Customer Reviews

Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense Revised and Updated

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Compared to the books out now on kung fu this book probably wouldn't rate much of a mention if it weren't for the fact that it's Lee's first published work, at least in the west. It gives a basic overview of kung fu, including some philosophy, exercises, basic style info, and a number of techniques. As far as technical knowledge goes, probably the most interesting thing there is the photo sequences showing Lee defending against multiple assailants, which are good.

But at just under 100 pages, it's small although the overall quality for the time was probably pretty decent considering this was probably one of the few books in English on kung fu at the time. But by current standards it's more than a bit on the light side. Even so no doubt Bruce Lee fans will want to acquire the book to have a complete collection of his works, since he only wrote six or seven books.

Probably the most interesting thing about it is Lee says the material and techniques in the book derive from the period before he started studying Wing Chun. In that sense the book is more important for its historical value in showing an earlier phase of Lee's kung fu development. Danny Inosanto also said Lee had studied northern long fist and learned all the empty-handed forms there (of which there are about a dozen), so this material could have been drawn from that.

Many of the photos are a little dark and lacking in contrast but they're still viewable and not bad. You can still see what's going on. But they're not up to the quality of more recent books.

One thing Lee says that still resonates today is his statement that a good martial artist will take all the knowledge that he's acquired and simplify it to get the true, distilled essence of the art. At the most advanced levels, the principles and techniques then become "simple" after being "complicated." Of course, it takes a very advanced and knowledgeable martial artist to be able to see and accomplish that, and perhaps most of us will never get to that point, but Bruce Lee did, which is why he was and still is one of the greats.

By the way, many people aren't aware that Lee combined both karate and kung fu techniques (not to mention Indonesian Pentjak Silat, which most people in this country have still never heard of, although there are at least 300 different styles), so his style is truly synthetic and eclectic. However, because of that many traditional and classical kung fu masters don't consider Lee a true kung fu practitioner. Whether that is true or not I leave up to the reader to decide, although Lee himself once stated that, "There is nothing traditional in my kung fu."

So overall, not a bad book for its time although at this point it looks sort of old-fashioned and dated and will probably be mostly of interest to amateur martial arts historians like myself or serious Bruce Lee fans.

This is a great book for a Bruce Lee fan. It constitudes the only book published by Lee during his lifetime. It includes excellent diagrams for streaching-excercises drawn by Lee himself! However, this book is not really an introduction and it would prove non-beneficial to a beginner. There are far better introduccions to martial arts or even Bruce Lee's art and I suggest you look at the Bruce Lee Library books for that. On the other hand, this book provides a great insight into Lee's early technique and thoughts on the martial way.

This book, though pretty short, does an excellent job of outlining Wing Chun's basics. The illustrations are well done and easily followed unlike so many other books of this type. The book is well worth the price if you are interested in Wing Chun.

To the dude who said it was not good for the beginner in martial arts, I totally disagree. In fact, as a new student of Choy Li Fut gung fu and not the wing chun that bruce lee practiced this book has greatly enhanced my training and knowledge. I have the Choy Li Fut kung fu book by Doc Fai Wong and it lacks many details on footwork and punches. Bruce Lee covered the basics which are essential for mastering any style of martial art or fighting for that matter. Yes, it is not 100% complete on wing chun and martial arts like for example it never mentions chau sau (sticky hands) or weapons training but it is great way to learn how to do the correct footwork, stances and core basics. A must for Bruce Lee fans and martial artists. Get this and the Tao of Jeet Kune Do for a wonderful training aid.

This is basically a step by step series of attack/defenses. It acts as a sort of overview of kung fu in about 50 pages or so.. so it misses a lot and is not in depth. The text is short so there is not much for the advanced student but it is not aimed at the beginner either. Spend [a little] more and get some book on Jeet kune do or a different kung fu book.

this short but essensive book represent the self defence techniques of wing chun kung fu before bruce developed the jeet kune do.those techniques are traditionally from wing chun.there are effective but some of them need a teacher ,and some can be easy to follow alone.anyway it is a very good and practical book. recommanded!

The only reason I gave this book one star is because the title listing on the web site is misleading. The book in question is a classic of martial arts, however this is not the Revised and Updated 2008 version it is the 1987 3rd addition with no revisions. Amazon has not begun to carry the 2008 edition except on KINDLE.

Not enough philosophy-it had aot of confusing step by step pics, which showed you bits and pieces of a specific style. Overall it was ok, but i would rather have had a book of thinking, or thoughts which the title kinda implied.

The significance of this book is it's historical value in the development and growth of Bruce Lee and of the martial arts community in America. In a modern context, some of the discussion and techniques may be outmoded, but the book serves as a historical reference for everything that came after it.

A lot of people have their opinions on Bruce Lee books. Some are fans and some read the books for the wealth of knowledge you can tap into on martial arts and self defense. I belong to that second group! Bruce Lee is a true master in the martial arts. His fighting skills are incomparable, and his way of life, is one that we wish we could all live. "Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense" is a treasure that all martial artists should have on their book shelves. Bruce kept with his simplistic style while writing this book, making the basic techniques you learn in this book, executable by anyone who reads the book. You will also get this basic crash course on Chinese Gung Fu, without the ego that some other martial artist authors seem to have. Those people are more interested in plugging their art/system, than they are in actually teaching it. You won't get any of this with Bruce Lee! I was very happy to learn that this book was made available to the public again, after it was pulled off the shelves, after Bruce's unfortunate death. The information in this book is well written, and worth learning. This book is more than one you put on your coffee table to collect dust and do nothing else. This book will teach you the basics of an ancient art, that may well be extinct in the world of martial arts today. All I've got left to say now is....


BUY!!!!!! BUY!!!!!! BUY!!!!!!