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Episode 80a - Release Date: 20th August 2026
SPECIAL DEEP DIVE TEAM EPISODE
LENGTHEN YOUR LINE
Celebrating Joe Hyams, author of Zen in the Martial Arts
In this special episode of The Mind Sensei Podcast, the Deep Dive Team explores the remarkable life and martial arts journey of Joe Hyams.
Hyams was more than the author of one of martial arts’ most influential philosophical books.
He was an early student and black belt of American Kenpo founder Ed Parker, a Hollywood journalist, a private student of Bruce Lee, and a man who helped preserve the deeper lessons behind martial arts training.
At the centre of this episode is one of Ed Parker’s most enduring lessons, preserved by Hyams in Zen in the Martial Arts:
“Lengthen your line.”
Rather than trying to shorten someone else’s line, improve your own.
We explore Hyams’ journey from Hollywood journalist to martial artist, his relationship with Ed Parker, his encounter with Bruce Lee at Parker’s 1964 Long Beach tournament, his subsequent training with Lee, and how these experiences shaped Zen in the Martial Arts.
This is not simply a biography.
It is a discussion about ego, comparison, restraint, growth and what it really means to progress in the martial arts.
Join the Deep Dive Team as we celebrate Joe Hyams and examine why “Lengthen Your Line” remains as relevant to martial artists today as when Ed Parker first shared the lesson.
The Mind Sensei Podcast
Until next time, stay mindful, stay curious and keep cultivating the art of self-discovery.
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