Welcome to Hoshin Budo

"Book of Five Rings is the classic work on strategy from the viewpoint of the individual warrior. This is your guide through earth and water. Musashi tells us he meditates (I am a man with a smooth forehead.) in code, and is a devotee of the Goddess (Kannon). Rather surprising coming from one of the more successful sword duelists in Japanese history. You really have to understand combat, chi kung, and sensitivity to grasp many of Musashi’s concepts. He lies a lot. He leads you astray while giving you awesome information that could save your life. He complains about problems in his day that are still problems in ours. Whenever he says, “Study on this.” or “Oral tradition only.” he is usually warning the informed reader that one should, but few do, break this principle down and get to work as he has only revealed the tip of the blade to the neophyte. The Harris translation is what I usually have students read first and everyone should own it in hardback just because you will read it forty or fifty times, but particularly at white through red belt it should be read often. Basics, basics, basics. The Cleary translation is a better translation than the Harris but doesn’t reveal much about the man or his artwork which are important to understanding his style of fighting. The Cleary translation also includes Yagyu Munenori’s scroll for the shinkage ryu. As Musashi holds strategies for the individual, Munenori benefits the company commander or group leader, particularly those that gather intelligence. The Yagyus discuss hardcore strategy as well as the esoteric application of a few methods. Interestingly enough though Munenori mentions he has seen people use various types of mind control he claims not to be very good at it. Questions from his perspective are asked at orange belt. " – Glenn

"The Art of War is finest compendium of guerilla strategy ever written for a general officer. Its for bigger thinkers. In hoshin, we read it for the first time during the fire belt and test items will appear at all belt levels there after. Sun Tzu comments on field maneuvers, the placement of spies, and even gives out some cryptic esoteric hints concerning chi kung. This book is particularly important for green and black belts to read and think on as they develop their teaching style. Griffith’s translation is modern and we occasionally get a Marine general’s insights in the footnotes. Huang’s translation is from the oldest found version and well worth reading. Supposedly it was the concepts from Sun Tzu that gave the ninja their edge in the long struggle against the samurai." – Glenn