Samurai Strategies by Boye Lafayette De Mente

Author:Boye Lafayette De Mente
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8048-3950-1
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Confuse Your Opponent

Many of the techniques Musashi used to kill his adversaries were just plain common sense—something that he often raised to the level of rare wisdom. He knew intuitively that people are more vulnerable when they are confused, and he used this stratagem in many different ways. He often said that it was far better to defeat an opponent with your mind than with a sword—a lesson that can be applied to business, sports, and war.

— Michihiro Matsumoto

Musashi used the power of confusion with deadly efficiency during many of his duels to the death and with the hundreds of men he later fought without intending to kill them. It is obvious that individuals who are suddenly confused or thrown off guard are not in full command of their faculties and can make mistakes that they wouldn’t ordinarily make. All Musashi had to do was get an opponent to hesitate for one or two seconds. That was all the time he needed to strike a fatal blow.

One of his fighting tactics was what he called “the rhythm of striking an opponent in one count.” This was assuming a pose with his sword that made it appear that he was vulnerable to attack, resulting in the opponent concentrating on the opening. Musashi then cut the opponent down in one quick movement before he had time to draw his sword back.

On other occasions, he lowered his sword as if he had forgotten where he was. Again, his surprised opponent, seeing what he thought was an opening, would spring forward recklessly, only to be met by a move so fast he was unable to dodge or block it.

Of course, confusing and misleading opponents is a classic tactic in virtually any kind of engagement. The less time they have to prepare themselves, the more likely you are to succeed. In military conflicts especially, using false starts, apparent inaction, or dramatic misdirection to tilt the advantage in your favor before the fighting begins can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

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