Becoming One with Hitting the Enemy
Musashi emphasizes training, perception, and commitment when carrying out an attack. His repeated instructions concern martial practice and acting without hesitation.
THE IDEA
BECOMING ONE WITH HITTING THE ENEMY
Perception and intuition are essential in the attitude of destroying the enemy. You must train hard to be able to move into the attack and stop it before it even occurs. This takes great courage. It takes dedication to the art you are practicing. You cannot hope to attain perfection if you cannot go into the attack and destroy the enemy by becoming one with the attack. You must attack as quickly and directly as possible. You must be able to strike the enemy even should he go into a retreat posture. You must continue on, you must not hesitate, and you must be relentless in your conviction. This takes great effort in training and meditation, but it must be done.
You must continue in with your attack regardless of the attitude of the enemy. It is hard to understand this without actual practice and more practice. You must have a “trainer” assisting you in your practice, but if you don’t then you must firmly develop the concreteness of the idea into your own mind and body and practice with all your heart and soul. Your attack must be relentless. And it must not be thought of as a thing in itself.
When to use it
Competitive sports like boxing or fencing, where split-second decisions determine outcomes.
Practising a response so that an agreed action can be carried out promptly.
Preparing to carry out a chosen business strategy and deciding when new evidence warrants a change.
Rehearsing a speech or performance so that it can be delivered with conviction.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Sparring Commitment
During coached sparring practice, a fighter rehearses a combination until its movements can be executed smoothly. This illustrates practiced commitment to an action.
Business Negotiation
A negotiator prepares a position and presents it clearly despite initial resistance. The analogy concerns confident execution; the other party’s response still matters when deciding what to do next.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How can practice help you act decisively while remaining responsive to new information?
In what areas of your life do you hold back from total commitment, and why?
What is the role of intuition in executing a plan with full conviction?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Musashis book of five rings the definitive interpretation of Miyamoto Musashis classic book of strategy (Kaufman, SteveMiyamoto, Musashi)