Martial arts diaries journals and travelogues (and a little fiction)
Explore a curated collection of martial arts books, diaries, journals, travelogues, and fiction. Dive into captivating stories, personal reflections, and global adventures in the world of martial arts.
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Moving Zen
by C. W. Nikoru
A classic story of one man's confrontation with the self through Karate. In 1962 at age twenty-two, C. W. Nicol left Wales to study Karate in Japan. He quickly found that the study of the martial art engaged his whole being and transformed his outlook on life. Moving Zen is the multifaceted story of a young man who arrived in Japan to study the technique of, and spirit behind, Karate. Joining the Japan Karate Association, or Shotokan, Nicol discovered that Karate, while extremely violent, also called for politeness and a sense of mutual trust and responsibility. He learned that the stronger the Karateka, the more inclined he was to be gentle with others. Those who have gained a measure of skill but have not yet achieved spiritual maturity are the dangerous practitioners. Studying kata, Nicol came to realize that these forms are, in essence, moving Zen and that the ultimate goal of all the martial arts is tranquility. Through the help of many gifted teachers, C. W. Nicol gained his black belt, and moved progressively closer to his goal of tranquility. His story, Moving Zen, was first published in 1975 and has achieved the status of a modern classic.
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Return to Stillness
by Trevor Carolan
Trevor Carolan studied tai chi, meditation, and traditional Chinese healing for twenty-three years under the guidance of the late Master Ng Ching-Por in Vancouver's Chinatown. Over his many years of practicing tai chi and learning from Ng Ching-Por, Carolan absorbed the wisdom that comes from studying so closely with a master teacher. Now he offers what the Japanese call "palm of the hand" tales: thirty brief chapters that explore the essential motivations that inspired him to adopt the path of tai chi and persevere in its practice. Among the subjects he addresses are the dynamics of Asian teacher-student relationships, contending with the competitive urges of oneself and others, the student's frustration at making little apparent progress, the humor and embarrassment often involved in cross-cultural learning exchanges, as well as more practical subjects, including the mechanics of breathing and Taoist and Buddhist meditation techniques. Carolan's easy mix of anecdote, insight, drawings, and teachings will appeal to novice and advanced tai chi enthusiasts alike.
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My Journey in Karate
by Kancho Joko Ninomiya
Follow the path of budo—the warrior’s code of conduct—as it unfolds in the life of karate master Kancho Joko Ninomiya. Grandmaster of Enshin Karate and creator of the Sabaki Challenge, Kancho Ninomiya reveals how the spirit of feudal Japanese warriors inspired him as a boy and continues to shape his life as a man. My Journey in Karate describes the rigors of Ninomiya’s early training in judo before a chance meeting introduced him to an innovative karate sensei who changed his life. In addition to Kancho Ninomiya’s own story, My Journey in Karate includes an extended section of Ninomiya’s reflections on training, competition, strategy, and the lessons of karate both in and out of the dojo.
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Iron and Silk
by Mark Salzman
Salzman captures post-cultural revolution China through his adventures as a young American English teacher in China and his shifu-tudi (master-student) relationship with China's foremost martial arts teacher.
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Autumn Lightning
by Dave Lowry
Blending autobiography and history, Lowry offers an engaging portrait of the medieval Japanese samurai tradition and its survival in modern America. "A well-written, refreshing change from the standard martial arts fare".--Library Journal. 3 drawings. 3 halftone photos.
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Man Who Never Missed
by Steve Perry
The first title in Perry's cult-classic Matador series is now back in print. Once a ruthless soldier, Emile Khadaji has disappeared from the Galactic Confederation--with a secret plan to destroy it all in the name of freedom. Reissue.
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Zen in the Art of Archery
by Eugen Herrigel
A classic work on Eastern philosophy, and a charming, deeply illuminating story of one man’s experience with Zen. Eugen Herrigel, a German professor of Philosophy in Tokyo, took up the study of archery as a step toward an understanding of Zen Buddhism. This book is the account of the six years he spent as a student of one of Japan’s great kyudo (archery) masters, and of how he gradually overcame his initial inhibitions and began to feel his way toward new truths and ways of seeing.
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Zen and the Art of Street Fighting
by Jack M. Sabat
Recounts the great fights and lessons learned in nearly thirty years of practicing and teaching karate
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Unsui
by Eshin Nishimura
Although the lines of the palm of the hand are barely visible in the early light, the monks of the Tofukuji monastery have been about their familiar rounds of daily tasks for several hours. Their routine is simple but faithfully practiced. Within its repetition lies the key to the self and the Buddha who resides within. The daily life of the monastery is portrayed here in ninety-seven watercolor sketches. Drawn during his last years by the Zen monk Giei Sato, these sketches recollect his days as an unsui, an apprentice monk. With humor and steadfast warmth Sato depicts the day of leaving home and the day of returning; the rainy season and the snowy season; the chores, the celebrations, the days of cleaning, and the days of begging. Each of the charming drawings is enhanced by a brief description of the event portrayed, a touch of Zen teaching, or a note on monastic life.
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Karate-Do
by Gichin Funakoshi
This text presents the autobiography of the man who made karate an international martial art, in which he recalls his own teachers and of his efforts to define and spread knowledge about karate without compromising its spirit. Linking the time when karate was a strictly Okinawan art of self-defense shrouded in the deepest secrecy and the present day, when it has become a martial art practiced throughout the world, is Gichin Funakoshi, the Father of Karate-do.' Out of modesty, he was reluctant to write this autobiography and did not do so until he was'