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Amazon Description:

When the undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave in 1643 and wrote The Book of Five Rings, a manifesto on swordsmanship, strategy, and winning for his students and generations of samurai to come, he created one of the most perceptive and incisive texts on strategic thinking ever to come from Asia.

Musashi gives timeless advice on defeating an adversary, throwing an opponent off-guard, creating confusion, and other techniques for overpowering an assailant that will resonate with both martial artists and everyone else interested in skillfully dealing with conflict. For Musashi, the way of the martial arts was a mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess—and it is this path to mastery that is the core teaching in The Book of Five Rings.

William Scott Wilson’s translation is faithful to the original seventeenth-century Japanese text while being wonderfully clear and readable. His scholarship and insight into the deep meaning of this classic are evident in his introduction and notes to the text. This edition also includes a translation of one of Musashi’s earlier writings, “The Way of Walking Alone,” and calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura.

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Five-Rings-Miyamoto-Musashi/dp/1590309847/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1393443047&sr=8-5&keywords=book+of+five+rings

Wisdom, knowledge and understanding; mental determination and emotional stability, as well as physical strength and endurance have all been personal characteristics worth possessing in the past… and remain so today.

Human potential is founded within these very worthy traits and they cannot be purchased at any price, they can only be earned.

As Churchill once stated “never have so many wished for so much while expending so little.”

If you think you have these qualities, but you don’t work to have these qualities, then you don’t have these qualities.

Disrespectful, arrogant, aggressive, rude or insensitive behavior is frequently just nothing more than a failed personal interpretation of what it means to be confident, assertive and strong.

The vast majority of us settle for mediocrity while that same majority would vehemently argue they’re not mediocre; work consistently to develop your mind and body to the best of your abilities and your excellence will show.

“Making Your Life Extraordinary”

The Warrior Lifestyle is the last installment of the award winning Warrior Wisdom Series. This amazing book has been dubbed as highly inspirational and motivational by many of today’s top martial artists. If you want to live your life to the fullest and live a life of excellence, you need to read The Warrior Lifestyle. In The Warrior Lifestyle, you will learn:

* How to live a life of honor and integrity
* What honor, courage and integrity truly mean
* The true meaning of respect and character
* What your foremost responsibilities in life are
* The components of true self-defense
* How to develop your own code of honor
* What it means to “Live by a Higher Law”
* And much, much more…

Forwarded by top martial arts author, Loren W. Christensen, this amazing book guides the reader through what it takes to live the warrior lifestyle. The warrior lifestyle is not a lifestyle of violence as many assume, but rather a lifestyle of character, honor, and integrity. It is a way of living a life of excellence in every area of your life. Don’t settle for an ordinary life; make your life extraordinary! The insightful advice and  universal wisdom shines through on every page of this intriguing book. This is a MUST READ for every martial artist and is also a great book for anyone who seeks to live his or her life with character, honor and integrity.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Warrior-Lifestyle-Making-Extraordinary/dp/1937884023/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392446649&sr=8-1&keywords=the+warrior+Lifestyle

Many of us value learning and knowledge, if at all, for the sake of a career path; instead, many of us should simply value learning and knowledge.

There’s no problem with having a weak thought, it’s certainly the behavior that may soon follow that thought that matters most.

Primary emotions and impulses originate in our lower “automatic brain” called the cerebellum, and frequently, if not most of the time, without our personal volition.

The cerebrum (the higher brain) is where we decide to give merit and eventual action to these involuntary emotions and impulses or to willingly redirect them in a more positive and constructive pattern of thought.

In other words, we can’t always control the initial emotion or impulse, but we certainly have the capacity to decide what to do with them, instead of simply following them.

Those with a lower tolerance for stimulation (up to 50% of us) would be wise to choose a job that reflects this predisposition. Within this aforementioned 50% there’s another 20% who find themselves “highly sensitive” and do not thrive at all even under moderate stimulation. This is an important personal quality many have that should not be ignored. To find meaning and enjoyment in our lives, it’s important to understand and listen to ourselves… to “know they self” is an important concept worthy of our time.

I have always considered internal objectives to be more important than external objectives and I recommend that you do the same. Work to improve from the inside out.

A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think

A step-by-step approach to applying the Japanese warrior’s mind set to martial training and daily life.

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Martial-Way-Manual-Warrior/dp/0942637763/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391989184&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=living+th+elmartial+way

I’ve repeatedly found that the majority of people spend the majority of their time each day doing things that don’t bring them much benefit. That’s what I would consider to be a great sacrifice, with very little reward. With great sacrifices, should come great rewards! Are you getting great rewards for your time?

The majority of personal trainers are simply not qualified to train their clients; they lack any real depth of health and fitness knowledge and their personal experience with health and fitness is merely superficial. Young and attractive is frequently their primary asset…

Vegetables (and fruits to a lesser degree) are a richer source of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and fiber than any other category of food. Animal tissue (or meat from the muscles of animals) contain far fewer vitamins and minerals, less essential fatty acids, high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and contain zero health enhancing fiber (soluble or insoluble).

Clearly, there’s a direct correlation and similarity between physical training executed in practice and the physical objectives desired, but what’s nearly ALWAYS ignored by coaches, trainers, teachers and parents alike, is there’s a direct correlation and similarity between mental training executed in practice and the physical objectives as well. One discipline does not supersede the other…