Earlier this year, my best friend recommended I read Living the Martial Way : A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think
, by Forrest E. Morgan. Later this year, another friend gave me a copy as a present for passing my nidan test, so I had no excuse not to read it. I completed it this week, and it is, without a doubt, a great read for any martial artist or modern warrior. The book is broken into three parts: The Way of Training, The Way of Honor, and the Way of Living. One of the most satisfying things in the book is that the way of honor dovetails nicely in with my own personal code of ethics. This is not a training guide or howto manual in the sense that the author, who has trained in several martial arts, never discusses a technique. Rather, he covers core principles which pervade (or should pervade) any serious training regimen, code of honor or ethics, and living in general. The book also covers esoteric concepts such as ki, kiai, and aiki, which, even to many practitioners of eastern martial arts, may be viewed with skepticism and doubt, and touches on their real manifestations in a way that most westerners should be able to easily digest.
Along with Everyday Enlightenment, I can see myself returning to this book from time to time to revisit the concepts and content along my own road to personal evolution.
