Strategy in the Forex Market

A Retelling of Musashi's Go Rin No Sho

By: Andres E. Pedraza, Miyamoto Musashi

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In the 16th Century, a Japanese warrior by the name of Miyamoto Musashi, wrote a treatise on sword fighting which became a classic in Japan. Musashi, legend tells us, was undefeated throughout his lifetime, and his book, Go Rin No Sho (A Book of Five Rings) is still avidly read to this day. It’s full of Musashi’s teachings covering the skills and strategies he learned and applied throughout his life, teachings that made him the person that the Japanese to this day call The Sword Saint. In the 20th Century, his book was rediscovered by businessmen in Japan who realized that running a business had eerie similarities to waging military campaigns, and they found that Musashi’s teachings were on point and applicable to their environment, and to their great advantage. Soon after, Musashi’s book began to be marketed in the West as a business book. Not bad for a warrior from the 16th Century who never stepped out of Japan! I recently reread the book, as I do very year or so, and was surprised to see how applicable the teachings were to the Forex Market. I wanted to share these insights with anyone seeking to escape from their 9-5 grind, or even anyone seeking to learn a new skill that will put money in their pocket reliably, even if only as a fall back plan. In a nutshell, what Musashi defines as Strategy is the key component lacking in most traders' operation. Strategy is a holistic concept that sits at the top and encompasses many things. These include the proper psychology, goal setting, a trading plan, equity and risk management and, of course, the tactical aspects such as trading systems. What I've seen is that many confuse strategy with tactics, and talk of trading strategies when they mean trading systems. Knowing when to enter and exit a trade is tactical, not strategic. You can only have one strategy, and many tactics. Tactics support your strategy, but without that strategy, tactics are the equivalent of using a map when you don't have a destination selected. Musashi's treatise, originally meant as a battlefield manual, translates perfectly to Forex Trading. I read the Go Rin No Sho decades ago, and apply it in every aspect of my life without even thinking about it. I had an epiphany last time I read it and immediately started writing this version of it, following the layout and philosophy from Musashi's Book of Five Rings, replacing the combat lessons with trading ones. This book will appeal to traders, martial artists, and armed forces personnel, all of whom can benefit from introducing strategy into their lives and operations. These teachings are responsible for my success in trading, and this book is my way of sharing them, and paying it forward.