Customer Reviews

Samurai Zen

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Samurai Zen is a great example of Scott Shaw's positive spiritual teachings. Not only is it a great textbook for the refinement of the Iaido or Martial Art student (at all levels), but it presents a vast source of usable knowledge and masterable techniques for the individual who is interested in meditation and the development of Ki, as well.

When I came to the United States, from Japan, to attended the University of California, I was lucky enough to study the Martial Arts from Scott Shaw. That was almost twenty years ago. At that time, I was already a Black Belt in Kara-te Do and Kendo. So, I was seeking a teacher who integrated the self defense aspects of the Martial Arts with the spiritual understandings which I had come to embrace in my native county. Master Shaw was a great choice.

Whereas, Professor Shaw's Mastery of the Korean Martial Arts, such as Hapkido and Kumdo, (the Korean Art of the Sword), are highly documented, perhaps fewer people know that he went to the source of these arts, Aikijutsu and Iaido, in Japan, and also became a highly ranked, Certified Instructor, of these Martial Arts systems, as well.

I highly recommened this book. It reveals the Zen Buddhist aspects of the Martial Arts in a very direct and simplistic manner. Thus, it can be understood by anyone.

I found this book in, of all places, Tower Records on the Sunset Strip. I had read some of Scott Shaw's articles in magazines like Black Belt before, but the minute I picked up this book I realized it really captured something unique.

As a practicing Buddhist for twenty years and a Martial Artists for almost that long, I think Samurai Zen really conveys Zen Buddhism in a exceptional manner.

After I purchased this book, I checked out Scott's name at Amazon.com and found another of his books, Zen O'Clock. Again, a really viable approach to modern Zen is presented in that book as well -- recommended.

Five Stars all the way. Keep up the good work Scott.

There is not only a lot of great meditation and Ki development exercises in this book but the factual history of the Japanese Samurai is very revealing.

This book rocks. I picked it up and it was so full of spiritual and martial art information that I just couldn't put it down. Scott Shaw's knowledge is totally vast, like one of those old masters you read about. Read This Book! Everyone will gain something from the experience.

I think the title of this book is misleading, because it is not just for the martial artist. The meditation techniques in this book are very revealing. They allow you to not only look deeply into yourself but to understand your environment in a much more profound fashion. After reading this book, you come away with a more positive outlook and understanding attitute towards the entire world.

This is a very good book. I think what Scott Shaw does by integrating the spirituality inherent in Bushido into the modern practice of swordsmanship is not only inspiring but really proivdes an element to the martial arts which few people are exposed to.

I know from personal experience that is so common that low level martial art practitioners attempt to find fault in the truly inspirational knowledge of people like Sensei Shaw who has obviously spent the better part of his life not only mastering the Asian spiritual and martial arts but teaching them, as well.

As Dr. Shaw states in this book, "Thoes who enter into battles based in egotism eventually lose. The Spiritual Warrior never seeks to enter into battle. He will turn away from it, rather than take part in any unnecessary confrontation."

This book should be in anyone's library who not only wants to understand the foundations of the Japanese Samurai but those who wish to bring Zen into their everyday life.

Sensei Toshio Takeda

This is an excellent book. What I find most appealing about Samurai Zen is how the meditation techniques presented within its pages are so accessible. They are detailed in a manner that they can be practiced by everyone.

This is a very good book. I think what Scott Shaw does a great job integrating the spirituality inherent in Bushido into the modern practice of swordsmanship. This is inspiring and proivdes an element to the martial arts which few people in the west are exposed to. I try to do this at my own Dojo. Westerners have a hard time understanding.I think Samurai Zen really conveys Zen Buddhism in a exceptional manner.

Though the shaw focuses on Japan and Iaido. This book would benefit all practioners who wish to know more about Zen Buddhism.

This book should be in everyone's library who wants to understand the foundations of the Japanese Samurai and who wish to bring Zen into their everyday life.

As a Professor of East Asian Studies, of Japanese descent, and a practitioner of Kendo, I love this book. I plan to use it one of my classes. The history of Zen Buddhist absorption by the Samurai chapter is historically accurate and very revealing. The Ki, Meditation, and Sensitivity techniques which are taught in this text are something which the average person is not normally exposed to and can really help anyone who decides to practice them. The Iaido section is also very good as it teaches that the sword is no longer simply an instrument of war but a tool which can be used, by anyone, as a meditation device.

I have read over the Amazon.com reviews on Samurai Zen and I believe that they are all enlightening and present a unique perspective from the point of view of each reviewer. Though these reviews each present an interesting appraisal of the book, there is a serious problem with the review placed here on November 11, 2003. This review must be addressed as it presents untrue and incorrect facts about Master Scott Shaw and his book Samurai Zen. Not only does the reviewer make a completely false statement, which he has no basis for, about the training background of Master Shaw, but he also states incorrect facts about the book. These falsehoods must be addressed.

First of all, certainlly Dr. Scott Shaw is best known for his involvement and long list of published works on the Korean martial arts. This being stated, he lives much of every year in Japan, and has done so for the past twenty-five years. Not only did he train in the Japanese arts, from the late 1970's forward, but he has long held training seminars in Japan and the West on, not only the Korean martial arts, but the Japanese martial arts, as well. Furthermore, as anyone who has studied the historic evolution of the modern Korean martial arts understands, these arts were born from the Japanese arts. Thus, the two can never be seperated.

I find that it is often the case that a martial artist is so locked into their particular system of training that they believe that it is the only true style. From this, some of these practitioners falsely attack others who present a different approach to the martial arts. This is obviously the case with this particular reviewer. He clearly states that he has only studied Iaido for four years. That is no comparsion to the four decades of training possessed by Master Shaw. Furthermore, as anyone who has studied the sword arts understands, there are numerous Ryu or schools that teach varying methods of sword play. So, to say one person is wrong by the style of technique they demonstrate, clearly illustrates a complete lack of understanding, as there exists a plethora of schools on the sword arts: Japanese, Korean, and otherwise.

In closing, to read this book as soley a book on Iaido is completely missing the point. Only a very small porition of this book is focused on the physical techniques of the martial arts, This book is about the subtle realms of the martial arts and how they can cause the practitioner to raise themselves to the higher mind. In other words, to understand this book, you must step beyond the obvious realms of physical techniques and read it as a manual for meditation, the way, I am sure, Dr. Shaw had hoped it would be received.