Written in blood

Nietzsche said that the only books worth reading are those written in blood. What does that mean? It means that the author is not speaking out of intellectual navel-gazing but out of lived experience.

I recommend to everyone the reading of “Come cavalli da guerra” by Saverio Gabrielli (ed. Passaggio al Bosco). It is an honest book, in which philosophy is intrinsic to lived experience. It will be loved by everyone who practises martial arts and combat sports, but it is full of ideas for anyone who genuinely wants to change the course of their life.

The part I personally found most stimulating concerns the importance of the role of the Master and the relationship one should maintain with one's students, which in the end resembles the role of a Father with his children. It is a relationship full of symbolism, in which the Master/Father is, and must remain, more an ideal to strive towards than a person with whom to build a friendly relationship.

I believe, and hope, that we will manage to have Saverio as a guest at our Bliss Beat Festival 2026, both for a chat about the themes of his book and to run a workshop, and perhaps, personally, for a sparring session, so that there will be words but maybe also a little blood.

m.m.