Yagyu Munenori

Munenori was a contemporary of Musashi during the late 16th and early 17th centuries but trod a totally different path. Whilst Musashi was an itinerant swordsman and didn't find a stable occupation until the latter part of his life, Munenori became the sword instructor to the Shogun and thus attained a very influential position. He was an exponent of the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu school, which had an approach that was strongly influenced by contemporary Zen thinking. His lasting legacy was the Hei-ho Kadensho, or The Life Giving Sword, in which he recorded his thoughts on advanced sword play. His main philosophy was that the mind should remain undisturbed or unattached whilst engaged in combat which would allow the swordsman to triumph over his adversary, although his explanations were much more complex than this. He also cultivated the development of a steady mind (Zanshin) that was attuned to it's surroundings, thus allowing the samurai to develop an almost sixth sense. Whilst firmly based in the time, many of his writings are directly relevant to modern fencing and life in general. Munenori was not only a great theorist/philosopher; his outstanding skill with the sword was demonstrated when he single-handedly fought a group of enemy samurai who had launched a surprise attack on the Shogun himself. Munenori quickly killed seven of them and delayed the ambush long enough for assistance to arrive.
The story that typifies Munenori to the later generations is that of an occasion when he was pre-occupied in observing cherry blossoms in the grounds of his house when he suddenly felt a sense of danger. Upon turning he found only a page who acted as his sword bearer. Munenori was dismayed that his sixth sense had let him down and the Page noticed this and asked the reason for his Master's discomfiture. Upon hearing Munenori's explanation the Page confessed that whilst he had sat behind Munenori in the garden he had wondered whether his Master would be vulnerable to attack whilst viewing the blossoms so intently. It was this that Munenori had sensed, so his zanshin had not let him down after all.