C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Eastern Martial Arts Philosophy for Western Lifters and Bodybuilders      In the past, I’ve written various “philosophy for lifters” pieces, but I haven’t done so in some time.  (In fact, I wrote a series called “ Epictetus Pumps Iron ” if you’re interested in the intersection of Greek, and later Roman, Stoic philosophy and training.)  I do write some budo pieces on occasion that deal with, primarily, the intersection of Japanese philosophy and the traditional Japanese martial ways.  However, since I get way more views for my classic bodybuilding and old-school strength training pieces, I thought it might be a good idea to write an essay on how lifters (bodybuilders, powerlifters, Crossfit athletes, et al) can benefit from the philosophy of budo.      If you’re not familiar with budo , it’s a Japanese term that, literally translated, means “martial way” or “military way.”  The word is a compound of the word bu , meaning military, and do , meaning “the way.”  Do in Japanese would b

  Never, Never, NEVER Stop Training Don't worry, this image will make sense shortly. I was raised by parents from East Texas.  I say this at the beginning so that you can be as bemused—or perhaps befuddled—as much as I am that my mother, Texan through and through, has a deep, abiding, and often (for me, at least) confusing love of all things British.   British movies, British novels (my mother is a novelist, so that might be part of the problem), British mysteries whether in print or screen (small or large), British tea; well, the list could go on and on and on.  She even has a deep love for the Royal Family, which is the most confounding of all to me, and which I gladly point out at a lot of July 4th celebrations.  As a Texan myself, who has made his home in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and (mainly) Alabama, I’m proud that my ancestors fought the British, and kicked their tails back “across the pond.”  But, hey, I’m also proud of my ancestors that fought in the Texas Revolution,

and Other S**t I Learned from a Lifetime of Training in Zen, Martial Arts, and Powerlifting Tom Platz's thighs were built through some of the most extreme, non-moderate training one can imagine!  And the results speak for theselves. Okay, so the title of this post is a little over-the-top.  It’s supposed to be.  But that also doesn’t make it any less true.  Whether you want to get in the best shape of your life, or win a powerlifting competition, or become a martial arts “expert,” or any dream that you have in life.  If you want to achieve any of those things, or anything else for that matter , then you must be determined to work extremely hard, moderation be damned. Modern “self-help” books recommend moderation as one of the ways to achieve your goals - especially in the West, where we think there is something “Eastern” to moderation, a balance of yin/yang or a balance of mind/body/Spirit.  But moderation is really NOT an Eastern “thing,” not any more at least than it is a Wester