Moving Zen (C. W. Nicol)
The Book in a Nutshell
Moving Zen follows the life of Nicol, the author from 1962 over the course
of several years. It starts with his moving to Japan to train, and follows his
progression through several years of study in the Shotokan school with the JKA,
to his acquisition of his black belt several years later. If focuses largely on
the karate, but also people who influenced him during his training: teachers,
friends and later his wife and neighbours.
In Summary
It's refreshing to see a book cover not only
the commonly depicted physical side of martial arts, but to also see of the spiritual/mental side of a students development. Nicol is refreshingly honest
about himself throughout the book, and to see the effect of his teachers,
friends and the occasional rival on his personality and attitude.
Near the start of the book he recounts
several cases where he allows his anger to get the better of him. But as he progresses through his training, realising how dangerous he is becoming and
seeing the dedication of his teachers to his own development he gradually
manages to improve himself and finds himself greatly better for it at the end.
A must read for Karateka’s and one I look
forward to re-reading in the future.
Rating: 5/5
Author: Michael Casey, Oxford