Martial Virtues explores the place of the martial arts in the development of moral character. It focuses on the spiritual aspects of martial arts training, attempting to answer the question of what it means to be a good warrior.
In this groundbreaking analysis, Hackney draws from the psychological literature and from the lives and experiences of admirable warriors of fact and fiction. He analyzes how the virtues of ancient and modern warriors can be developed by practicing the martial arts. Using examples from the ancient Greeks to the samurai practitioners of Bushido, from Confucius all the way to Bruce Lee. Martial Virtues scrutinizes such qualities as courage, wisdom, justice and benevolence in turn, employing the lessons of modern psychology to understand how these virtues can be cultivated within ourselves and others.
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Charles Hackney, Ph.D. has been a student of the martial arts since 1995, with a background that includes Hapkido, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and Fiore dei Liberi Armizare. He has a doctorate in psychology and is currently a psychology professor at Redeemer University College in Hamilton, Ontario.
Product Details
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; Hardcover with Jacket edition (January 10, 2010)
Martial Virtues is a comprehensive look into the universal character traits of the true warrior. Dr. Hackney obviously believes, as do I, that there is much more involved in being a true warrior than simply learning specific martial arts techniques. In this book, Dr. Hackney takes an academic approach to proving his beliefs that being a true warrior involves specific character traits. As you would expect from a psychology professor, Dr. Hackney delves into specific theories from both the Western world and Eastern traditions in order to come to his conclusion that there has to be universal warrior virtues which make the true warrior who he or she truly is. He discusses theories from Plato to the Enlightenment philosophers, and from the samurai and ninja masters to Alasdair MacIntyer. His research is very impressive to say the least.
Dr. Hackney approaches the subject in the manner that a scientist would approach his science experiment. He researched the different warrior cultures from both the Western world and the Eastern world and systematically listed the martial virtues from the different warrior cultures, after which he cross-referenced his findings to see exactly which virtues these cultures had in common. In the third chapter, he list these virtues by philosophy or specific culture. You will find these lists extremely interesting if you are like me and love to explore the wisdom and character traits which compose the true warrior. As those who have read my books already know, I have argued many times that someone is not a true warrior if he or she lack the necessary character traits which truly make one a superior human being. Martial Virtues proves that warrior cultures throughout the ages have shared my belief and he proves it in a systematic way with many primary sources. Dr.... Hackney's book provides example after example which shows that throughout the ages, different warrior cultures have valued virtuous behavior and have seen this as part of the makeup of the true warrior.
Dr. Hackney list these virtues by philosophy and/or warrior culture. The lists include specific virtues from:
Greco-Roman Epic Heroism Chivalry Fiore Dei Liberti American Heroism Confucianism Buddhism Taoism Yu-Hsia Shaolin Hwarang Bushido Ninpo
He then combined the overlapping virtues into six sub-categories,(Qualities of Effectiveness, Courage, Justice, Temperance, Wisdom, and Benevolence) and proceeds to expand in detail, each of these throughout the book. He also covers the importance of courtesy. This book is not easy, light reading, but rather an in-dept study on the subject, with many examples and stories which emphasizes his point that character counts. Martial Virtues contains a wonderful index which is helpful in finding specific topics or in locating one of the many insightful quotes which is included in this book. Those of you who know me or who have read my books, know that this book is right up my alley. It is well written, well organized, and a great addition to any martial arts library. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is a great book and I highly recommend it to all martial artists, police officers, and military personnel. You will not be disappointed with this book if you fall into any of those categories. Dr. Hackney is definitely someone that I would love to chat with over a cup of tea some day. His knowledge of the warrior virtues and history is very comprehensive and enlightening. 5 Stars!
Bohdi Sanders, author of Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern WarriorRead more ›
This book caught my attention while browsing through the bookshelves of Barnes & Nobles. Ordinarily I do not purchase a book unless I've already read it and think it worthy of my library collection. However, since the title stroke a chord in my understanding of the martial arts, I was willing to gamble and purchase the book without having read it. Boy was it a catch! This book fascinated me from beginning to end. This is not your ordinary "yadi, yadi, yada" regarding the martial arts. Obviously the author gave this subject an in depth thought before writing this book. It was a bit academic, something I can readily forgive the author since he is a college professor. Nonetheless, it is quite a clear and non-pedantic treaties on what the author thinks is moral virtue as it applies to the life of a warrior. He gathers information from western and eastern traditions and extrapolates their common denominator, from which, he went in depth describing and analyzing these virtues. Namely, he discussed the virtue of wisdom, courage, justice, temperance, and benevolence in the life of a warrior. Although this book is specifically tailored to those who are engaged in the warrior arts, upon reading it you will quickly find out it is applicable to living a joyful life regardless of one's undertakings. In essence it serves as a tool to help us navigate through a life that can be very complex, frightful, and at times meaningless. You will not necessarily agree with the author at all points, since I was not in agreement with all of his views, but you will enjoy having these inward disagreements since they arise inward discussions and reasonings that can help clarify your own stance on an issue and hence develop your own moral character.... Originally, I was thinking of giving this book four stars for its content, but I decided to give it five stars because of the sheer effort and boldness the author puts in this book. You'll readily see this upon reading it. So go ahead and read it!Read more ›
While people's virtues may differ, when it comes to marital virtues, one must always stand by their spouse. Even when warriors went off to war, their wives stayed and kept the family home, no matter the length of war. 2, 3 years later, the warrior came home hurt and tired. His wife, being of good farking marital virtue, welcomed him back with open arms, and a clean house.
My first encounter with this book was when my wife used it as a platter to bring me my sandwich (stupid broad). Being a Kung-Fu master, I was intrigued by cover, so I thought I would give it a try.
Wow. Can you say "Life-changing"? Thanks to the sturdy binding, my wife can bring me 3 sandwiches at once! Thanks, Shadow-Thai-Latte-Warrior-Fung-Shui-Ninja-Guy!!
