Miyamoto Musashi (the famed Samurai Swordsman), repeatedly advised that it’s far better to defeat your opponent with your mind than with a weapon – meaning that it was better to first “strike” with the mind to weaken or virtually disarm an opponent and then, if necessary, use your sword to finish the job.
He used a variety of tricks that would psychologically upset his opponents and distract them from the battle at hand. These included arriving late for a fight, arriving early for a fight, not using the expected sword, saying nothing at all or saying something that would unsettle the opponents, etc.
Musashi understood at a very young age that breaking your opponents’ mental concentration was one of the best ways to weaken them. Thus, behaving in such a way that his opponent could not anticipate what he was going to do was one of his most successful tactics.
Nevertheless, this sort of psychological warfare has always been a part of war – from shouting and beating on drums to broadcasting loud music and propaganda to dropping leaflets from the air.
Modern warriors (i.e. soldiers) who resort to the force of arms in actual fighting or confrontations may be taking their opponents the hard way. Instead, they should hesitate to improvise and do the unexpected. In the end, they might gain the edge that actually reduces the chances of a deadly, destructive conflict and guarantees victory.
Source: Samurai Strategies, Boye Lafayette De Mente
2007 Shaques Publishing Inc.
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