The Zen Way to Martial Arts: A Japanese Master Reveals the Secrets of the Samurai (Compass)

The Zen Way to Martial Arts is a phenomenal work. It explained how martial arts were not about competition, but a way of life, the journey to self mastery. It emphasized the importance of breathing, meditation, living/being in the present moment, and letting go of attachments. It articulated doing things wholeheartedly, as if it were the last moment of your life. It intimated how the ideogram “bu” used in words such as bushido, budo, bujutsu, etc., meant to sheath/stop the sword and to cease combat. So these words don’t actually means arts or ways of war, but ways of peace or restoring it. It explained how the samurais were not to be just warriors, but they had to study Buddhism, Taoism, Confusion, literature, etc., to be well-rounded and proficient in virtue. Reading this work was like sitting with Master Deshimaru and absorbing his wisdom. It is truly a guide and reminder on how one should live their life that I will continually pick up to remind myself.

This book is very insightful and gives a lot of wisdom about inner peace, calm, and staying in the present moment. I read it once and immediately began reading it again because it's so impactful.

This book is being used in the Karate Dojo I attend, Spirit Dojo. The importance of the spiritual aspect of the practice is so often overlooked, as Karate is treated merely as a sport or contest. Thi little book provides the missing element for the serious practitioner. Beyond the mind-body connection lies the stronger triad of mind, body and spirit.

I have been a lifetime student of numerous martial art systems, such as Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, Kobudo, Kenjutsu and many other combat arts. Besides the actual physical hands-on training under many martial art masters, my study also included countless books on the relationship between the mind and body. This book, The Zen Way to the Martial arts, was one of the many in my personal collection on the philosophical and psychological aspects of the martial arts. The approach in this book is to cover various Budo topics in a clear and uncomplicated manner so anyone can easily understand the material.The topics covered includes the following: "Bushido: the way of the Samurai." This section expains what strength and wisdom mean in the study of the martial arts and Zen It also gives an overview of the seven principles and three stages of learning the secrets of Budo and the Secrets of Zen. It also deals with directing the mind, KI: energy, what is the practice of Zen, the mind and body as one, unmoving wisdom, life and death and instruction of a Samurai.In conclusion, anyone who is a serious student of the martial arts and Asian Budo principles will benefit from reading this book.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Haiku Moments: How to read, write and enjoy haiku)

Great Book , read it many years ago but had the need to reas it again and its guidance in life is true !

This book presents a vision of how one can apply the basic tenets of their belief system to real life. The narrative emanates from the Samurai traditions of Japan but is so applicable to other belief systems that it can add clarity to your life-journey.

Came promptly, in perfect condition. Sort of an impulse buy, but it fit well with me as I became interested in Buddhism from the perspective of the Martial Arts, this fits well with where I am in this journey.

"Fighting without weapons first became...when itinerant monks were often attacked and robbed...because the monks' vows...a form of weaponless fighting initially developed in China...later split into Karate, judo, Tai-Chi, etc.....The itinerant monks carried all this knowledge from China to Japan, where, spreading out from the region of Okinawa...Karate and Judo became more popular there, while Tai-Chi remained specifically Chinese....[Tai-Chi] has been called "standing Zen"; but when all is said and done, it is just a dance, a sort of gymnastic without the true spirit of Zen" (p. 39-40)I think anyone who has more than basic knowledge about the history of these martial arts can tell that the above "facts" stated in the book are highly inaccurate, to say the least. Other statements, like the last one quoted above, probably do not stem from deep personal knowledge and experience. Specifically about Tai Chi, while not being a practitioner myself I am at least humble enough not to make such broad accusations. Maybe such a claim is true for many practitioners or so called masters of Tai Chi, but I know both the head of my Karate style (Okinawan, 10th Dan, and a zen practitioner for many years) and direct Sensei (Japanese, 6th Dan) hold some martial artists who are also Tai Chi masters in high regards.I think the two main problems with the book for people like me (i.e. martial artists who want to expend knowledge of the art and the interconnections between it, zen, the everyday life, and growing as a person) are (a) that the book was not carefully edited and (b) that the writer, which makes a lot of very specific statements about martial arts, is *not* a master in martial arts but a Zen master. According to the details given in the book it appears Zen master TD himself definitely had a personal background in martial arts (specifically "old style" Judo) and long time connections with highly ranked martial artists, but that is not the same. Thus, I found some Zen terminology new to me, and the discussion about it and its connection to martial arts informative, but I would suggest taking statements and "facts" regarding martial arts (like the ones quoted above) with a grain of salt. Personally, these problems turned my enthusiasm down and I ended up turning to other books on my list, never finishing this one.

Como um praticante (iniciante em termos) de artes marciais e grande entusiasta, além de grande apreciador do Zen Budismo, esse livro é perfeito. Mescla a filosofia do Budo japonês, com Zen. Traça paralelos e como se complementam. Fantástico. Livro de leitura fácil. Muito bom.

Me encanta el libro. Mi sensei en Capetown me ha aconsejado de leerlo y ahora tengo tambien la traduccion en Espanol.

`The Zen Way to the Martial Arts' explores some of the links between the practise of Zen and various martial arts from the perspective of a Japanese Zen master. There are numerous similarities in the philosophies and much can be gleaned and applied from either sphere to the improvement of the other. This has some calligraphy dotted throughout the text, as well as some photos of the author. My particular favourite parts of the book were the mondo sections which consist of a conversational question and answer format between the author and some students. These sections were easy to read and grasp and the personality of the author shines through. I heave read other books that have tried to link martial arts and spiritual practises but this is the only one that has succeeded and comes across as credible and authentic. The writing style (surprisingly for a translation) is clear and lucid and the points raised give plenty of food for thought. There is something for all to appreciate in these pages, whether you are a Zen practitioner, martial artist or interested in some of the spiritual ideas of the east and this is worth adding to your bookshelf at some point.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I first bought this book over 20 years ago when I started doing martial arts, and, innocent as I was, it was a bit mind blowing at the time. "Don't think", "Be like water", "Be like the reflection of the moon on a flowing river", etc., all such Zen type sayings can come across as a bit like oriental psycho-babble, to the uninitiated, however, and again, I was quite young when I first read this, this book seemed to make it all make sense, to me, and left me with a very real appreciation of the core value of Zen, of meditation, of how Martial Arts are "Arts" because once you let go of trying to do what you think you should be doing, what remains is the full expression of yourself through your technique. It's very much based upon the Japanese experience, but it is of universal appeal. Enjoying reading it again.

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