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Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
“An attack must be executed with quickness, not speed. Attack with power, not strength. There is a great difference between speed and quickness, power and strength. Think this through carefully. It is the essence of strategy”
Miyamoto Musashi I have my own thoughts on how the above can inform 'magic'. Have fun..... Regards,
Brad Burt
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BarryFernelius Inner circle Still learning, even though I've made 2537 Posts |
Both the linguistic and engineering portions of my brain started to talk to each other, in a peculiar dialog.
“I don’t think that Musashi is making any sense. Speed is the magnitude of velocity. And quickness is just another name for speed,” said the engineering brain. “On the contrary, I think that he’s expressed a very subtle idea,” said the linguistic brain. “The word ‘speed’ was originally about luck or prosperity. ‘God’s speed’ is all about wishing someone good luck. ‘Quick’ means more than fast; it also means ‘alive,’ as in ‘the quick and the dead.’ “Maybe Musashi is saying that you shouldn’t depend on mere luck. Instead, when you’re attacking, you need to be fully present, fully alive,” said the linguistic brain. “Well that certainly makes some sense. The second one, contrasting power and strength, is one that I understand,” said the engineering brain. “Strength is just a measure of force. But power is much more than that. Power is force that’s been applied over a distance and time. Force, all by itself, doesn’t mean much. Power is force that’s been unleashed over time and space,” said the engineering brain. “Maybe Musashi is trying to say that strength isn’t impressive unless you are willing to use it.”
"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."
-Leonard Bernstein |
Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
Consider the possibility: Speed as a concept with Musashi is something inchoate and undirected. You could spin around without focus and build up a great deal of speed, but the application thereof to strategy would be minimal at best. Quickness on the other hand may not have the speed, but because of the thought full way it can be directed it can be useful. Rapidly swishing my hand through the air accomplishes little, but the instant push of ones finger into the eye of an opponent can stop the fight right there.
Power is directed, channeled, useful and accomplishes what the user wishes. Strength is latent power, but more, power is not completely a matter of strength. A very, very strong man can be hit with 'power' in a variety of ways and places and lose the fight. As I remember Musashi was know at times to win a fight with one movement. In Musashi both Quickness and Power have the idea of 'thought' behind them. They are action directed at just the right time and in just the right manner to effect the goal desired. Best,
Brad Burt
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George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
Makes total sense to me so far. But I do have to wonder what the subtleties might be in the Japanese he was using back then: words that we may not even know any more.
Actually, this kinda reminds me of Mr. Miyagi" "Karate in head. Karate in heart." Or something to that effect.
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.
- Wyatt Earp
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-04-19 16:00, tommy wrote: From what I have read and understand, that's exactly Musashi's point, or at least one layer. In magic I have found very few instances when just blinding speed availed much. The best I could be my Classic Pass up to was about 95 a minute and that was in my 20's. Even the front Riffle Pass which I still use and practice is not so much a matter of the speed as the integration of all the movements smoothly together. I can slow it way, WAY down and it still freaks folks out. Much of sword fighting is about timing (quickness) and accuracy (power). Hit someone HARD using strength, miss and hit the arm as opponent somewhat slips the punch. Use half the strength, but land a focused punch to a vital spot on your opponent and see what happens. It's the same with magic. I think it was Malini who said that if someone was watching real close and Max wanted to perform a Pass he'd just wait until his "opponent" looked away. Best,
Brad Burt
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Pakar Ilusi Inner circle 5777 Posts |
Kill every time with your Magic.
No fear.
"Dreams aren't a matter of Chance but a matter of Choice." -DC-
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