Josh Waitzkin – The Art of Learning:An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

Good overview with interesting backdrop

This book chronicles the life of Josh Waitzkin’s rise in both the chess and martial arts world – becoming a world champion in both domains. Josh gives very detailed accounts of chess and Tai Chi – from learning the arts, to mastery to competition.
Essentially – his learning principles come down to a few basic concepts (note – this is not a complete list – but what I took as his main points):
1) mastering the basics: you can’t perform dazzling moves unless you have internalized the basic ones until they become instinctive
2) Staying calm and relaxed (Josh describes various breathing patters he uses)
3) Being able to quickly recover in between rounds (micro recoveries) – Josh advocates High Intensity cardio training to help with this. (actually – I found the chapter dealing with this the most interesting – as he has worked with elite coaches and studied many elite athletes / learners and he said this was the single quality that separated the good from the truly great
4) maintaining focus / going with the flow / not getting frazzled even when things are not going your way.
5) having your form/style be an expression of your personality and not being unnaturally stifled (this comes after learning and mastering the basics)

The book reinforced some things which I knew and tried to work on. I can’t say the book was earth shattering or gave me that ‘wow – I never knew that’ feeling. Also – there are many detailed accounts of chess and martial arts tournaments which set the backdrop for each of the principals. I felt this could have been boiled down into a white paper but, still, there were some good anecdotes. Anyone who competed in martial arts, or any sport, will relate very well to Josh’s stories.

95 people found this helpful

Takes your introspection to the next level

This book in incredible, I honestly did not think it would be so profound. Perhaps its message and style wouldn’t suite other people, but for someone like me, who is always struggling with motivation/procrastination, trying to deconstruct his own behavior and decisions, lifelong learners, parents, over-achievers… Yes, it is certainly worth it.

The book doesn’t give you a solution, and it doesn’t claim to. But it gives you a path and a glimpse of the solution.

Besides, it is just plain fascinating for Josh’s story of chess and martial arts careers.

P.S. Beware that the book is actually only ~6 hours long. The last ~1.5 hours is a podcast-interview with Josh, done by (somewhat famous) Tim Ferriss. It is useful for sure, but I just wanted to make this clear, because it surprised me.

30 people found this helpful

Fascinating Memoir

What made the experience of listening to The Art of Learning the most enjoyable?

Josh has incredible passion for chess and martial arts. This came across in his reading and it is what makes this memoir memorable and inspiring.

What did you like best about this story?

This really isn’t a book with a story. rather a memoir of his life experiences and what he learned from that. There is a complication to this that needs to be overcome by the listener. Josh is beyond brilliant and dedicated. His approach probably shares characteristics with savants and obsessive compulsive driven individual. this is not to diminish his incredible accomplishments but the listener needs to reconcile this. As an avid average amateur athlete and marital artists I identified with what Josh discussed. But it is simply not possible to put some of his approaches into practice. I personally do not posses that level of talent. However it is an inspirational memoir that resonated with me and I took a lot away from listening to it.

Which character – as performed by Josh Waitzkin – was your favorite?

Josh. He is a remarkable person. I found it fascinating that he was able to be successful at such a young age and be a fully functional

What did you learn from The Art of Learning that you would use in your daily life?

Ultimately I thought the memoir was a study in the practical applications of Buddhist thought. Define your own path, nurture it and dedicate your self to its perfection. In this way I found the ideas presented inspirational to myself as a martial artist and amateur athlete.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this book since the concepts could be applied to anybody in any walk of life. Whether you are trying to be a better parent, student or professional there are ways you can focus and learn how to develop your personal skill set. This is a short book, but I am glad I read it.

25 people found this helpful

Terrific and valuable

I read some reviews stating that this book was merely a biography of Josh . Yet this is one biography that is filled with many kernels of wisdom. If you are not receptive or it is not time for you to appreciate this it will pass you by. This is a very honest and hard-working account of a person who reached the highest levels of intellectual and physical prowess. At the end in the final interview with Tim Ferris you get a few more insights into Josh’s life.

11 people found this helpful

a book to meditate on and with

listened to w/a speed of 1, not the usual 1.5 or 2. depth, not breadth.

9 people found this helpful

Now what I expected

This book is largely a collection anecdotal stories about how the author mastered chess and tai chi chuan. I many ways it seems like a long promotion for tai chi chuan. There are, however, some nuggets of wisdom on how to apply learning techniques for mastering other subjects. Overall, a good read but I think the title is misleading. One should also be aware that Tim Ferris owns the rights to this book, which is likely a big reason for his heavy promotion of it.

8 people found this helpful

Great stories and amazing person – less rich in practical details