The Shaolin Monastery


Book Description

This meticulously researched and eminently readable study considers the economic, political, and religious factors that led Shaolin monks to disregard the Buddhist prohibition against violence and instead create fighting techniques that by the 21st century have spread throughout the world.




Secrets of Northern Shaolin Kung-fu


Book Description

Master the northern style of Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu with this illustrated martial arts guide The Secrets of Northern Shaolin Kung-Fu: Pek Sil Lum is a comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of the traditional Chinese art known to the West as Northern Shaolin Kung-Fu. It includes a historical overview, basic positions, and authentic forms and techniques. Pek Sil Lum is especially renowned for its repertoire of kicking techniques, ranging from simple front kicks to jumping twirling crescent kicks to the dreaded tornado kick, and includes open- and closed-hand strikes and a number of weapons forms.




Shaolin Fighting


Book Description

Shaolin fighting explores the many facets of kung-fu from the beginning stages of saluting to the advanced exercises used on kung-fu training equipment. Included are chapters on Chinese ranking, Chinese salutation, hand techniques, fighting, internal systems and training equipment.




Sugong


Book Description

Nick Hurst was working in London when he threw in his job in advertising to train for four years in Malaysia and China with a kung fu grandmaster, Sugong. This book is a mix of Nick’s experiences in South-East Asia and the story of Sugong’s extraordinary life. Initiated into kung fu by an opium-addicted master, Sugong was expelled from school, kidnapped, and nearly killed in a family feud. All by the age of sixteen.He fled army conscription in China, only to be engulfed in a world of gangsters and blood-brothers in Singapore.Saved by a Shaolin warrior monk, his penance was eight years of fiercely-enforced temple training. A near-fatal fall-out with his master, love affairs, race riots and gangland vendettas all followed as he travelled through South-East Asia. Throughout, he struggled to adhere to martial arts’ ethics in an imperfect world.His story spanned fascinating periods of history of four Asian countries in Asia: war-torn 1930s China; instability in post-war Singapore; racial tension in the newly independent Malaysia; and a gangster-led Taiwan in the aftermath of its Chinese breakaway.The origins of Shaolin kung fu and triad organised crime are explored to provide a context to his life.




Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals


Book Description

Secret training manuals, magic swords, and flying kung fu masters—these are staples of Chinese martial arts movies and novels, but only secret manuals have a basis in reality. Chinese martial arts masters of the past did indeed write such works, along with manuals for the general public. This collection introduces Western readers to the rich and diverse tradition of these influential texts, rarely available to the English-speaking reader. Authors Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo, who coauthor a regular column for Classical Fighting Arts magazine, showcase illustrated manuals from the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and the Republican period. Aimed at fans, students, and practitioners, the book explains the principles, techniques, and forms of each system while also placing them in the wider cultural context of Chinese martial arts. Individual chapters cover the history of the manuals, Taiwanese martial arts, the lives and livelihoods of the masters, the Imperial military exams, the significance of the Shaolin Temple, and more. Featuring a wealth of rare photographs of great masters as well as original drawings depicting the intended forms of each discipline, this book offers a multifaceted portrait of Chinese martial arts and their place in Chinese culture.




Introduction to Shaolin Kungfu


Book Description

This is the first kungfu book by a Shaolin Grandmaster, Sifu Wong Kiew Kit, who has become a legend. It gives a comprehensive introduction to Shaolin Kungfu, including: - The philosophy and history of Shaolin Kungfu. - A basic Shaolin Kungfu set with many secrets revealed. - Combat application. - Internal force training. - Kungfu weapons. - General principles of kungfu. It is a book that any Shaolin Kungfu practitioner should have.




Authentic Shaolin Heritage


Book Description

Devoted to the most enigmatic and little-known aspect of training of Shaolin monks. Training methods allow supernatural abilites to develop, far beyond abilities of an ordinary man. The book was writen with the blessing and direct participation of the Head of the Shaolin Monastery Reverend Miao Xing, nicknamed "The Golden Arhat," one of the best Shaolin fighters of all times. These secret practices traditionally called "72 arts of Shaolin" or the essence of the Shaolin Combat Training.




Chinese Martial Arts


Book Description

In the global world of the twenty-first century, martial arts are practised for self-defense and sporting purposes only. However, for thousands of years, they were a central feature of military practice in China and essential for the smooth functioning of society. This book, which opens with an intriguing account of the very first female martial artist, charts the history of combat and fighting techniques in China from the Bronze Age to the present. This broad panorama affords fascinating glimpses into the transformation of martial skills, techniques and weaponry against the background of Chinese history, the rise and fall of empires, their governments and their armies. Quotations from literature and poetry, and the stories of individual warriors, infuse the narrative, offering personal reflections on prowess in the battlefield and techniques of engagement. This is an engaging and readable introduction to the authentic history of Chinese martial arts.




Power of Shaolin Kung Fu


Book Description

The Power of Shaolin Kung Fu offers readers a comprehensive course in the fundamental movements that have been practiced and perfected by warrior monks for centuries. It includes instruction in the powerful striking techniques that so often lead to decisive victory in today's mixed martial arts bouts. The book includes 300 color photographs along with detailed textual instructions and training tips. Shaolin Kung Fu is an indispensable part of every martial artist's repertoire--a vital means to improve your movement, motion, and balance skills and the best way for a mixed martial arts fighter to improve and perfect striking skills. This informative kung fu book also shares the moral and ethical philosophies that underlie the Jow Ga system. Shaolin Jow Ga Kung Fu is a combination of southern and northern Shaolin techniques--making it by far the most effective in terms of combining blinding speed with devastatingly powerful strikes.