A few words from Yagyu Munenori

Yagyu Mumenori was a great swordmaster back in 17th century Japan. He was the master of the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu and knew a thing or two about duelling. I was on the bus this morning going to work which gave me the time to read some more of his treatise "The Book of Family Traditions" or Heiho Kadensho. The next few posts will be things I gleaned from this reading that I thought worthy of sharing. Every time I read this book and the Book Of Five Rings by Musashi I discover more....

The First Sword
The "first sword" does not literally refer to a sword. The "first sword" is a code word for seeing incipient movement on the part of opponents. The expresssion "the critical first sword" means that seeing what the opponents are trying to do is the first sword in the ultimate sense. Understanding the perception of impulses and incipient actions of adversaries as the first sword, understand the weapon that strikes according to what they do as the second sword.

So what does this mean? To me Munenori is talking about being able to anticipate the movement of your opponent before they act. Imagine the skill and concentration needed to achieve this state, but also imagine the acuteness of observation; scanning the opponent for the merest clue to their intentions. If Munenori could manifest this presence he must truly have been a terrifying opponent. Is it possible to develop such awareness in modern fencing? I believe it is. With time, patience and application you will be able to start anticipating your opponent's attacks. The next trick is neutralising them, but that's another post.....