turning into a recluse... I wonder what happen to them...?

Musashi and Oyama had great internal struggles to workout.

Musashi spent most of his life in brutal combat. After he killed is most formidable foe what else did he have? They had a great repect for each other, yet their egos forced them to confront each other after years of the social cat and mouse games. Games of maneuvering in the social strata. How do you set up a duel between an outcast that was basically wanted by the law and a very well respected swordsman.

Musashi and Oyama were very similar in those ways.

Mas Oyama also spent days towards the end of WWII watching his friends die in kamikaze raids on the American Navy. He blamed Americans for the loss of his friends. Right or wrong.

Oyama was constantly getting in fights with US Military Personnel, His face was well know in the police circles as a trouble maker. He was encouraged to hide in the mountains to train his mind and body.

Times like these sometimes do take introspection to get things worked out and part of that introspection can in fact be solitude, lack of distraction. Kind of the Zen approach to internal peace.

It takes great internal fortitude to be a hermit for a good outcome. It takes a coward to be a hermit to totally escape from reality and no good usually comes from that.

Look at the great works that came from Musahi and Oyama. They came out of their trials stronger people that contributed to the generations. They left their mountains, in a way, and spread their knowledge for good. They were introspective, trained hard, or studied, contemplated, wrote, and balanced their lives out over time, through some time of isolation.

Just being a hermit to escape from reality is to no good end if you are not trying to come to peace with yourself and trying to make the world a better place.

Both Musashi and Oyama, by contributing to a greated end over time, knowingly or unknowingly, made the world a better place for those of us that are looking for a way though our internal struggles.

Martial Arts and it's true doctrine of "peace through strength" does help others. To stay alive, to become closer to our inner self through hard work, and focusing on the preciseness of the motion. Also by understanding the seriousness of the possible outcomes of our actions.

We can become better people. Not a religion, but a tool to help us grow.

Musashi went into the mountains because like many men who have been strong all their lives instinctively knew the end of his days were near - he was going to die and he wanted to write down his the sum of experiences/knowledge for his students. BTW: he did not make it. Go-Rin-No-Sho was edited by his disciples from the rough draft Musashi lefted behind. And even the name was given posthumorously.

Mas Oyama was a troublemaker and IMHO a very confused man. He was not even Japanese, but fought for Japan even though Japan invaded and occupied his country, Korea. And the Japanese did not even give him citizenship until 1964. Not someone I would pattern my life after.

My point is that the two men did what they did for their own reason. The idea of seperating yourself from everyday life by way of living like a hermit in the mountains is to miss the point completely - inner calm or peace, inner reflection or enlightenment does not come from the external. It comes from within and that means where you are does not matter.

Ask yourself, did Royce Gracie, Bruce Lee, Yagyu Muneyoshi, or Morihei Ueshiba for off into the mountains?

I'm a admirer of both Musashi and Oyama

Yes it would be good to live in isolation and contemplation and meditate and train hard as I believe you would find your own way eventually, but sadly modern life doe's not accommodate all of them due to work, living commitments etc but if you where financially secure then why not ?

Go for it !!!!!

Best wishes :)***

I think that everyone who lives in a typical lifestyle should take a few days to go and reconnect with man's roots - our planet.

We came from the earth and we need to reconnect to re-energize and gather our thoughts - go fishing, watch nature and see how the fauna and flora go about in their daily activities.

We should all be doing this at least on a yearly basis. But I would like to take one weekend a month and do this.

If we did, we would have less stress in our lives and think of the learning experience it would be.

Cool ... what do you mean by cool?

Anyway, I think it would be a journey to go as a recluse into the mountains and isolate myself for a few weeks.

I certainly wouldn't want to do it all the time but it might be something I'll do in my life.

Back then people had alot of time on their hands. These days people have alot going on in their lives and dont have the dedication to make that kind of sacrifice.