Samurai Spirit: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Martial arts sensei Burt Konzak’s mission is to spread the message to
young people that self-discovery and improvement can be found in the
ancient wisdom and accompanying physical training of the samurai
philosophy. He uses a combination of ancient stories and legends,
interspersed with historical data and personal anecdotes. His personal
stories tend to reflect, and provide examples for, the legends, and tie
the two together.

Konzak stresses that Asian martial arts are more than simply a
superlative form of fighting; they are rooted in a philosophy of
self-development based on physical exercise, with origins in breathing
and yoga-meditation techniques, and based on the principles of harmony
between mind, body, and spirit. The various stories demonstrate that the
purpose of training is not to defeat others, but to conquer our own fear
and weakness, to learn to defuse aggression, and to meet challenges with
flexibility, understanding, and compassion.

The author’s strength lies in his ability to address concerns
pertinent to the modern adolescent. He cites his own early experiences
of being picked on and unable to defend himself, the pressure of exams,
the lure of drugs, secret fears, and so on. The sidebars of historical
information he presents are fascinating and well chosen; one, for
instance, explains the significance of the samurai sword.

Unfortunately, the young-teen group that Konzak is trying to reach is
not well served by his writing style. His use of very simplified
language and sentence structure conveys the impression that he is
talking down to his reader. Also, the stories tend to be repetitive,
often ramming home a point that has already been adequately made.
Recommended with reservations.