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pryz's review against another edition
1.0
The book comes across as a vanity project with the amount of name dropping that occurs throughout. Most of the anecdotes seem contrived and much of the knowledge and wisdom the author attempts to share is better presented elsewhere.
midnights_sky's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
jamestomasino's review against another edition
4.0
This short volume packed in a lot of key zen lessons through anecdotes, quotes, and examples. Like many books on the subject there's a lot of time spent explaining what the book is not. Even so, there's a wealth of lessons worth learning.
If you're a student of Zen this may bring you a new perspective or help give clarity to certain topics. If you're new to Zen but enjoy martial arts there's a nice introduction to the topic and broad overview. If you know of neither there's some interesting anecdotes that makes for good storytelling. If you are a student of both disciplines this is an inspirational read that will help you refocus on your inner path.
If you're a student of Zen this may bring you a new perspective or help give clarity to certain topics. If you're new to Zen but enjoy martial arts there's a nice introduction to the topic and broad overview. If you know of neither there's some interesting anecdotes that makes for good storytelling. If you are a student of both disciplines this is an inspirational read that will help you refocus on your inner path.
dragonscribe's review against another edition
3.0
I read this as a Kung Fu student, and was pleasantly surprised to see that much of what is talked about in this book is also spoken of by my Sifu. On the one hand, it means I didn't read a whole lot I didn't already know; on the other hand, I was able to get some of the metaphysical lessons my Sifu teaches us in between the physical elements from another experienced perspective. Also, being able to get that second perspective allowed me to further refine how I will try to apply the various lessons to my own life. When I began to study Kung Fu, I was surprised by how much martial arts is a mental exercise, not just a physical one. It's nice to have those thoughts confirmed by an outside source!
mossflower_bibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
This book was succinct and insightful. I like how it was organized into short chapters that had clear concepts and examples of how they apply to martial arts as well as to everyday life. There were a few topics such as conquering haste, choosing how to spend time, and confident seeing that I found especially helpful and I am thankful for having read this book at this time.
curiouspolymath's review against another edition
4.0
My friend Dan told me this was the book that changed his life, or something to that effect. So I bought it. It was an easy read, short, concise, to the point and full of deep nuggets of wisdom pertaining to the practice of the martial arts and to life itself. Joe Hyam practiced the martial arts under a number of renown Sifu, the most famous of which was Bruce Lee.
This connection brought back memories of the time in my own past where I was obsessed with the Little Dragon. Even though it has been a few years since I have delved into his writings, much of it came back to life in my mind.
Of course Joe Hyam had more to say that just a sequence of Bruce Lee vignettes.
Foremost amongst them are the ideas of being in the flow and practicing the art with great concentration and vigor but also with singular attention of not trying. He also speaks of the kind of decision making that Daniel Kahnemann explores in his Thinking: Fast and Slow and Michael Lewis' The Undoing Project. I am now thinking on these themes and trying to piece all of the ideas together. For this I felt the book was a great find for me personally.
I was pleasantly surprised by his mention of the concept of flow and trying not to try, these are things that I had just read about in the past few years, yet in his crude but very concise way, Hyam was able to explain these concepts in a tiny book. I was actually quite impressed.
The elegant part of the book is that Hyam was able to put what he had to say in short 2-3 page chapters, he does so with great clarity and follows them up with pertinent quotes. This is a great book to keep with me as a reminder of the lessons.
I was also disheartened to read that Joe Hyam had passed away in 2008, this was an older book.
This connection brought back memories of the time in my own past where I was obsessed with the Little Dragon. Even though it has been a few years since I have delved into his writings, much of it came back to life in my mind.
Of course Joe Hyam had more to say that just a sequence of Bruce Lee vignettes.
Foremost amongst them are the ideas of being in the flow and practicing the art with great concentration and vigor but also with singular attention of not trying. He also speaks of the kind of decision making that Daniel Kahnemann explores in his Thinking: Fast and Slow and Michael Lewis' The Undoing Project. I am now thinking on these themes and trying to piece all of the ideas together. For this I felt the book was a great find for me personally.
I was pleasantly surprised by his mention of the concept of flow and trying not to try, these are things that I had just read about in the past few years, yet in his crude but very concise way, Hyam was able to explain these concepts in a tiny book. I was actually quite impressed.
The elegant part of the book is that Hyam was able to put what he had to say in short 2-3 page chapters, he does so with great clarity and follows them up with pertinent quotes. This is a great book to keep with me as a reminder of the lessons.
I was also disheartened to read that Joe Hyam had passed away in 2008, this was an older book.
ellegitimate's review against another edition
4.0
I love this! A thoughtful and insightful book about the philosophies behind martial arts. A recommended read for anyone interested in the martial arts or zen or any other philosophy of mind.
catalogthis's review against another edition
3.0
Not something I would have picked up on my own (I know nothing of the martial arts beyond the Karate Kid movies), this came highly recommended by a friend. For a tiny book, it is packed full of insightful -- and deceptively simple -- observations about how to live.
rogermckenzie's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favourite books and the one that I carry with me at all times. It's a superb reminder of the true value of the martial arts and how it can be applied outside the dojang. Excellent!