Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Warrior:
Musashi was primarily concerned with combat, and that meant
decisions revolved around life and death. If you are wrong, and

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someone dies, there is no do over. With stakes this high, you better
be certain you are right. A hunch isn’t good enough. I think this is
what Musashi was getting at with this precept and I agree with him.
This doesn’t mean we should ignore our intuition or our gut feelings.
We have them for a reason. Gavin DeBecker does an excellent job
of describing why we should pay more attention to these feelings in
his book The Gift of Fear. These feelings can save our lives, so yes,
we should definitely pay attention to them.
But I also think Musashi is correct in that we shouldn’t depend on
partial feelings or incomplete intelligence or information. This is
especially true with combat. Information and intelligence is key!
Because of a sniper’s training in advanced field craft, he could also
be tasked to be the eyes and ears of his commander, providing
critical information that no one else could supply. This is one of the
reasons we trained so hard in stalking and field craft and carried
recording devices and cameras with us. Some sniping missions were
reconnaissance (military observation of a region to locate an enemy
or ascertain strategic features) and information gathering rather than
engaging targets of opportunity or providing over watch for troops.
So, while at times we must make decisions without complete
information, and sometimes we just have to depend on partial
feelings because that’s all we have, in general Musashi’s advice is
sound to seek out confirmation and accurate information before
depending on anything.
I entered the U.S. Army during the summer of 1985. My
Commander-in-Chief was President Ronald Reagan. It’s not often
that a soldier gets to meet his Commander-in-Chief, but a few years
after I got out of the Army, while a student at the University of
Montana, I had the opportunity and honor to spend thirty minutes
with former President Reagan alone in his office in California. It was
an incredible visit, and one that had a big impact on me. The
importance here is that I studied a lot about President Reagan and
this precept reminds me of one of the sayings he was known for,
“Trust but Verify.” It’s a saying that recommends that while a source

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of information might be reliable, it is important to conduct additional
research to verify your intelligence and information is accurate and
reliable.
Suzanne Massie, a writer on Russia, taught President Reagan the
Russian proverb, “Doveryai no proveryai (trust, but verify).” She
advised him that the Russians liked to talk in proverbs. This proverb
was then adopted as a signature phrase by Reagan, and you can
now purchase “Trust but Verify” marble paperweights, coffee mugs,
pens, leather bookmarks, and key rings from the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Foundation and Library.
I believe Musashi, the originator of the Russian proverb, and
President Reagan were all coming from the same place. It’s
important to ensure you have accurate and reliable information to
base your actions, and it is always preferable to have that
information before you act.