Customer Reviews

Moving Zen: Karate As a Way to Gentleness

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I've purchased several copies of this book and read it several times. It has also been required reading for my Shotokan karate students for years. The insights of Nicol of his experiences in Japan, training under karate legends Masatoshi Nakayama Sensei and Hirokazu Kanazawa Sensei, are priceless. What an absolute shame this classic work is now out of print.

Nicole Sensei writes about his experiences in Japan starting from his arivel in 1962 to learn Karate and Judo. This book has inspired me to continue my training in Shotokan Karate even though I don't curently have enough money to go to a dojo. He also speaks about the little yet important ocurences that had inspired him to continue on with his dreams. One day i wish to have similar experiences and maybe met the man who wrote such an inspiring novel.

In "Moving Zen," C.W. Nicol recounts his time spent in Japan learning karate shortly after World War II. His simple, excellent prose, the story of his progression as he begins to learn the art, and his and his wife's lives in Japan make for very interesting reading. A very good, inspirational book about the martial arts.

I just finished reading the book 'Moving Zen' for the second time. I had read it years ago, aoubd the late 70's, and I liked it back then. I can relate to many of the stories Mr. Nicol relates. Originally , I had trained in the Kenkojuku Shotokan--it is different than the JKA shotokan mentioned in the book.-- and since my training has changed to the modern approach of mixed-martial arts type training. Nonetheless, I still enjoy Nicol's book. If you want to get an insider's look to what it was like training in the JKA, and in Japan... it is a must read.

osu,

A. Bustillo

I have read this book probably about a half dozen times. Sadly it was out of print for a long time, but recently came back in to print with a new subtitle "One Man's Journey to the Heart of Karate". I never understood why it was out of print at all. This book is a classic, and is the one that all other martial arts autobiographies are measured against. And I should know because I have read them all (check out my book Martial Arts Biographies-An Annotated Bibliography if you don't believe me). This book is referenced in countless indexes of other books. It really gives a great history of karate in Japan during the 60s. Nicol describes living with other martial artists from the west such as Donn Draeger. If you haven't read it, I strongly urge you to pick up a copy, and read it today.

This book is very inspirational. It is a story of CW Nicol's karate training and every time I read it, it re-inspires me to train. If you ever find a copy, grab it!

This is a must read for any Karate-Ka person. It is a highly motivating and an easy read, not to mention interesting all at the same time.

If you love Budo (especially Karate) or if you love Zen, you will have (as I did) a great pleasure on reading this work of art!

Maybe the expression of Zen in the arts is the best way to contact the alive spirit of this tradition, and I think this work gives a good view of this expression.

Maybe Zen is moving not only in the practice of Karate, but also throughout the pages of this poem written in prose... Mr. Nicol is not only (as his japanese friend wrote to him, page 74) "looking to sky to making poetry"... He makes his poetry also with his feet quite rooted in the floor.

The text is great, because, not claiming to teach us any particular thing, yet it teaches a lot...

You have to know it: It's not a doctrinal book. It's simply as if you were an old friend of the author and he is glad to write to you to tell about his last adventures in a different land and culture, his experiences with Budo... If you like the matter, you will want to end a letter (a chapter - they are 13) and soon beggin the next...


I would just recall that, as far as the matter Zen is concerned, we shall not consider particular behaviors of individuals as a certain expression of a "zen behavior", for it doesn't exist, at least as a crystallized formula... So, for example, the way Karate instructors deal with students weaknesses depends on their culture and on their own, it's not a formula in Karate-do... (Here I'm not saying Mr Nicol presented it as a formula!)

Well, that's it: the only thing I can really resume for those who love the matter of this book is that it's really a classic... If you ever wanted to know the "philosophy" of Martial Arts, Budo, especially classical Karate, you must read it!!

Moving Zen is a snapshot of some parts of Japan in the early 1960's, along with one man's memories of Karate training - from white belt to black belt. C W Nicol evokes scenes of his life in Japan, his appreciation of Japanese culture, and his journey of learning along the path of Karate. Nicol writes with sincerity, delivering his honest opinions regarding himself and those he interacted with. He is a very descriptive writer, able to paint scenes for the reader with a sparse prose style. I enjoyed this book and look forward to trying some of his other works.

C.W. Nichol's recounting of his experiences learning the Martial Ways in Japan is a must for any serious practioner. This is a book I purchase for each of my students to give them an idea of what they should aspire to.