Zen in the Martial Arts Mass Market Paperback – July 1, 1982

I have been studying and practicing Martial Arts for the past 11 years, the book contains not only lessons for the martial artists, but also lessons for, ultimately, our lives.The book is an easy read, with each chapter even though short, but they are powerful and direct. Here are my notes from each chapter which everyone should try to apply in the lives:1. Empty Your Cup: Like a cup of coffee being overflowed, we are all overflowed with opinions and habits. In order to take on new knowledge and experiences, we first need to empty our cups, and consider what's hold to be true.2. Process Not Product: This was a very interesting chapter, we set goals or deadlines for ourselves which is fine, but ultimately we need to focus on the process of something, not the completion. You can still "Begin with the end in mind" (See Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), but it's a process we must focus on, which helps eliminate stress.3. Seize The Moment: Live in the present, not the past or predicting some unwanted future. Complete concentration and discipline must be in the present moment, don't worry about what's going to happen in even 5 minutes time, just focus your mind on now.4. Conquer Haste: Be patient in the trivial things in life, have some self control, and one will you will have the same mastery in great and important things.5. Know Your Limits: Study and improve the strong points of yourself that outweigh your weaknesses. Capabilities exceed limitations. Use what you are already capable of and master it, such as martial arts; kicks do not have to be head high, great kicks at waist level and below cause as much damage. Use what your capable of to your advantage.6. Even The Masters Have Masters: Everyone has a master, to learn from, to grow. The other lesson here is that we need to accept that learning goes by plateau; we make a big jump up, then we go down again, we have the inspiration, then we go down again, and we don't see any change for a while - but this is a normal part of learning, and fighting through plateau times will result in ultimate awards.7. Lengthen Your Line: In Sparring, don't try to cut off people with tricky and fancy moves, focus on improving your own kill and knowledge you already have acquired.9. Do Not Disturb: Time is the most precious commodity we have, we either spend it or waste it. Look at how your using you're 168 hours in a week.10. Active Inactivity: Doing nothing can sometimes be more important than doing something, we need to pause in our lives and have time out to just THINK.11. Inactive Activity: Don't try to fight with or deny problems, accept and acknowledge then. Be patient and controlled, then find the best visible solution you can.12. Extend Your Ki: This is the invisible force or energy which cannot be seen. We all have a inner strength, where the mind and the body can be coordinated as one - This involves having a superior state of mind. Such as under extreme and emergency circumstances: The man who lifts a car off the wife's legs, the man who breaks down a door in a burning building with loved ones trapped inside - this inner strength comes in.13. Zen Breathing: This is controlled breathing, it restores: calmness, confidence and strength, and reduces anxiety and stress. Breathing in through your nose, with your stomach expanding, and out through your mouth, with your stomach going down naturally, is the process to be followed. 4 Seconds inhale, 4 Seconds exhale. In addition, This breathing pattern can also strengthen your intercostal muscles.14. Go With The Current: Don't try to go against one's strength, such as in sparring, redirect it, and this will also cause your opponents mind to not be angry. Control things by going along with them.15. Anger Without Action: How can you expect to control some one else, if you cannot even control yourself? When you lose your anger, you lose yourself - on the mat, as well as real life.16. Recognize A True threat: To avoid being initiated, think more and react less. If you extend your leg right out in front of you, and if some one is more than your extended leg length away, i'ts the "safety zone" - punches and kicks cannot make contact. You just remain calm and composed, you don't have to react unless they come in your punches or kicks zone (even here, you just be prepared).17. Kime: This means tightening your mind. In life and on the mat, an unfocused or loose mind wastes energy. Focus on ONE thing in the present.18. MUSHIN: Let your mind flow, things do become automatic, with both mental and physical practice.19. Instinctive Action: Always trust your instinct - utilize your sixth sense.20. Un-thinking Pain: This is mind over matter, if your in pain, focus on something else, then you will realize your frontal lobe (The CEO of your brain), cools of unimportant things, and that pain doesn't seem so bad... and even does not exist.21. Effortless Effort: Relaxation and concentration go hand in hand. Don't strain your muscles, such as in sparring, just relax and let things go. Train moves to be unconscious action.22. Make A Friend Of Fear: Face fears until your no longer afraid. Visualize yourself doing it.23. Confident Seeing: Visualization is VERY powerful, and thus the mind is also. Athletes visualize, you can heal yourself with visualization, and also visualize success.24. The Power Of Focus: Relax your self such as in sparring, gather all your strength, then make a move.25. Multiple Options: Have the state of mind of tranquility - a mind as still as water. Consider the third alternative before you take action.26. Martial Arts Without Zen: You can learn zen without karate, and martial arts with out zen. But Zen and martial together frees one from: concern, tension, anxiety, and winning and loosing.27. Karate Without Weapons: You don't have to fight at all, which leads to the last point...28. Winning by Loosing: Defuse a compromising situation by cooperation. If some one starts a road rage, surrender immediately. The true martial artists will allow the other person a way out.I hope these points help at least someone reading this review.

This is an enjoyable and easy to read book about the frustrations of martial arts training and the lessons the author learned. He covers a lot of different aspects of training in various arts, and his anecdotes are unsparing of his ego and sometimes funny. Any martial artist will be able to relate and smile. Five stars for the book.I ordered a "Used - Acceptable" copy as a gift for a friend, but it's not my idea of acceptable. There are inked underlined sections on almost every page of the first half of the book. Someone named Sullivan studied this copy in great detail for a while, and then apparently gave up. There's a story there! I like the idea of recycling books, but in the future I'll go for "Used - Very Good". I just ordered a new one for my friend. One star for the copy I received.

I have read and re-read this book a dozen times over the last 20 years, during periods when my martial arts training was active, dormant, and now active again. This is the only book about which I can say that. My only regret is that I have yet to find a collector-grade hardback edition for my library.This book can be a fast read - so much so that I often find myself apologizing to friends when I recommend it to them. It is at first difficult to explain how a book can be so influential and yet simple at the same time.The chapters are short - a few pages each - but most of them contain what I consider to be profound and thought provoking life lessons. These lessons have had meaning for me, albeit different ones, from my days as a college student to my present life as a husband, a father, and a professional. I now sometimes just pick up the book and open it to a random chapter for a quick, but meaningful, review.This book is not a tome or treatise about the way of Zen. It is a collection of short stories about the author's experiences with martial arts, and the lessons he derived from those experiences. Personally, I don't care whether the author was a renowned martial artist or not. I readily admit that I am not some master-level practitioner, but that parallel makes the author's experiences resonate even more. In other words, I can relate to many of the challenges he describes.I am writing this review as I purchase my 5th or 6th copy - this one to send to a friend with whom I was discussing the book last night.At a reasonable cost, and a quick read, I can comfortably say that this is worth the effort.

I have read this book when i was inn my twenties, have since gifted it to several people who have loved it. This time I gifted it to a special teenager, it was fantastic to see the book have the same impact on her as it did in my generation. Truly a book that pans time and space.

You don’t have to be a martial artist to get extreme value from this gem of a book. This book uses martial arts only as a setting for some great insights.

Este libro lo compré porque soy una gran fan de Bruce Lee y su forma de pensar. Esto adentrandome poco a poco en la filosofía zen, y este libro tiene enseñanzas que, quizás parezcan muy básicas, pero que viene bien recordar.Lo recomiendo!

Great book!

This book presents lessons learned from martial artists which was also recognized by Zen masters. So anyone can apply it everyday in life even by not practicing martial arts