There are times we come across something that moves us so much that the day we discovered it becomes permanently installed in our minds. Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams is a book that affected me this way the first time I read it. I was studying martial arts heavily at the time I came across this book. The parables this book contains still move me to this day but the real impact this book had on me is that I realized, even when I was not training in a dojo, I was still following some of the Zen ideologies I found in the pages of Joe Hyams' book.
Joe Hyams was born in Massachusetts on June 6, 1923. While attending Harvard University, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1942. He received a Purple Heart and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Many years later while at The Beverly Hills Hotel looking to interview movie stars he managed to get an interview with Humphrey Bogart. In addition to the interview with Humphrey Bogart, within the week Hyams had interviewed Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy. He was the author (or co-author) of more than two-dozen books, most of which were biographies of the celebrities he covered throughout his career. He even co-authored the Chuck Norris bio The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story.
Throughout Zen in the Martial Arts there are many scenarios with celebrated martial arts masters including the one and only Bruce Lee. One great story he tells about Bruce Lee is their first meeting after Bruce had decided to take him on as a student. Bruce reviewed Joe's technique and told him he would need to learn everything over again. After Hyams' inability to understand what Bruce meant, Bruce went on to tell Hyams a story about a Professor who goes to meet a Zen master to learn about Zen but throughout the conversation the man would not let the Zen master speak and wanted to show that he was very knowledgeable. After a brief conversation the Zen master decides to pour the professor a cup of tea, however when reaching the top of the cup the Zen master continued to pour, spilling tea. After the professor complained the Zen master said, “like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
Sometimes, Hyams states, Bruce would say, when arguments got a little heated, “At least empty your cup and try.”
Many of the Zen views in the book are often interceded with a story on how they relate to real life events. He recalls studying Hapkido with Korean Master Bong Soo Han and learning an important lesson in patience. Having begun his studies in Hapkido late in life, he was fifty, he has set out to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. When things did not go as smoothly as he had hoped Hyams thought about quitting. Master Han invited him into his office and gave him the following advise: “You will never learn to do any endeavor properly unless you are willing to give yourself time. I think you are accustomed to having things come easy to you, but this is not the way of life or of the martial arts.” Hyams responded that he was a patient man, to which Master Han responded, “We are not talking about patience…to be patient is to have the capacity of calm endurance. To give yourself time to actively work toward a goal without setting a limit on how long you will work.” Hyams goes on to explain how we often set deadlines for ourselves that put our focus on the completion of a project and not the process of completing it.
Zen encompasses so many common moments of our lives that we are constantly living Zen whether we know it or not. There is a section on knowing your limits which I enjoy because again it focuses on his learnings from Bruce. Hyams tells a story of having dim sum with Bruce in a downtown L.A. restaurant after a lesson. Hyams was complaining about being too old and not being able to kick as high as he could when he was younger. Bruce tells him that it was years go and he should focus on working with current limitations. Hyams says it is easy for Bruce to say since he was perfect. Bruce says, “I became a martial artist in spite of my limitations…You may not be aware of it but my right leg is one inch shorter than my left leg. That fact dictated the best stance for me…I wear contact lenses…I had difficulty seeing an opponent when he was not up close…I originally started to study Wing-Chun because it is an ideal technique for close-in fighting.” Bruce stretches the theme to fighting, “Instead of trying to do everything well, do those things perfectly of which you are capable...although most expert Martial Artists have spent years mastering hundreds of techniques and movements, in a bout, or Kumite, a champion may actually use only four or five techniques over and over again. These are techniques which he has perfected and which he knows he can depend on.”
Hyams tells a story about one day late in 1965 just before leaving for Hong Kong to make movies, Bruce stopped by his home to say goodbye. Bruce informed Hyams that he intended on becoming the biggest star in films. “You remember our talk about limitations?” Bruce asked. “Well I am limited by my size and difficulty in English and the fact that I am Chinese and there never has been a big Chinese star in American Films. But I have spent the last three years studying films, and I think the time is ripe for a good martial arts film – and I am the best qualified to star in it.”
This book is filled with great stories of great martial artists and I particularly loved the stories he had to tell of Bruce Lee. Ultimately, this book is an ode to Martial Arts by a true martial artist who realized his fortune at having the ability to study with truly great masters. The guy had dim sum with Bruce Lee in L.A. for crying out loud.
Theoretically a short read, at approximately 130 pages, you could knock it out in an hour or two but the lessons this book contains could take a lifetime to master.
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