Books by Roshi Vernon Kitabu Turner
July 18, 2008 by admin · Comments Off on Books by Roshi Vernon Kitabu Turner
From an Amazon Customer's reviews:
This is an incredible book by a profound author. At first I picked it up because I enjoyed reading about his awakening into martial artistry with no formal training, defending potential victims from violent gangs, meeting with a Zen Master and learning meditation training-- and then, much like the founder of aikido, culminating his combined training into the instantaneous realization of what martial arts are really about. . . and then giving many demonstrations in which he defeats martial arts masters WITH ONE FINGER, earning a Ronin (masterless warrior) award from the BUDO council and a 4th degree black belt in Aiki-jutsu. And doing it all while remaining as humble, benevolent, and loving a person as you will ever meet.
Then I got past the amusing anecdotes and listened to what he had to say about how he got to them, and what he learned in the process. I read the entire book in a single sitting; it blew me away, and immediately assisted me in making some tough decisions with courage. I look forward to finding out what will happen when I try the exercises (Dancing to No-Music, Wingspan Theory, counting breaths, etc.) he suggests.
While this book does dive deeply into Zen, that should not frighten away Christians-- Zen is not a religion (Buddhism is), and Turner comes from a very strong Baptist background. This book is also not a self-help book, and you will not put it down and be able to defeat skilled martial artists with one finger-- you'll have to put forth the effort. But _Soul Sword_ does illustrate what true martial artists are still trying to get across to the public-- it's not about arrogance and violence; it's about humility and love.