Chapter 33 : Mushin

'I'm going to kill you!' roared the samurai.

Jack didn't know what to do. The sudden attack had taken him offguard.

Sensei Hosokawa had gone crazy, his dark eyes merciless and intent

on murder. He was charging directly at him with a razor-sharp katana and

Jack realized that in the blink of an eye he'd be sliced open like a pig, his

guts spilled out across the dojo floor.

Only a few moments before Jack had been training with Tadashi in the

Butokuden in preparation for the Circle, barely a month away. Suddenly, out

of nowhere, Jack had caught a gleam of steel and had spun round to see

Sensei Hosokawa bearing down on him, his sword drawn.

Sensei Hosokawa struck with lightning speed, the katana emitting a

high whistling sound as it carved across Jack's chest and down past his

stomach.

Jack shakily looked down, afraid of what he might see. But his entrails

weren't spread all over the floor. His belly remained intact. He was

completely unharmed. The only thing cleaved apart had been his obi. The

belt, sliced in two, fell to the floor in a defeated heap.

'You're dead,' stated Sensei Hosokawa.

Jack swallowed back his shock, unable to respond. Gradually it

dawned on him that this attack had been a ruthless lesson in martial arts.

'You were thinking too much,' Sensei Hosokawa continued,

resheathing his sword. 'You allowed yourself to be scared and it caused you

to hesitate. If you hesitate in battle, you die.'

Sensei Hosokawa looked at both his students, ensuring they

understood the warning.

'B-but I thought you'd gone crazy,' stammered Jack, suddenly

regaining his voice. He trembled with a combination of shock and shame at

being the victim of a sword stunt in front of his new friend Tadashi. He felt

belittled. 'I really thought you were going to kill me!'

'No, but next time the attack could be for real,' replied Sensei

Hosokawa gravely. 'The three evils for a samurai are fear, doubt and

confusion. You just displayed all of them.'

'So I'm not good enough? Is that what you're telling me?' snapped

Jack, his frustration at his progress boiling to the surface. 'Am I ever going

to be? It seems there's always something wrong with my technique. Why

aren't I getting any better?'

'Mastering the Way of the Sword is a long road,' explained Sensei

Hosokawa kindly. 'Rushing it only hastens your death. Ichi-go, Ichi-e. Have

you heard that phrase before?'

Jack nodded, remembering the calligraphy on the scroll in daimyo

Takatomi's golden tea room.

'One chance in a lifetime. That is all you ever get in a sword fight.'

Sensei Hosokawa looked Jack in the eye. 'I want to give you that chance.'

Jack studied his feet, embarrassed by his outburst when his teacher

was only trying to help.

'The Gauntlet was all about fudoshin,' Sensei Hosokawa continued.

'You were being tested on whether you were able to control your body and

mind under the pressure of an impossible battle. You proved yourself

capable of fudoshin then, but fear and confusion during my attack now

made you hesitate. You must learn to stare death in the face and react

without hesitation. No fear. No confusion. No hesitation. No doubt.'

'But how could I have known that you would attack me? I was

concentrating on sparring with Tadashi.'

'Mushin,' stated Sensei Hosokawa.

'Mushin?'

'Mushin means possessing a state of "no mind".'

Sensei Hosokawa began to pace the floor as he always did when he

lectured a class. 'When a samurai is faced by an opponent, he must not

mind the opponent; he must not mind himself; he must not mind the

movement of his enemy's sword. A samurai possessing mushin doesn't rely

on what move they think should be next. They act intuitively. Mushin is a

spontaneous knowledge of every situation as it occurs.'

'But how should I know what's going to happen in a fight? Do you

mean samurai have to see into the future?'

Sensei Hosokawa chuckled, amused at Jack's suggestion.

'No, Jack-kun, though it may appear that they do. You have to train

your mind to be like water, openly flowing towards any possibility. This is

the ideal mental state of a warrior in combat, one where you expect nothing,

but are ready for anything.'

'So how do I get mushin?'

'First you must practise your cuts many thousands of times, until you

can perform them instinctively, without conscious thought or hesitation.

Until your sword becomes "no sword".'

Jack glanced at Tadashi, who quietly stood by absorbing everything

that was said. He wondered if Tadashi understood this concept of 'no

sword'.

'I don't understand,' Jack admitted, hoping he wouldn't appear stupid.

'How can my katana become "no sword"? How can it no longer exist?'

'Your aim is to achieve unity between yourself and the sword.'

Sensei Hosokawa swiftly unsheathed his katana and held it aloft.

'Once the sword exists only in your heart and mind,' said Sensei

Hosokawa, pressing the tip of his blade against Jack's chest exactly where

his heart lay, 'then it becomes "no sword". For when you strike, it isn't you

but the sword in the hand of your mind that strikes.'

Jack understood only a little of what his sensei was saying. He realized

the sword master was teaching him great things, vital skills that he needed,

but at the same time the sensei seemed to be tying one arm behind his back.

If he was worthy of the Circle of Three and this concept of 'no sword' was

so important, why wouldn't Sensei Hosokawa allow him to train with a real

blade?

'But, with all respect, if you won't let me use my katana, how can I

make my sword become "no sword"?'

Sensei Hosokawa's face suddenly became hard as stone. 'When you

begin to grasp mushin, then I will permit you to train with a sword.'

Jack grasped at this new glimmer of hope. Eager to pursue 'no mind'

training, he asked, 'How long will it take me to master mushin?'

'Five years,' replied Sensei Hosokawa.

'That long! I can't wait five years,' despaired Jack. 'What if I work

really hard at it?'

'Then you will need ten years.'

Mystified by this illogical answer, Jack asked, 'Well, how about if I

devote all my time to mushin?'

'Then you will need twenty years.'