Miyamoto Musashi Quotes

Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.

Anger. Control your anger. If you hold anger toward others, they have control over you.Your opponent can dominate and defeat you if you allow him to get you irritated.

The purpose of today's training is to defeat yesterday's understanding.

To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead

Determine that today you will overcome your self of the day before, tomorrow you will win over those of lesser skill, and later you will win over those of greater skill.

It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first.

You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain

No Fear, No Hesitation, No Surprise, No Doubt

Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life.

The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant.

In time, all things work to your advantage when you pursue them with an open heart.

All man are the same except for their belief in their own selves, regardless of what others may think of them

A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study.

You can only fight the way you practice

True warriors are fierce because their training is fierce.

Whatever your determination or will power, it is foolish to try to change the nature of things. Things work the way they do because that is the way of things

Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world

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

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.

The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things.

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

Accept everything just the way it is.

Do not waste time idling or thinking after you have set your goals

Step by step walk the thousand-mile road.

A warrior has no confusion in his mind...This is true emptiness.

Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men. Become a criminal of purpose. Be put in jail, and extricate yourself by your own wisdom.

Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of Man.

It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet

Unless you really understand others, you can hardly attain your own self-understanding.

The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them

Too much is the same as not enough.

If you wish to control others you must first control yourself

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.

Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.

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

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

Water adopts the shape of its receptacle, it is sometimes a trickle and sometimes a wild sea.

The Way is in training... Do nothing which is not of value.

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

Do nothing which is of no use.

When you appreciate the power of nature, knowing the rhythm of any situation, you will be able to hit the enemy naturally and strike naturally.

A bullet from a gun does not make a distinction between practice and combat. You are training to be one and the same way in your life

This is truth: When you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon as yet undrawn.

If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything.

It is imperative to master the principles of the art of war and learn to be unmoved in mind even in the heat of the battle.

...most warriors only perform tricks. The way of the warrior is filled with soul and feeling

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.

If you do not control the enemy, the enemy will control you

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

Crossing at a ford occurs often in a man's lifetime. It means setting sail even though your friends stay in harbour, knowing the route, knowing the soundness of your ship and the favour of the day.