Martial Arts Teaching Tales of Power and Paradox: Freeing the Mind, Focusing Chi, and Mastering the Self, by Fauliot

Customer Reviews:

Taste of the inner meaning of martial arts

By I. Dunn - September 24, 2000

This small book leaves me begging for more. It relates tales teaching the inner meaning of the martial arts. It is divided into the following sections. 1. The message of the stories. 2. On the threshold of the mystery. 3. Confronting the mountain. 4. The snare of appearences. 5. The great test. 6. Lessons of the Zen masters. 7. Winning without fighting. 8. The ultimate secret. For those who are interested in the martial arts as a path for self development and realisation rather than just as a 'grab em and bash em' exercise in futility, this book will be a treasure for you. The martial arts have traditionally passed on its ethos and morality through tales such as these. Many of these tales were already familiar to me as our Sensei recounts some at each training session, more or less. The book only has one major drawback, there isnt enough of it. It left me wanting more.

Neat book, compelling and thoughtful

By L. A. Kane - October 29, 2004

This set of vignettes is not only fun to read but it really does make you think. Fast paced, clear writing in a style that is reminiscent of Dave Lowry. You don't have to be a martial artist to enjoy it though you will probably get more out of it if you are.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

The Inward Journey

By Mantis - April 12, 2013

Sometimes a book shows up at a crucial moment, the missing piece of the puzzle. This is that book. For those of you that were attracted to the martial arts because of the spiritual and philosophical underpinnings behind them, this book is for you. This is Taoism and Zen through the lens of martial arts.

This is not a collection of morality tales. This is a deep plunge into sobering reality based on real events. The short stories take place in China and Japan. Reminiscent of the book, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones Classic Edition: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings, it can serve as a guidebook on the inward journey. Some of the stories are humorous, others are quite sobering. Many are tales about Samurai. Three stories use an animal as a substitute for the actual student, such as a very talented ape, a fighting rooster and a cat.

It is amazing how the writer, Pascal Fauliot, can take so... read more