Zen in the Martial Arts is a classic martial art book written by Joe Hyams. It was recently selected as the #1 martial arts book by guests of this show. Zen in the Martial Arts - Episode 146 You can read our post on the Top Ten Martial Arts Books as selected by our guests. It’s time for episode 146 of whistlekick Martial Arts radio, and we’re going to talk about an amazing book that has come up in conversation a lot on this show – Zen in the Martial Arts. Not a reader? You should still stick around because this isn’t a book review. Let me introduce myself. I'm whistlekick’s founder but I’m better known as your host on this show. My name is Jeremy Lesniak. whistlekick makes the best sparring gear you can get as well as some great apparel and accessories for practitioners and fans of traditional martial arts.  I'd like to welcome all of you new listeners and thank everyone that’s come back. All our past episodes, show notes, and some other good stuff is at whistlekickmartialartsradio.com. From that site, you can sign up for our newsletter, and I hope you do because we offer exclusive content to subscribers, discounts and it's the only place to find out about upcoming guests. Today’s episode has a full transcript available on the website. Short Summary of Zen in the Martial Arts Zen in the Martial Arts, for all of the impact it has had on several generations of martial artists, is short. It’s 140 pages of a small book, and it’s not small font. That might make you think that it’s incomplete, or otherwise lacking, but that isn’t the case. Reviews for the book continue nearly 40 years later, and on the popular book review sites, the poorest rating I could find was 4.1 out of 5. Amazon, which is known for having the most reviews, shows it as 4.6 of 5. There are 28 chapters, each one with a title that seems ripped from a classic kung fu movie – Empty your cup, Active Inactvitiy, Extend Your Ki. The chapters are short, most around 5 or 6 pages, and begin with a relevant photo. Most end with a bit of wisdom, like this one: “Life unfolds on a great sheet called Time, and once finished it is gone forever.” The book discusses some great names from our history, including Ed Parker & Bruce Lee. The chapters tell stories from the author’s time training. About the Author of Zen in the Martial Arts Joe Hyams, while beloved by martial artists for the book he wrote, was not best known as a martial artist or martial arts author. He was a writer, sure, but primarily a celebrity writer. During his career, he wrote or co-wrote books on Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra and Chuck Norris. He studied martial arts for more than 50 years. Beginning with fencing and then, through an introduction by music composer Bronislau Kaper, met Ed Parker. He became one of Parker’s first private students, then soon after, one of his first black belts. He trained privately with Bruce Lee for two years and introduced him to Hollywood. Hyams was a big piece of Bruce Lee’s start in films. It’s hard to believe that as big of an impact as this book has had, Joe Hyams’ contributions to the martial arts community, via Bruce Lee, were so much greater. He died in 2008 at age 85. Why Zen in the Martial Arts is Special Most martial arts books are about martial arts or some metaphysical subject. Often times they’re written by people who really know martial arts, but aren’t so good at writing. Mr. Hyams was a writer and a skilled one at that. He wrote newspaper columns, books, movie scripts… Clearly a varied and masterful writer. He was also very good at conveying his point simply, something that the very best martial artists seem able to do. This book is 140 pages because Mr. Hyams didn’t need more. While it has a tremendous amount of martial arts content, it’s not a book exclusively for martial artists. According to Melissa Hyams, his wife at the time he passed in 2008, said the book “isn't really about martial arts. It's about life and philosophy,