Customer Reviews

Shaolin Long Fist Kung Fu (Unique Literary Books of the World)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of Yang Jwing-Ming's first books on a single art, and one of the cornerstone books of an intelligent kung fu library. It details the basics thoroughly, giving just a glimpse of higher teachings (such as Dim Mak & Dim Hsueh). It also allows for the practice to branch off into other styles by describing how Long Fist, called the "Grandfather Style of Northern Kung Fu" is related to numerous other styles, such as Tai Chi Chuan, Eagle Claw, Northern Praying Mantis and various Northern Chinese animal styles. In fact, the forms depicted within the text actually progress from a foundation of 1. fluidity to 2. strength development to assertiveness to tactical considerations to praying mantis.---This is a must-have book for the stylist seeking to attain clarity in his understanding of the arts, no matter what his style.

Not just a list of forms and stances, Shaolin Long Fist KungFu provides practical (yet traditional) training exercises and reccomendations. Instead of giving the reader a sequence of movements, and leaving it up to him/her to discover the uses, each motion has at least one practical use explained in pictures and words. For those with little martial arts background, the text is very descriptive of stances and movements so the reader can be sure they are performing the motions correctly. While a good portion of the book covers sequences and their solutions, attention is given to the history of the art, and the importance of internal force. While the reading sometimes feels like a technical manual, the detail more than ballances a somewhat difficult read. I've read far too many books which describe the horse stance as "Spread the legs apart and lower the body slightly." This excellent book prefers "Place the feet 1 1/2 shoulder widths apart, with the feet parallel. Lower the body by moving the knees inward and to the front until a 90-degree angle is formed between the thigh and the calf."I prefer the second explanation as well

This book is packed with information, everything from the forms (although the book prefers 'sequences') to the basic kicks punches and stances to the points to hit, what they do, and what moves are good for hitting them. You can learn quite a bit just by picking it up. If you're looking for something less complex, try "Shantung Black Tiger", which is a book about a fighting art less complex. However, if you want to get a good start and learn up to a certain point at home, this is definitely the book to start with.

I am a begining student of long fist kung fu, and this book was an immense help. It contains abundant information on long fist kung fu, sets, kicks, punches,etc. with many good pictures and detailed descriptions this is a great book

This book is so incredibly detailed, and so amazingly well written that I would consider moving to Boston to train under this great man myself. The only book I have EVER found in my life that is so powerfully efficient. Don't skip this up, this is not the average marketing product. He has considered every aspect that the reader could possibly need to know to learn the first few forms in this art.

This is absolutly worth buying if you can find it. Yang Jwing-Ming in my veiw is a fine author and I aplaud him for poring so much of his knowledge into text, he has writen many books on Kung-Fu and I have never been disapointed with a single one of them. I wish that more martial arts masters would take such a progressive aproach in sharing martial arts information in text. I hope that Yang Jwing-Ming continues to do so.

There's a reason why this book is consistently on people's recommended lists for Kung Fu. It offers a nice and concise history, explains basic stances, punches, kicks, and covers
some sets (although kind of hard to follow, nothing beats live
instruction.) you may encounter if you choose to study Northern
Shaolin Longfist. Pick it up if your a beginner, have it in
your personal library if your not because it is a great resource for the art you study.

This book is worth getting for the warmup section ALONE. I'm dead serious about this. The only place where I found the book lacking was in the stills. I had hoped for more still photos showing in-between images of each procedure.

An excellent text, overall.

Dr. Yang, to me, has always been a great source of information on the Chinese arts, and his expertise is displayed here. The book starts out with a pretty thorough history on the Chinese arts (considering the book was only supposed to highlight one style), as well as explaining different traditions found in kung-fu's philosophy and training. The big point Dr. Yang tries to get across is that morality comes first, then technique. Starting with Chapter Two, he begins to cover the physical aspect of Wu Su (meaning "martial arts", as "kung fu" translates directly as "work-time"), starting with warmups and stretches that are benificial for any athelete; I do at least some of these before every workout myself. He then explains the various stances (mostly kept low, for power) and different movements that can be done from them. While I'm sure that all of these stances and methods of movement are authentically Long Fist, I must question the effectiveness of some of them when facing a criminal in the street or a competitor in a cage. Many of the defensive movements require one to jump, which may not be a realistic option, depending on the environment. Still, the book's title is "Shaoling Long Fist", not "Street Defense and Cagefighting"; I'll go on the premise that the techniques don't HAVE to be effective, just authentic. Dr. Yang does mention in this section that Wu Su's emphasis is on defense, with the idea that once one learns to defend oneself, attacking should be that much easier. He then moves on to the different hand formations, usually just several variations of fists, claws, and "beaks", and then covers the basic theories and techniques of defensive hand movements. Then it's on to striking. The striking techniques presented here are shown primarily against a heavy bag, and are given a fair bit of detail. The variety presented leads me to believe that there's at least one technique for a given situation. After that is a seemingly misplaced chapter on building power, speed, and stability, with the emphasis on strengthening the arms/wrist and creating a stable base in the legs; no weights are used. Next is a brief section on different pressure points to target. On the plus side, the points are given with their Chinese name, their English location, the accupuncture meridian involved, and which attacks are most useful against it; on the negative side, the "effect" of these points tends to rely more on accupuncture theory than proven cases (example: the bottom of the foot is listed as a "death" point). Next is a brief introduction to forms (one of the better ones I've read) before Dr. Yang actually begins to demostrate five preset sequences and their applications. While he DOES state which direction one is supposed to be facing in each of his photos, the photos themselves have no real reference point, which takes away somewhat. However, I *am* grateful that he at least has decided to include the form's applications. The book ends with a section on "fighting forms", two-man drills used to train specific techniques (a plus) and strategies for free fighting, emphasising the Chinese mentality approach to combat. In conclusion, this book is very good for those who's emphasis is on form and "martial spirit", especially in the Chinese arts, and while it's not so great for MMA or self-defense, some of the principles and most of the training sequences can certainly help. For the subject matter, and in-depth introduction into a traditional Chinese art, it's a very good book.

I love this book the moment i got it from Amazon.com. Long Fist Kung Fu is graceful and beautiful yet powerful and deadly. This book is filled with pics of stances and application of various stances in real fighting. It's a must have for all beginners to the art of chinese kung fu. i would suggest this as the basic text for all newcomers to Kungfu. Chinese Kung Fu is more graceful and flexible than most Japanese Martial Art Forms. The only fault i find with this book is that the all pics are not taken from the same angle .. this can be a little confusing for beginners..