On the Warrior's Path, Second Edition: Philosophy, Fighting, and Martial Arts Mythology [Paperback]

Daniele Bolelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2008

The urge to forge one’s character by fighting, in daily life as well as on the mat, appeals to something deep within us. More than a collection of fighting techniques, martial arts constitute a path to developing body, spirit, and awareness. On the Warrior’s Path connects the martial arts with this larger perspective, merging subtle philosophies with no-holds-barred competition, Nietzsche with Bruce Lee, radical Taoism and Buddhism with the Star Wars Trilogy, traditional martial arts with basketball and American Indian culture. At the center of all these phenomena is the warrior. Though this archetype seems to manifest contradictory values, author Daniele Bolelli describes the heart of this tension: how the training of martial technique leads to a renunciation of violence, and how overcoming fear leads to a unique freedom. Aimed at students at any level or tradition of martial arts but also accessible to the armchair warrior, On the Warrior’s Path brings fresh insights to why martial arts remains an enduring and widespread art and discipline. Two new chapters in this second edition focus on spirituality in the martial arts and the author’s personal journey in the field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bolelli’s humorous and at the same time profound prose makes On the Warrior’s Path one of those very rare books about martial arts that is masterfully written ... this is one of the most original books about martial arts published in the last decade.”
—Journal of Asian Martial Arts

“Daniele Bolelli has written both a poetic and pragmatic vision of what the martial arts can be.”
—Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Ph.D., author of In Search of the Warrior Spirit

About the Author

Daniele Bolelli teaches at California State Long Beach, Santa Monica College, and UCLA. A regular contributor to martial arts magazines, he holds a 4th-degree black belt in Kung Fu San Soo and is a practitioner of hsing-I, pa-kua, and tai chi chuan, and mixed martial arts. He lives in Long Beach, CA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Blue Snake Books; 2 edition (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158394219X
• ISBN-13: 978-1583942192
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cutting-edge wit and down-to-earth style. A true gem., March 11, 2009

By 

Paul Seaman (Concord, CA (SF Bay Area)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On the Warrior's Path, Second Edition: Philosophy, Fighting, and Martial Arts Mythology (Paperback)

I picked up this book because of one passage I read while browsing in a bookstore. (Yes, I later BOUGHT the book--through Amazon...) "To be truly walking on the warrior's path, we have to bring our minds back to the time when we were not ashamed of our dreams; when reality had not yet frustrated our ambitions; when our desire was still too strong to be repressed, and our spirit refused to surrender in resignation; when we were not yet doctors, businessmen, or lawyers, but still wanted to be heroes, leaders, bodhisattvas. The first step on the way to being warriors is to get back in touch with our dreams." (p. 104)

Need I say more? The rest of the book is almost as good, written with obvious personal passion, knowledge of the subject (Asian martial arts, esp. Chinese kung fu), and a refreshing sense of humor. He has the unusual gift of being able to write philosophically without sounding pretentious or putting you to sleep. It's the kind of book that now has highlighting marks on almost every page. And as a curious aside, this guy was born in Italy, apparently not a native English speaker, though he writes better than most Americans, and he wrote this book in his early twenties!

A final cue: How can you not be impressed with a guy who quotes from both Frederich Nietzsche and Pearl Jam in the same subhead? And who counts Richard Strossi-Heckler among his close friends? Strossi is an aikido master and psychologist, and the author of "In Search of the Warrior Spirit: Teaching Awareness Discipines to the Green Berets"--one of my all-time favorite books.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the First Edition, September 17, 2008

By 

Frank H. "Frank H." (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Warrior's Path, Second Edition: Philosophy, Fighting, and Martial Arts Mythology (Paperback)

This second edition of this modern classic on philosophy and martial arts is even better than the original, for it contains two great extra chapters in addition to all the old material. In an on-line interview, the author himself has stated that one of the new chapters (the last one) is his favorite among anything he has ever written.
One of the extra chapters is about the relationship between combat sports and traditional martial arts, and about the need to combine philosophy with action. As Bolelli puts it, "more sweat and less talk". This is a very enjoyable chapter, but it pales in comparison to the last one: an unlikely but beautiful essay about friendship, loneliness, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, and the deeper emotional urges driving us toward martial arts. Here we can see Bolelli at his best. If you own the original edition, either get this or check it out at the library because the new material is worth it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "On the warrior's path". The best martial arts book ever!, November 18, 2010

By 

Gian - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Warrior's Path, Second Edition: Philosophy, Fighting, and Martial Arts Mythology (Paperback)

Not that I got them all, but among the multitude of martial arts books that have been written and published out there, there is one for me that stands out of the lot and that deserves a very special spotlight.

The book is called "On the warrior's path" and the author is Daniele Bolelli, an italian writer, martial artist and professor who lives and teaches in Los Angeles. The book was actually introduced to me by Rick Tucci at the end of a Jeet Kune Do seminar I attended in Brussels, back in 2004 (and here I'd like to express my appreciation for an instructor that, in addition to teach fighting techniques at seminars, takes the time to share other valuable insights, even discussing books).

I ordered a copy of the book at an english bookstore in Brussels, and once in my hands I didn't really know what to expect from it. I mean, you scan the titles of the chapters from the index and you obviously anticipate what each chapter is going to be about, and for some reasons, right then, I didn't believe that the reading would be any ecstatic, maybe because the book seemed to cover a little bit of everything, but nothing really in particular.

Well, let me tell you that right after reading a few chapters away, I was proved wrong: the book was TOTALLY ecstatic!

Bolelli writes about martial arts in an exquisite way, adding the right dose of humor and, there and then, of sarcasm, which makes the reading kind of friendly and easy-going.

Chapter after chapter, Bolelli takes us into a fascinating journey in the vast land of martial arts by visiting many of its territories. The focus shifts from the more philosophical and symbolic side on the subject - in chapters such as "The Body As A Temple", "More Than Martial, More Than Art", "The Princess And The Warrior, The Yin And The Yang" - to some analysis of historical nature, like in the "Six Warriors Archetypes" chapter.

One thing that really blows me away about the book is that with such a wide spectrum of potential topics to pick from, Bolelli chooses to approach the deepest and the most intense portion of the whole matter. "The Warrior As Bodhisatva", for example, is to me one of the most touching and passionate text ever written about the integration of martial arts in life itself, and I love the way it shakes me every time I read it (I got this habit of underlining with a pencil my favorite bits when I read books, and this chapter ended up being underlined from the first sentence to the last).

But in addition to feed us with deep, philosophical insights, in his book Bolelli also provides a few writings about some hot topics that use to arise big discussions in the martial arts world. "Finding The Buddha In A Cage", for example, reviews the Mixed Martial Arts phenomenon , but even in this occation the topic is approached from angles that are quiet unusual, and which are accessible only to a man of acute visions and solid knowledge like the author.

Last but surely not least, the book ends up with a chapter dedicated to Jeet Kune Do, called "Epistemological Anarchism - The Philosophy Of Jeet Kune Do." Again, I have to admit that when I read the words "Jeet Kune Do", I couldn't help myself thinking "Ok, this is where I'll get disappointed", maybe because too much shallow fuzz is made on the subject and because unfortunately it is a subject contaminated by misconceptions of all kinds. But than again, Bolelli proved me wrong. And again, he approached the very equivocal topic of Jeet Kune Do from fresh, interesting perspectives. I can now say that this chapter is a joy for the heart, because it draws a very wide picture of Bruce Lee's mind and spirit, and lays out the possible connections of his art and philosophy with other sources.

Well, in the end "On the warrior's path" is a small collection of essays about various aspects of the fascinating world of martial arts, but it is surely a beautiful piece of work that every martial artist should own. And like many great things in life, it could only have been produced by a man who is an unique mixture of different ingredients (in his case, intellectuality, history knowledge, wisdom, humor, and martial arts mastery).

Because this book has been, and is, so precious and meaningful to me, with this article I want to thank Daniele Bolelli for putting together this compilation of joyful readings, and I cannot wrap this up without saying that it would be a pleasure and a honor for me to meet him in person one day (maybe in my next, planned-but-not-yet-done, martial arts trip to California).

So, there you have it, my personal review of "On the warrior's path". I hope you enjoy the book, and if you've already read it, let me know what you think of it in the comments. Good reading.