World Martial Arts Media Magazine Interviews Martial Arts Author and Hall of Famer—Dr. Bohdi Sanders

World Martial Arts Media Magazine Interviews Martial Arts Author and Hall of Famer—Dr. Bohdi Sanders

It has been many years since we last had Dr. Bohdi Sanders on the cover of our magazine, and we wanted to catch up with Dr. Sanders and talk to him about his newest books and his philosophy.

WMAMM: It has been a long time since we talked. I know you have published several new books. What were your last three books?

Bohdi: The last three books I published are: Strategic Wisdom: Mastering the Game of Life, The Art of Inner Peace, and Musashi’s Dokkodo: The Way of the Lone Warrior. Strategic Wisdom is a new and updated version of one of my older books, Defensive Living: The Other Side of Self-Defense. That book has so much great life wisdom in it, that I felt it needed to reach a wider audience, so I retitled it, added a great index to it, and added a lot of new material in it. It is one of my all-time favorites, but now it is updated and even better. It is a book that I know will help everyone who reads it. If I remember correctly, you once told me it was your favorite of all my books.

The Art of Inner Peace is my most acclaimed book out of all my books. As you know, there was a period of time when I was dealing with a lot of person attacks, libel, and slander in the martial arts world. The Art of Inner Peace was written about the techniques that I used to overcome those attacks and come through it even more successful than before. It is a guide for everyone who wants more inner peace and mental calm in their life and it has won three book awards. It has been called “life-changing,” “inspirational,” “motivating,” “a work of genius,” and “a masterpiece.” One lady even called it “the best book she has ever read other than the Bible.” Those are really great reviews, and it really is a great book. Many people have written to me and told me that this book has changed their lives.

My newest book is Musashi’s Dokkodo: The Way of the Lone Warrior. In this book, I took each of the 21 principles of Musashi’s Dokkodo and expanded them for the world we live in today. It is really amazing how the principles in the Dokkodo, which Musashi wrote almost 400 years ago, still add value to our life today. This was the last thing Musashi ever wrote. He wrote it for his students, five days before his death. This book has also been a big success, reaching #1 on Amazon’s Best Sellers List. It has received great reviews from many well-known martial artists such as Sifu Al Dacascos, Master Danny Lane, GM Phil Torres, GM Ted Gambordella, Hanshi Frank Dux, Karen Sheperd, and many others. It has been called “incredibly inspiring,” “a spectacular piece of work,” “a gold mine for self-improvement,” “a transformative journey,” and more. Musashi’s Dokkodo: The Way of the Lone Warrior actually turned out better than I ever thought it would.

WMAMM: Yeah, I have read The Art of Inner Peace, and it really is a great book. You are a very prolific writer. I think maybe the most prolific writer in the world of martial arts. Was it hard to expand on the Dokkodo in order to make those principles valuable for our contemporary culture?

Bohdi: Well, of course, some of the principles apply to today’s culture more than others. But there is value in each of the principles, even the ones that, on the surface, do not seem to be applicable in today’s world. When most people think of Musashi, they automatically think of Japan’s greatest swordsman and his martial arts teachings. But the Dokkodo is more about life philosophy than martial arts. Most people, when they reach the latter years of their life, see life differently than they did in their younger years. And that was no different for Musashi. In fact, if you read all of Musashi’s writings, and that includes much more than The Book of Five Rings, you can see how his philosophy evolved as he got older. Most martial artists are only aware of The Book of Five Rings, but there are actually six manuscripts written by Miyamoto Musashi.

WMAMM: I know you have been writing for almost 20 years now. How has your martial art/warrior philosophy changed or evolved over the years? 

Bohdi: That’s a great question! Overall, my philosophy has stayed the same as far as living with honor, character, and integrity. Like any teacher, as I have grown older, some of my teachings have changed and evolved. I focus more on maintaining inner peace and mental calm. Maintaining a calm, rational mind is a vital part of warrior philosophy. If you allow other people to disrupt your inner peace or get to you mentally, then they can control you at will. That is something that we really need to be teaching students at a young age.

WMAMM: Has your following increased or decreased over the years?

Bohdi: Oh, it has steadily increased. I have some readers who have been following my work since the very beginning. The Art of Inner Peace opened up a whole new group of readers for my work.

WMAMM: Are you working on a new book now? If so, what is it about?

Bohdi: Yeah, I am pretty much always working on a new book. I many waiting to be written. Right now, I am working on a book about Stoic philosophy. The working title is The Stoic Lifestyle. It is going to be a large book, as I expand on the wisdom of the wisdom of Stoics. It will have an individual teaching for each day of the year, so it is a big project.

Last year, I finished a ghost-writing project and wrote my first novel. It is getting great reviews online for my client. It actually turned out so well that I will be working on a novel for myself, after I finish my book on Stoicism.

WMAMM: That sounds like it is going to be a great book. I am interested in seeing what a Bohdi Sanders novel will be like too! When will your new book be available?

Bohdi: I am hoping to have it out before the end of the year.

WMAMM: I am looking forward to it. How does Stoic wisdom fit in with your warrior philosophy?

Bohdi: It is actually fits in with my martial arts and warrior philosophy perfectly. I think that it is going to enhance my teachings on warrior philosophy and on the art of inner peace. The philosophy of the Stoics can be compared to that of Confucius and Lao Tzu in many ways. They even share some similarities to the teachings of Sun Tzu in ways such as controlling your mind and emotions, and thinking rationally, etc.

WMAMM: That is very interesting. What do you attribute those similarities from two completely different cultures to?

Bohdi: I have always taught that true wisdom is universal. Even in my books on warrior philosophy, I use wisdom from throughout the world and integrate it into my warrior philosophy. That is one of the things which make my books so unique in the martial arts world. True wisdom applies just as much now as it did 2,000 years ago; and just as much for someone living in China or Japan as it does to someone in Europe or America. By integrating wisdom from different ages and parts of the world, that becomes very evident.

WMAMM: I think that is one of the things that make your books and teachings so popular. I look forward to reading your new book. How do you think you can reach this new generation, which has such a short attention span, with your warrior philosophy?

Bohdi: That’s a good question. Social media has really changed the way people get their information. I am going to start doing short teaching videos on social media. That is just one of the things I have on my large to-do list.  It seems that many people now enjoy listening to audio books and podcasts.  So, I have put most of my books on Audible. I now have almost all of my books on Audible. 

I also think that those in their 20’s and 30’s are beginning to change and become more interested in philosophy. But it has to be a philosophy that they can see is actually valuable to their life, not some wordy social theories, like they are being taught in college, etc. They seem to be changing their views, both politically and on life in today’s world. We have to change with the times in order to reach those who have grown up with all this technology.

WMAMM: It would be great if more younger people read your work. I notice you use the terms “martial arts philosophy” and “warrior philosophy” interchangeably. Are they the same thing?

Bohdi: Well…the true martial artist is a warrior. The term  “martial art” actually means the art of war. Originally, the martial arts were simply for self-defense, not for sport or an after-school activity. That basically changed when martial arts became popular in the United States. Now, a lot of what we call martial arts have been very watered down. So, in my opinion, yeah, martial arts philosophy and warrior philosophy are the same thing. I mostly use the term “warrior philosophy” now, as it encompasses much more than martial arts and goes much more in depth. Martial art skills are simply one aspect of what I call warrior philosophy.

WMAMM: I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview. How can our readers get in touch with you or find your books?

Bohdi: They can find me on Facebook. I have several pages and groups there, as well as my profile. They can also contact me through email at: WarriorWisdom@comcast.net . My books are all available on Amazon, except one or two which are no longer available. They can get signed copies and special discount packages from my website, https://thewisdomwarrior.com .