Title: Step on the Mat: Life Lessons of the Ninja
Author: Ninja Nguyen
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Publish Date: May 17, 2019
Format: Paperback
Pages: 222
Cover Price: $15.99
The subject of martial arts is a big one when it comes to books. In fact more of a big set of subjects. And those subjects can vary a lot. Not only in the content as there are manuals, books on history, even fiction, among many others. Then there are books like this one which I can’t quite put in one category. It’s part autobiographic, part tips for martial arts practitioners (especially teachers), part reflections on a life dedicated to fighting. It’s an interesting book, short but full of good stuff. Martial artists of any style, traditional or modern can really benefit from the lessons in this book. This is especially true if you are a teacher and even more so if you teach children.
A brief note about the author: Ninja Nguyen started his martial arts journey when he was four years old, growing up in a small fishing village in Vietnam. He continued to train in refugee camps, where martial arts served as his guiding light while he struggled to learn English in unfamiliar classrooms, preparing to come to America. Ninja originally worked in security for nightclubs before finally opening his own dojo and building the life he has today.
Content
Step on the Mat is divided into thirteen chapters, with each talking about different parts of the martial arts practice. The introduction gives us a bit of insight into the author with a brief history of his life and how he got into the martial arts. Then comes something very clever in how the book is divided. The first eight chapters talk about different sections of your more or less average martial arts class. After the introduction, we get to the first chapter, Bow. The second chapter is about meditation, something not so universal even in traditional martial arts but still interesting. The rest deal with warming up, stretching, sparring, etc. Chapter nine is about feedback, giving and receiving it. Chapter ten is about weapons, and like meditation, it’s not that common a thing. Finally Competing, Testing and Choosing a Mentor round out the rest.
Each chapter starts with a small panel with three things related to the theme of the chapter. The lesson, the rule, and the goal. There’s a brief introduction or explanation of the concepts (what is meditation, or sparring, etc.) and then each chapter contains tips or lessons. All from Nguyen’s life experience as a student and teacher of martial arts. Sections vary sometimes from chapter to chapter but a couple remain constant. There’s always a story from the author’s life (i.e. a bowing story, a sparring story), a lesson for “Beyond the Dojo” and one section for the parents.
Pros
I love how the author divided the Step on the Mat into chapters, sections and all that. The Lesson, Rule and Goal part are also an interesting approach to each aspect. You can tell the author loves martial arts and teaching. Especially teaching kids. Not every martial artist is a good teacher. Even then not all people can or want to teach kids. I believe this book contains valuable lessons for all lovers and practitioners of the fighting arts, traditional, modern, Asian, or otherwise. The sections also got me hooked, especially the ones that are in all chapters. I’m not an instructor myself and I’m not sure I’d teach kids but the lessons are still worth reading. After all, adults can be childish sometimes too.
The book is written having no particular martial art in mind. The author mentions Karate here and there, but you can tell he made the effort to make it relatable and approachable to all. The autobiographical parts merit their own mention. Some stories are interesting, some maybe not so much, but revisiting one’s own past is not always pleasant. It takes courage to open aspects of one’s personal life in such a public way.
Cons
There isn’t a lot, to be honest. Some chapters are too divided into sections. That can be a bit distracting from time to time. The good thing about short sections is readability. The bad thing, when they’re too short, is that sometimes the connecting thread of the chapter gets a bit tangled, if not lost. The other things I couldn’t get behind were some of the tips and bits of advice. Some felt a bit specific, like they might not apply to any martial artist. Others felt a bit like your usual complaint on today’s young and their screen fixation and “kids nowadays”.
Conclusion
I didn’t really know what to expect with this Step on the Mat. I mean I knew beforehand it was a recollection of ideas on the martial arts life but still the actual content was
surprisingly refreshing. It’s a great book that contains valuable lessons for everyday life, parenting and of course the dojo. It’s a book I’d recommend to most instructors and people with little experience, who are starting to teach especially. That said, teachers with a lot of experience can find it useful too. Every chapter contains some useful insight useful to someone doing martial arts. Not all chapters are good for everyone, but even so, you might find some ideas useful for modern martial arts, even MMA. The pros outweigh the cons but there are still some things I didn’t find quite appealing.
All that said, I’ve decided to give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. It’s an easy to read and insightful book.
Have you read this book? Let me know what you thought in the comments section below!
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