Description: Using the ethics and aesthetics of the Asian martial arts to enrich our knowledge of human behavior, bodily movement, technical knowledge, and artistic creation.
Review Quotes: Allen presents a dazzling display of intellectual moves that strike to the core of the wisdom behind the Asian martial arts. As though we were on the mat, he gracefully throws the reader from illuminating historical accounts to pages of penetrating philosophical analysis. He locks up with broad issues about the nature of violence and power as well as such strange but compelling questions as how it is that some of us can find a violent punch an object of sublime beauty.Both a romp and a workout, this elegantly written book should be mandatory reading for all students of the martial arts.--Gordon Marino, St. Olaf College