Clouds in the West: Lessons From the Martial Arts of Japan

Today, thanks to novels and movies such as The Last Samurai and Shogun, as well as “MacDojos” in every strip mall, we’ve been heavily exposed to the martial culture of Japan. As Westerners have become taken with budô, the traditional martial arts, they’ve become more sophisticated. Once content with instructional manuals, many readers today are searching for the deeper concepts of budô. In CLOUDS IN THE WEST, Dave Lowry continues the fascinating, lifelong philosophical journey through the essence of traditional Japanese martial arts that he began years ago in his earlier books, Autumn Lightning and Sword and Brush, and developed more fully in Moving Toward Stillness. Speaking now as a mature martial artist, a teacher with students of his own, Lowry addresses a variety of topics that demonstrate how varied and multifaceted are the lessons and insights gained from training, how the budô are integrated into daily life for the serious practitioner, and how they resonate, from ancient times to today.

Among the .

Why Zen has very little to do with Japanese martial arts. .
What martial arts and the art of flower arranging have in common. .
Why johinsa, or “a cultured refinement,” is as important as a good front kick. .
Austerity-the dominant aesthetic of martial culture. .
Kosei, or “individualism,” in the context of martial arts.