"A stroke of the sword that does not hit its target is the sword stroke of death; you reach over it to strike the winning blow. Your adversary's initiative having missed its mark, you turn the tables around and get the jump on your adversary." (Yagyū Munenori, "A Hereditary Book on the Art of War", 1632)
"Conquering evil, not the opponent, is the essence of swordsmanship." (Yagyū Munenori, "A Hereditary Book on the Art of War", 1632)
"There may be a hundred stances and sword positions, but you win with just one." (Yagyū Munenori, "A Hereditary Book on the Art of War", 1632)
"[FIRST TECHNIQUE] […] your sword now having bounced upward, leave it as it is until the opponent strikes again, whereupon you strike the opponent's hands from below. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"[SECOND TECHNIQUE] […] If your sword misses the opponent, leave it there for the moment, until the opponent strikes again, whereupon you strike from below, sweeping upwards.[…]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"[THIRD TECHNIQUE] [...] as the opponent strikes, you strike at his hands from below. [...] as he tries to knock your sword down, bring it up in rhythm, then chop off his arms sideways. The point is to strike an opponent down all at once from the lower position just as he strikes. [...]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"Having a position without a position, or a guard without a guard, means that the long sword is not supposed to be kept in a fixed position. [...] Where you hold your sword depends on your relationship to the opponent, depends on the place, and must conform to the situation; wherever you hold it, the idea is to hold it so that it will be easy to kill the opponent. [...] Even though you may catch, hit, or block an opponent's slashing sword, or tie it up or obstruct it, all of these moves are opportunities for cutting the opponent down. This must be understood. [...]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"In my individual school, one can win with the long sword, and one can win with the short sword as well. For this reason, the precise size of the sword is not fixed. The way of my school is the spirit of gaining victory by any means. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"It is said the warrior's is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways. Even if a man has no natural ability he can be a warrior by sticking assiduously to both divisions of the Way. Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"Other schools become theatrical, dressing up and showing off to make a living, commercializing martial arts. […] Do you think you have realized how to attain victory just by learning to wield a long sword and training your body and your hands? This is not a certain way in any case. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"[…] the power of knowledge of the art of the sword. This is something that requires thorough examination, with a thousand days of practice for training and ten thousand days of practice for refinement. […]" (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)
"Swordsman-ship is not something you persevere in just to achieve victory over others. It is also an art through which you can face troubles and clarify issues of life and death. This is an attitude that samurai must always strive to maintain, and so you should master this art." (Issai Chozan, "The Mysterious Skills of the Old Cat" ["Neko No Myoujutsu"], 1727)
"The hands manipulate the sword, the mind manipulates the hands. Cultivate the mind and do not be deceived by tricks, feints, and schemes. They are the properties of the magician, not the samurai." (Saito Yakuro, cca 19th century)
"The purpose of martial arts is to stop injustice, thus you must never have the intention to take up arms. A peaceful spirit is of utmost importance in order to have the proper mindset to learn fencing. To be a swordsman is to be a lethal weapon; the most fortunate scenario would be to never have to use your martial skills in your lifetime. It is permissible to use your martial skills with justifiable reason, but you must not speak ill of other schools of fencing and you must not boast of your own sword-fighting skills to people who do not know the art." (Saito Yakuro, cca 19th century)
"An over sharpened sword cannot last long." (Lao Tzu)
"If you seek mastery of the sword, seek first sincerity of the heart, for the former is but a reflection of the latter." (Iwakura Yoshinori)
"One can win with the long sword, and one can win with the short sword as well. For this reason, the precise size of the sword is not fixed. The way of my school is the spirit of gaining victory by any means […]" (Miyamoto Musashi)
"The archer should forget about shooting the arrow, and shoot as he would doing nothing special. Then the shot will be smooth. When wielding the long sword, or riding a horse, do it as though you would not wield a sword or ride a horse [...] Stop doing everything, have an empty, everyday's mind, even when you have lots of things to do, do it easily, smoothly. The man who has nothing on his heart is the man of the Way." (Yagyu Munenori)
"The art of the sword consists of never being concerned with victory or defeat, with strength or weakness, of not moving one step forward, nor one step backward, or the enemy not seeing me and my not seeing the enemy. Penetrating to that which is fundamental before the separation of heaven and earth where even yin and yang cannot reach, one instantly attains proficiency in the art." (Takuan)
"Throwing down your own sword is also an art of war. If you have attained mastery of swordlessness, you will never lack for a sword. The opponent's sword is your sword. This is acting at the vanguard of the moment." (Yagyū Munenori)
"When the swordsman stands against his opponent, he is not to think of the opponent, nor of himself, nor of his enemy's sword movements. He just stands there with his sword which, forgetful of all technique, is ready only to follow the dictates of the unconscious. The man has effaced himself as the wielder of the sword. When he strikes, it is not the man but the sword in the hand of the unconscious that strikes." (Takuan)
"When you practice archery, if your mind is occupied with shooting the arrow, the shot will be disturbed, and will not be settled (smooth). If you are wielding the long sword, and your mind is fixed on wielding the sword, the sword will not move smoothly." (Yagyu Munenori)
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