Reddit reviews The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi

According to William Scott Wilson's biography The Lone Samurai, Musashi did have around 60 confirmed duels, starting with his defeat of Arima Kihei at age 12 (Stated as 13 in The Book of Five Rings, as infants were considered to be already 1 year old at birth in Japan at the time). That being said, much of Wilson's book is pieced together from varying sources, some conflicting. It isn't unreasonable to say the number may well be inflated.

As far as what constitutes a victory changed for each duel, some were fought to the death, and others mere tests of skill against one another. Musashi was famous for often fighting with a bokken (a wooden practice katana), even against live swords. Some of these fights still ended in the deaths of his opponent, perhaps most famously Sasaki Kojiro, the Demon of the Western Provinces. Legend states that Musashi carved a boat oar to a bokken while in route to the duel, where he quickly struck down his opponent, and finished him off by caving in his chest. After this duel, Musashi's status as a swordsman was solidified, and he stopped finishing his duels with such extreme prejudice. From about 30 onward, he stopped killing his opponents, instead proving his superior skill by not allowing his opponent to make any ground, and generally out moving them. Most opponents quit in frustration. This continued into his late fifties. Considering he started at age 12 with his defeat of Arima Kihei, and the variety of duels fought over his life, I personally believe the claim. I'd highly suggest reading Wilson's biography. It's considered one of the most complete and accurate biographies available on Musashi.

If you are interested to learn more about him, I highly recommend The Lone Samurai, it's a thoroughly entertaining read. Dude was awesome: samurai, poet, painter, teacher...

I'm glad you took to liking Musashi so much. You'd probably love this biography about him. I did in just a couple days- and it inspired the post that I made. In response to your question, Bodhidharma - the founder of Zen (and alleged founder of Shaolin) seems like an assured ISTP to me. He was a wandering/cave dwelling loner too, as you'll see on that page, spending years staring at the wall to get to the bottom of things. I admire the guy- and so did Musashi - here is a painting he did of him. Searches seem to have INTPs claiming him (disclaimer: they claim everyone) but I don't buy it. (Shaolin, that attitude, and that face!) Anyway, Zen in general seems like a very ISTP concept- but don't you go conceptualizing on me or you'll miss the point of Zen, and get whacked by Zen Master Lin-Chi- who seems like he was an ISTP as well. Probably the most iconoclastic ancient Zen Master there is- He's the guy who said "If you meet a buddha, kill him." He took to whacking or shouting at his pupils whenever they started thinking or speaking conceptually. Reading about those incidents is about as hilarious as Diogenes. (put them together and you've got a Marx Brothers situation) I'd recommend reading what Bodhidharma, Lin-Chi, and others have to say- but ironically it's a whole lot of 'STOP READING, STOP THINKING, AND START LIVING- YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED'. (so either get with the program or read them anyway) But to be clear, I've found that self reliance/assurance/discipline really is all up to ourselves. I sincerely think ISTPs seem to deeply understand that more than most other types.

Read The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590309871/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_FyRMybK006R59
It is excellent and will completely open your eyes to how dedicated he was. Incredible read.

Perhaps you've already gotten him a book by now, but here are my recommendations for him and anyone else who reads this thread. I'm a martial arts researcher and a former martial arts teacher. I even wrote my Master's Thesis on martial arts. I've read literally hundreds of books on the subject. There are a lot of terrible books out there on the martial arts but you can't go wrong with any of these.

If he studies Shotokan, the best place to start is with the guy who invented it.
Karate-Do: My Way of Life is written by the founding master of Shotokan, Gichin Funakoshi.
http://www.amazon.com/Karate-Do-Way-Life-Gichin-Funakoshi/dp/1568364989/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411959258&sr=1-10&keywords=shotokan


My number one recommendation is When Buddhists Attack by Jeffery Mann - This is an very well researched book on the history of the relationship between Zen and the Martial arts. It is a fantastic book that will help him deepen his understanding of martial arts instead of intentionally mystifying it more to try to sell more books like most martial arts books do.
http://www.amazon.com/When-Buddhists-Attack-Curious-Relationship/dp/4805312300/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411958781&sr=1-1&keywords=when+buddhists+attack



If he's more into stories, I'd recommend Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. It's a novelization of one of the most famous samurai to ever live. It's an exaggeration of his life but very entertaining.
http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Epic-Novel-Samurai-Era/dp/156836427X


If he'd rather learn about the real person I'd recommend The Lone Samurai by William Scott Wilson. Wilson is a famous translator and historian, his work is very well researched and enjoyable to read.
http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Samurai-Life-Miyamoto-Musashi/dp/1590309871/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411958941&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lone+samurai


I'll end with a list of books NOT to buy. These are books are really popular but are full of misinformation, outright fabrications, or worse.


Joe Hyams - Zen in the Martial arts
Eugen Herrigel - Zen in the Art of Archery
Inazo - Nitobe - Bushido

Hope this helps! If not, you have gift ideas for next year!