The first glimmer of a strategician’s dream of ultimate victory tactics first arose in the mind of a young man who had stopped to sit and drink tea.

The rays from the early morning sun shining through the trees glistening as they reflected gossamer threads, caught his eye, just like mine did this morning as I sat, also sipping tea on the back veranda. In noticing the almost perfect creation I reminisced about Yoshimitsu in those days long gone.

There it was, a perfect web shimmering delicately in the breeze. As the light caught it, it would coruscate alternating bright silver and then rainbow colours and back to silver. How could one miss noticing?

As my mind cast back again to Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (1036-1127), that famous warrior of the Kamakura period of feudal Japan, I had visions of many things in this pivotal human journey, as if passing through time itself.

Of course, he could not have been the first battlefield strategician to aspire to endless victory. There were many before him who had dreamed of finding better ways to defeat their enemies.

And there have always been people who begin their day with a cup of cha. And who notice nothing more than their own random thoughts chattering idly. If that.

What made this one man different?

Observing this perfectly woven circle of subtle but all powerful connectedness, he became inspired. No matter how a moth or any other insect entered the circle, it would never leave alive. No matter from which direction or approach, the spider was not bluffed by any change, and he would be difficult to attack at the hub of the in-depth backup of his web. Not even those considerably larger than the small spider who had woven that web could hope to reach him with ease. Resilient yet tenacious, the web did most of the work. The arachnid would simply sit at the centre and feel the messages transmitted along fine lines.

Minamoto no Yoshimitsu

The spider did not waste energy. As he sat at the centre, he would allow the invader to entangle himself, until worn out, he would stop struggling. Once in, there was no way out. Then the spider would take action. In his or her time. Just like training practice and good strategy, the web was set up well in advance, in anticipation of the event.

In an instant, efficient and economical, having pre-spun and woven the almost non-existent pathways well understood, the conclusion would finalize with comparative ease. And yet, the power of these delicate nuances would hold fast and immutably so.

For some reason the recollection of this insight would stay with young Yoshimitsu. Often, on sleepless nights, sometimes after a battle or in between campaigns, he would wonder how he could have done things better, how he could apply this principle of effortlessness following advanced preparation to attain swift and decisive victory in both heiho and gunpo. No matter what the circumstance, skill in preparation, just like the arachnid, would augment favourable outcomes.

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