From Introduction: For the truly exemplary, martial skill transcends the battlefield—it is a lifestyle, a doctrine, a state of mind. These warrior-artists search out methods of battle beyond swords and shields, finding weapons within themselves just as capable of crippling or killing as any blade. Monks elevate their bodies to become weapons of war, from battle-minded ascetics to self-taught brawlers. They tread the path of discipline, and those with the will to endure that path discover within themselves not what they are, but what they are meant to be.