Thug...Not really...Determined.
Hi all,
I have to agree basically with Cady here..Musashi certainly comes across as an incredibly determined individual and one who was very good at what he did.
To call him a thug misses the point somewhat..He was a Samurai and was required to act in a certain way in order to get along..To place modern standards of behaviour on him and his beliefs is useless, and as Cady adds Musashi probably would not have given a "Rat's patoot" (!?) what opinions others really had of him.
That, I think was a major part of his charisma...He does not seem to have simply 'accepted' rules that to him were old and obsolete..(Much like a certain B. Lee Sifu in the 60's) And he seems to be pressing forward views on the Bujutsu that are even today very,very relevent.
His personal character I cannot know about...But then nor can anyone here..And it is not worth wasting time on. In his teachings he comes across as a driven, determined, and very good fighter that tried to introduce a new perspective to a society that was driven by 'rules' and 'the system' that he was not part of.
Much like all 'Masters' of anything he broke from the norm and was regarded as perhaps eccentric, arrogant, ego-centric, "Ill kempt" and "Uncouth" by the society that he was a part of. Or not.
Either way we don't know. And insulting anyone after their death with basically not much more than legends and stories of them being 'Thugs' or anything else is pretty disrespectful in Japanese culture...To say nothing of mine!
Bottom line is he was a 'master' and a good enough one to be remembered 350 odd years after his death...More than me in all likelihood.
Ben Sharples.
智は知恵、仁は思いやり、勇は勇気と説いています。