Munchiro Ikeda – illustratör

In this unusual memoir the author, whose taste for adventure led him to take part in an Arctic expedition and on his return to England became one of the youngest professional wrestlers in the country, describes the two and a half years he spent in Japan studying karate. On one level, Moving Zen is an account of his hard-won progress from white belt to black belt. But, on a deeper level, it is the story of a tough, violent-tempered young man whose spirit is disciplined and schooled until, through strength, he learns gentleness, for 'the paths of all the martial arts lead to the same goal: tranquility'. As one of his teachers told him, 'Karate is moving Zen, and it is the Zen state you must strive for'. The book provides a brief history of Karate, explains some of the other Oriental martial arts, offers practical tips to students of Karate and tells, in exciting detail, of some actual Karate confrontations. The relationship between pupil and teacher and the not always affectionate rivalry between pupil and pupil are acutely described. Finally, this is the story of one man's deepening love for Japan, which found ultimate expression in marriage to a Japanese girl. Moving Zen seeks, and finds, its meaning in the quality of its perceptions and of its communication of them. In all ways, as it says, 'from the mind comes power'.