Customer Reviews

The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defence, Health and Enlightenment (Health Workbooks)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Great book on Shaolin Kung Fu, period. If you are interested in a discipline of martial arts bent on personal growth, inner calm, heinous & effective self defense techniques, or even stress management and general health this may be just the ticket for you.
I started studying under Shaolin Master Chen about eight months ago, and quested out this book for more information about how what I was learning and practicing fit into the overall patchwork of Shaolin.
The book can be separated into three specific sections, Background & History, Applications & Forms, Chi Kung & Zen Training.
The history can be a little daunting for those unfamiliar with terms, but is pretty comprehensive and not hard to follow. I was pleasantly satisfied by this sections thoroughness. I feel like I understand much more about the history and lineage of this ancient art/way of life.
The applications & forms section would be very useful once an exponent has had some training in Shaolin arts, but I do not think that Kung Fu can at all be learned by a book. This material can be added to a solid study under a master, but is not in any way sufficient to learning on it's own [not that the author ever indtended this]. Many simple diagrams are used to indicate clearly what the various techniques accomplish. Very well done, this section will be a resource of new techniques for years to come.
The thrid section on Zen & Chi Kung training is wonderful, and crucial to Shaolin training. I have noticed an immense difference in every aspect of life since I began Iron Stomach Chi Kung training five months ago.

The focus of this book is certainly Shaolin training, Chi Kung and Zen are introduced but more as explainations of their natural extension and ability to deepen one's Shaolin Training. This I can certainly attest to. Wong Kiew Kit has many published books on Zen, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi, I am certain that later in my training I'll get into these as well. Great resources.

It may be of interest that you can arrange to have classes with Grandmaster Kit, as he travels across the world doing classes, go to his website www.wongkiewkit.com for more information.

So if you are currently in some shaolin training, I would certainly recommend this book to further understanding. If one is interested in Shaolin but has no training I would first seek out a Master locally, and then branch to readings on the subject.

One can read as much as you like about what a calzone tastes like but the only real understanding comes from experience and actually tasting a calzone. So go out and experience this amazing Martial Art. It will help you make yourself increase your energy, decrease your feelings of vulnerability, increase abilities in self defense, help you sleep better, face situations with more inner calm, make you happier, stronger & healthier...

Which are some pretty good things you know.

The book guides you through the theory and some initial practices of Kung Fu.

At the beginning is the overview of historical development of kung fu and different kung-fu styles, then some suggestions and tips for getting more out of your practice in the shorter time.

Then begins the practical part of the book with the foundation of Shaolin Kung Fu. Here you learn about different hand forms, stances and basic patterns.

The sequence of different practice sets is accompanied by appropriate illustrations (hand-drawn, not pictures).

There is a small section dealing with internal martial arts as well as suggested practices for qin-na and Tiger Claw.

One section deals with classical kung fu weapons, and then you're guided through some additional chi-kung exercises and meditation practices.

All in all, a wonderful introductory book on Shaolin Kung Fu.

The Art Of Shaolin Kung Fu was a book that I bought, because I was very interested in martial arts, begginner meditation, chi, history of martial arts, self-defense, lots of things. All that is in this book, and I read it over and over and even did alot of the training techniques like I was told in the book. Just because he spells defence wrong, doesn't mean it's a bad book, just the editor thought how it was spelled(it's spelled like that throughtout the book) Ever heard the saying

"Don't judge a book by it's cover"

If you do buy this book I suggest you read it the whole way through, because it is so rich in kung fu history, weapons, self-defense, some very creative training techniques(they do help alot!) and alot of other stuff that keeps you reading.

I have been training in the art of Northern Kung Fu for 10 years now, and take a certain amount of pride in the fact that our school system has gone to great lengths to preserve as much of the background and meaning of the art of kung fu. I have read many books, watched hours of video, attended/competed in dozens of tournaments and taught well over 1,000 students during the course of my training. Of all those currently writing on the subject, Wong Kiew Kit has written the one book which has really hit the spot. He has done an amazing job of putting the experiences one derives from the practice of true Kung Fu into words. It's very uplifting and makes the journey of kung fu accessable to anyone who is willing to work to achieve the results.

Vince Curtis, Pittsburgh Kungfu Center, Pittsburgh, PA

This book is a great book for you to really find out about kung fu. New or experienced readers can appreciate what the author had written . Also tells about some of the basic forms, and also about iron palm techniques for the more advansed users. This book will show you what to look for in a kung fu school and tell you if what you have been practicing hasn't been in vain. Again this book really helps to make you understand the martial art known as kung fu.

This book is probably the best book ever on the subject of kung fu. It explains everything from the history to using internal energy (Chi Kung). As a martial artist and a martial arts book collector. I have study Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Judo and Ninjuitsu. I always wanted to learn Kung fu, but there was no qualified instructors in my area. Now I don't say to use this book to replace a real instructor, but it is a good start if you are learning by yourself. I have several books on the art of kung fu, but they never give you the real dirt. They give you some of the forms and tell you the rest was lost, or they talk about something but doesn't explain the techniques. The author has done a great job presenting the material.

This is a GREAT book for learning about Kung Fu. It shows a lot of moves and fighting tactics, and also internal training Chi Kung. Practise and Defence are not mispelled, because this was published in the UK. It is recommended you get a real life instructor to teach you, though.

This is probably the best introduction to kung fu I've seen. Most of the books out there are usually devoted to a particular style, presenting their techniques and maybe a form or two, but this is a more educational and scholarly book intended to give you a better overall understanding of the art. The author discusses the history, concepts, styles, training methods, different styles (both internal and external) and philosophies of many of the different kung fu styles, both well known and not so well known (such as the fairly secretive and obscure southern praying mantis, which is much less known that it's northern counterpart. In addition to the well written text, there are illustration sequences showing a Shaolin hand set and a 5 animals form.

The author is assiduous in using the full terminology, so you get exposed to all the Chinese names for the different techniques, in both English and Chinese (which was useful to me, because I still haven't memorized all the name yet). In fact, many of the names are slightly longer or more description than the previous ones I knew, so I suspect the other kung fu books I've read often use more convenient, shorter terminology.

I was especially interested in the history of the some of the more famous styles, such as Lohan (five ancestor), praying mantis, northern long fist, choy li fut, and the Wudang or internal styles such as ba gua and tai chi. The histories seemed very thorough and I learned a lot, especially considering I already knew the history of some of the styles already to some extent. There are actually three history related chapters, one discussing the earliest history, going back perhaps 2000 years, the period from early Shaolin to the development of tai chi, and later developments.

One caution, you might have to get used to the author using slightly different names for the styles. I study hung gar, for example, and in the book it's refered to as hongjiaquan, which just means hong or hung style fist. I'm used to the main five southern family styles being refered to as hung, choy, liu, mok, and fu, follow by the word "gar," but since he says he's discussing the southern family styles you can figure that out on your own.

There's also a brief but nice discussion of the internal arts and their concepts. Their history is discussed in one of their history sections. I've studied yang and wu style tai chi but didn't know the history of each style as well as I should (although I do know my own lineage pretty well, of course), and this book was helpful there too.

The author discusses beginning and advanced training techniques, the development of sparring skills, how to deal with less skilled vs. more skilled opponents, the difference between superior skill and superior power and energy, skill vs. true mastery in the development of technique (the highest level being in a sense "no technique."

In addition, the author also has many pieces of advice on how to train and the sequence of training, the difference between power and speed and how best to develop them, how to practice the individual techniques and forms, and many other useful tidbits of information about kung fu.

Another final thing I liked about the history is the stories about some of the most famous historical figures, such as General Yue Fei (who is credited with inventing both hsing i and eagle claw), Sun Lu Tang (an important figure in all three of the internal arts), and Wong Fe Hong, a famous hero of the Chinese people and a great practitoner of hung gar.

Whether you're a relative beginner or even more advanced practitioner of kung fu, you'll probably find this book useful for learning more about the subject.

This book is an excellent introduction to the whole kung fu world.
The main focus is, as the title states, on the "Shaolin kung fu" style but also people interested in all the other styles will find this book a goldmine of valuable information.

The material presented in the book spans the history of martial arts in china, the differences and similarities among the various styles, carefully describes the basic stances and patterns of Shaolin Kung Fu (enough to get started on your own, althogh having an instructor is always a wise choice!) and also simple yet very effective chi kung exercises for developing and "feeling" internal energy.

In summary, if you are curious about the exciting world of kung fu and are looking for an excellent introduction, you can't go wrong with this book!
Highly recommended.

I have studied White Crane style Gung Fu and Jeet Kune Do for over 20 years. As books go, they don't get much better. No book can ever replace a talented Sifu, but at least this will familiarize the reader with the art and hopefully create interest. The author obviously knows the subject well and communicates it effectively.