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Clearing Away Clouds: Nine Lessons For Life From The Martial Arts

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Clearing Away Clouds tells the story of a western martial artist who has opened himself to the wisdom of the east to a degree that is truly uncommon. We meet a man walking his Way with integrity and humility, and in the process we receive sensitive guidance for our own journeys. A very fine book which will be of great assistance to many.

Fabian takes 9 tenents from various martial arts and illustrates how they shaped his own life, whether in the United States, Brazil, or Japan when he was both with and without a master under whom to study. He demystifies the mind/body connection within Eastern philosophies without losing the magic that focused attention to any activity can bring. I read it from cover to cover, stopping only to fix dinner. A must read!

The book "Clearing Away Clouds: Nine Lessons for
Life From the Martial Arts," by Stephen Fabian, is
written as an autobiography of Fabien sensei's
training and development as a martial artist. The
Fabian sensei takes the reader from his initial
exposure and introduction to the martial arts,
through his development to a point when the student
then becomes the teacher. Along the way you Fabian
sensei shares the trails and challenges of a young
college student, on learning to living on your own,
on the hectic, sometimes daunting demands placed on
a graduate student, to learning to function in a
foreign country.

Though the book is not necessarily meant to be
instructional, at least not in a traditional sense,
Fabian sensei provides a set of nine "lessons" or
guidelines to help the aspiring martial artist
through the travels along the Way.

These lessons are presented in a defined order, each
building on the previous lesson. The lessons are
presented in an abstract way, supported by
developmental stories from the author's life, which
force the reader to think about and internalize the
information.

This is not a "become a martial artist in nine easy
steps" type of book; this book provides real life
experiences of someone that have used the martial
arts to help shape their life, and become a better
person for it.

It several subtle ways, the author helps to
differentiate between the fast-food type of martial
art school whose primary objective is the
development of "martial athletes" and the more
traditional dojo's (dojang in Korean) that cultivate
true "martial artists".

As a practitioner of Japanese martial arts, I found
the chapters of the book related to the challenges
of living in Japan particularly interesting.

The book is very well written, and has a good
structure and flow to it. I highly recommend this
book to anyone that is interested in the martial
arts, particularly those that truly embrace their
training as a path along the Way.

I enjoy browsing through bookstores, especially ones with used books. Sometimes I stumble on a tome that may be out of print or otherwise low on the radar scope. "Clearing Away Clouds" is a good example. Lately I've been reading a number of martial arts books to augment my karate training and instruction (I'm a 1st-degree ShoDan black belt). Particularly helpful have been books by experienced martial artists. That's because they provide valuable lessons learned from long-term training. This one is no exception.

Stephen Fabian began his martial arts training back in the early 1980s. Since then, he has accumulated an eclectic budo background by training in Korean Tae Kwan Do and practicing Jujutsu and Iaido in Japan. His long journey through the Martial Way led him to write "Clearing Away Clouds." The subtitle "Nine Lessons For Life From The Martial Arts" sums up the content. Each of the nine lessons gets its own chapter, with titles such as "Control the Breath," "Focus," and "Persevere." Mr. Fabian uses his own life to demonstrate the development of various positive physical abilities and character qualities. There's a circular pattern here, where the martial arts gave him the ability to deal with hardship, and hardship in turn helped with his martial arts mastery.

Mr. Fabian's extensive background in anthropology gives him a unique perspective on the intercultural aspects of martial arts practice. His credentials came in handy during long sojourns in South America and Japan. Fortunately for his readers, the author's education had the effect of making him a good writer vs. an academic one. I enjoyed following his unique story and seeing him grow as a person. Indeed, the most interesting aspect of this book was Mr. Fabian's incorporation of his family life with his art (especially since his early training environment was practically monastic in nature). I've read similar martial arts books where the author either glossed over his or her family life or neglected it totally. However, Mr. Fabian documents how a wife and children affected his martial arts involvement, and how they became part of it as well. Although I'm still single, I'm glad to have a literary example of balancing family with budo.

There are two things that may cause some reader consternation. First, I've noted that some other martial arts authors believe true mastery is impossible, and therefore object to the use of this term. I have to admit I'm ambivalent about it as well. Second, Mr. Fabian's philosophical feet are firmly planted in Zen. It would seem that Buddhism is his faith of choice, since he goes deeply into its practice and virtues. I find my foundational beliefs satisfied in Christianity, so I took what I could from his exposition in this area. Tread carefully if you struggle with one or both of these issues, but keep in mind that one can learn from all.

Overall, I found "Clearing Away Clouds" to be a fine portrait of one man's journey through life via the martial arts. Other similar books you may find helpful are: "Living the Martial Way" by Forrest Morgan, "The Making of a Butterfly" by Phillip Starr, "The Martial Way and Its Virtues" by F. J. Chu, "The Martial Spirit" by Herman Kauz, and just about anything by Dave Lowry.

I have been studying various forms of martial arts for a long time before I found hontai yoshin ryu. Fabian Sensei is an amazing example of how one should walk the path of the true warrior. I read his book after taking a class with him and it's really helped open my eyes to what a traditional martial artist is, and how he sees the world. It's autobiographical, but he uses his own experiences to explain his steps along the path.

The main thing that he stresses throughout the book is that the Nine lessons are FROM Martial Arts, not just FOR martial arts. He expresses the lessons one must learn to master things, and they can range from a study of martial arts, to tea pouring, to flower arranging. The lessons are life lessons.

An amazing book!

I have been studying various forms of martial arts for a long time before I found hontai yoshin ryu. Fabian Sensei is an amazing example of how one should walk the path of the true warrior. I read his book after taking a class with him and it's really helped open my eyes to what a traditional martial artist is, and how he sees the world. It's autobiographical, but he uses his own experiences to explain his steps along the path.

The main thing that he stresses throughout the book is that the Nine lessons are FROM Martial Arts, not just FOR martial arts. He expresses the lessons one must learn to master things, and they can range from a study of martial arts, to tea pouring, to flower arranging. The lessons are life lessons.

An amazing book!

Dr. Fabian is my sensei, teaching a class of 15-20 students in Hontai Yoshin Ryu (mainly Jujutsu with some Bojutsu and Iaijutsu), so I have some obvious bias. I read his book mainly because of the class. However, I would recommend it to anyone interested in a westerner's journey in the way of martial arts and what they have learned from that journey. Each of the nine main chapters is similarly structured; a short introduction, then the main autobiographical narrative thread, followed by a reflection on what was learned. As I read the book, I felt both a keen interest in the autobiographical content *and* the philosophical content; each is interesting per se, and they enhance each other strongly. I usually devour books rather rapidly; in this case I found myself putting it down at the end of a chapter and thinking about the concepts and ideas. As a Christian, it afforded me a valuable insight into the connection between Christianity and eastern thought and is influencing my way of following Christ. I recommend this book for anyone concerned with living life more intentionally, and particularly someone interested in finding a 'way', even if the way of martial arts is not where you see yourself going.