Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Miyamoto Musashi and 40k

The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. If you haven't read this yet, you must put it on your next to read list. Once you are finished, read it again, and I am not kidding, you will have a greater understanding of his meanings on the second read through.
I'm going to quote directly from Chapter 1, THE GROUND BOOK;
"Strategy is the craft of the warrior. Commanders must enact the craft,
and troopers should know this Way. There is no warrior in the world
today who really understands the Way of Strategy."
On it's surface it seems pretty straight forward right?... until you realize that what he refers to as 'Strategy' is actually a fight... and when I say a fight, I mean with swords and to the death. And this guy knew a ton about his craft having faced and cut down around 60 guys in 'comparisons of strategy'.
Here is another quote, "As I will explain in the second book, the Water Book, there is no fast way of wielding the long sword. The long sword should be wielded broadly and the companion sword closely." Here he is explaining his reason or method for wielding two swords where most of the duelists of the time only used the long sword. Another way of looking at this is use *ALL* your weapons and when you use them, use them for what they are meant to do. The long sword is long and is best when used farther from you, and the short sword is best when up close and personal. If you are using your short sword as far as you can swing it, and your opponent is using his long sword, you have already lost as your opponent can strike you before you get into range. Run this through a 40k filter and you get, use your units on the battlefield for what they are good at and you will get the best from them. I have compared 40k to the greatest version of Paper, Scissors, Rock I have ever played. Paper beats Rock, but Scissors beat Paper and Rock beats Scissors.
Devastators out shoot everyone else at long range, Tactical wins at middle ranges and Assault wins up close fights. Use *ALL* your weapons (your units) for what they are good at and you will get the best you can from them. Expect a unit to shoot like a Devastator squad, hold their ground like Tactical and assault like an Assault squad and they will fail you.
Every time.

More later...
-Khan
Miyamoto Musashi (c.1584–June 13 (Japanese calendar: May 19), 1645),
also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke, or by his
Buddhist name Niten Dōraku was a famous Japanese samurai, and is
considered by many to have been one of the most skilled swordsmen in
history. Musashi, as he is often simply known, became legendary
through his outstanding swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a
very young age. He is the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Nitenryū
style of swordsmanship and the author of The Book of Five Rings, a
book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today.

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