s understanding. — Miyamoto Musashi

A thousand days of training to develop, ten thousand days of training to polish. You must examine all this well. — Miyamoto Musashi

See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice, and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training. — Miyamoto Musashi

To become the enemy, see yourself as the enemy of the enemy — Miyamoto Musashi

Know your enemy, know his sword. — Miyamoto Musashi

In contests of strategy it is bad to be led about by the enemy. You must always be able to lead the enemy about. — Miyamoto Musashi

If the enemy stays spirited it is difficult to crush him. — Miyamoto Musashi

If you do not control the enemy, the enemy will control you — Miyamoto Musashi

Approach the enemy with the attitude of defeating him without delay. — Miyamoto Musashi

If the enemy thinks of the mountains, attack like the sea; and if he thinks of the sea, attack like the mountains. — Miyamoto Musashi

Cutting down the enemy is the way of strategy, and there is no need for many refinements of it. — Miyamoto Musashi

When the enemy starts to collapse you must pursue him without the chance of letting go. If you fail to take advantage of your enemies collapse, they may recover. — Miyamoto Musashi

When you decide to attack, keep calm and dash in quickly, forestalling the enemy…attack with a feeling of constantly crushing the enemy, from first to last. — Miyamoto Musashi

If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him. More than anything, you must be thinking of carrying your movement through to cutting him. — Miyamoto Musashi

In battle, if you you make your opponent flinch, you have already won. — Miyamoto Musashi

In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. — Miyamoto Musashi

When you have attained the way of strategy there will be nothing that you cannot understand. You will see the way in everything. — Miyamoto Musashi

Strategy is the craft of the warrior. — Miyamoto Musashi

Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast. — Miyamoto Musashi

Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is … — Miyamoto Musashi

Immature strategy is the cause of grief”. — Miyamoto Musashi

If you do not look at things on a large scale, it will be difficult to master strategy. — Miyamoto Musashi

The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy’s useful actions but allow his useless actions — Miyamoto Musashi

Speed is not part of the true Way of strategy. Speed implies that things seem fast or slow, according to whether or not they are in rhythm. Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast. — Miyamoto Musashi

When you cannot be deceived by men you will have realised the wisdom of strategy. — Miyamoto Musashi

The warrior is different in that studying the Way of strategy is based on overcoming men — Miyamoto Musashi

In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance. — Miyamoto Musashi

Do not let your opponent see your spirit — Miyamoto Musashi

When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void. — Miyamoto Musashi

In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence, the Way has existence, spirit is nothingness. — Miyamoto Musashi

In strategy it is necessary to treat training as part of normal life with your spirit unchanging. — Miyamoto Musashi

With your spirit open and unconstricted, look at things from a high point of view. — Miyamoto Musashi

If there is a Way involving the spirit of not being defeated, to help oneself and gain honour, it is the Way of Strategy. — Miyamoto Musashi

Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men. — Miyamoto Musashi

When you attack the enemy, your spirit must go to the extent of pulling the stakes out of a wall and using them as spears and halberds. — Miyamoto Musashi

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. — Miyamoto Musashi

The spirit of defeating a man is the same for ten million men. The strategist makes small things into big things, like building a great Buddha from a one foot model. — Miyamoto Musashi

Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life. — Miyamoto Musashi

Even if a man has no natural ability, he can be a warrior. — Miyamoto Musashi

A warrior has no confusion in his mind…This is true emptiness. — Miyamoto Musashi

One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk. — Miyamoto Musashi

Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death. — Miyamoto Musashi

The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win — Miyamoto Musashi

The way of the warrior is filled with soul and feeling — Miyamoto Musashi

It is difficult to realize the true Way just through sword–fencing. Know the smallest things and the biggest things, the shallowest things and the deepest things. — Miyamoto Musashi

It is said the warrior’s is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways. — Miyamoto Musashi

When in a fight to the death, one wants to employ all one’s weapons to the utmost. I must say that to die with one’s sword still sheathed is most regrettable. — Miyamoto Musashi

Know that there are no other forms apart from these five in the School of the Two Swords. — Miyamoto Musashi

From inside fortifications, the gun has no equal among weapons. It is the supreme weapon on the field before the ranks clash, but once swords are crossed the gun becomes useless. — Miyamoto Musashi

In sum, it is not good to let the hand or the sword become fixed or frozen.87 A fixed hand is a dead hand; a hand that does not become fixed is alive. It is necessary to master this well. — Miyamoto Musashi

Under the sword lifted high, There is hell making you tremble. But go ahead, And you have the land of bliss. — Miyamoto Musashi

Guard. It is in this sense that I recommend the guard without a guard. Whatever the situation is, you hold the sword so that you can slash your opponent. — Miyamoto Musashi