KUNG FU - General page two

Here is a collection of books of many descriptions: self defense, forms, exercise, practice: all showing more faces of this fascinating art.

Click on pictures to see bigger versions

The Spring and Autumn
of Chinese Martial Arts - 5000 years

Professor Kang Ge-Wu
Softbound, 108 pages, US $14.95
Plum discount 15% or $12.70
ISBN-13: 978-0-9790159-0-8
ISBN-10: 0-9790159-0-1

The first ! A complete historical reference for Chinese Martial Arts. This book is written by one of the world's leading experts on Wushu. Professor Kang Gewu of the Wushu Research Institute in Beijing has personally traveled throughout China gathering archeological data and oral histories on this valuable cultural treasure that is Martial Arts.

This book is a vital text for anyone interested in the origins of such diverse styles as T'ai Ch'i, Shaolin, ancient wrestling and Qi Gong. It offers a time-line that covers thousands of years of significant developments in the long history of Martial Arts. Styles and masters are included by the dozen. The product of years of research and study. Not to be missed!

Want to see some excerpts from this book?
Take your time machine back to ...
The Year 206 B.C.E.
The Year 1214
The Year 1680
The Year 1101

#EKF58Skills of the Vagabonds #1
Secrets and Tricks "from where the Japanese Ninjutsu originated"
by Leung Ting
English 162 pages, US $24.95

Hardback
Written by the well known Leung Ting, a student of Yip Man. We have covered this one is our "Fun Stuff" section so the easiest idea is to jump to that link Fun Stuff. We just never had it for sale before. The blurb on this book includes Chinese Black Art - Defraudation - "Mou Shan" witchcraft - Drugs and Poisons - Great Magic Shows - Body-Disappearance Techniques - Vagabond Kung Fu, etc. This oversized text concludes with a section on the applications of Beggar's or "Vagabond" Kung Fu which, historical research is showing, is the origin of most Okinawan Karate Do.

#EKF59Skills of the Vagabonds #2
"Behind the Incredibles"
by Leung Ting
English 170 pages, US $31.95

Hardback
Written by Leung Ting, a student of Yip Man. This is the second volume of the Skills of the Vagabonds series which investigates a number of peripheral aspects of Kung Fu. In his introduction Leung Ting says the following "I especially appreciate the support of Grandmaster Cheng Kai Ming of the Vagabonds Style. He not only offered technical expertise, but he, also, with the help of his students, offered many demonstrations. Thus, in helping me with this book, he risks his own livelihood." This is the simple truth for many of the tricks exposed here have baffled and confused lay people and Kung Fu students for centuries. So much of the "Hard Chi Kung" is barely above the level of Carnival tricks (not a bad level in itself, carnies are pretty darn good at what they do). But what's extraordinary about Kung Fu is obscured by this. At least every advanced student and teacher should read this expose to learn the difference between the real and the virtual

All right, here's the background. David Chow was the first martial advisor on the original Kung Fu series. Though his name was Chow he actually had very little Kung Fu experience. He was a Judo man. Nonetheless this book was a hit following on the series and it covers a lot of material as well as having some very nice photos of people like Lai Hung doing Nothern Shaolin. Sections cover separate styles, ancient Kung Fu training methods, Contemporary Wushu, the westernization of martial arts and other topics. Not essential but historical.

#EKF86 DIM MAK (Dian Hsueh):
Pressure Point Kung Fu
Compiled and Edited by Douglas H. Y. Hsieh
54 pages. Illustrated , Printed in Taiwan.
US $10.95

Dim Mak (Dian Hsueh) "The Poison Hand of Death"
Another of McLisa's infamous rip-off texts. This one has photographs and illustrations on the art of the "Death Touch" Funky illustrations. Some photographs of actual usage. Time tables. Weather conditons. Prognostications: "One will die in 9 days if the Tan Tian Hsueh point is struck". Plates lifted from old Chinese books. This was one of the first. In 1997 it was in its 9th printing. A wonderfully basic yellow cover.

Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals
A Historical Survey
by Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo
310 pages, softbound, photographs and illustration
$21.95 Plum price $18.95
see a list of original sources from this book available through PLUM

"MING DYNASTY GENERALS WROTE THEM, Qing Dynasty soldiers studied them, Republican-era warlords pondered them, Shaolin monks consulted them, bodyguards and sports coaches took lessons from them - and they still line shelves in bookshops across China. They are training manuals, the do-it-yourself guides to Chinese martial arts."

Chinese martial arts masters of the past created special training manuals with text and images, sometimes themselves appearing in the illustrations. These manuals now provide an invaluable glimpse into how various martial arts were practiced in the period spanning the mid-seventeeth through the mid-twentieth centuries. Along with biographical portraits of thirty of the most influential masters, Kennedy and Guo provide contextualizing information on the history of martial artists and martial arts, how Chinese martial artists made a living, the Imperial exams, and the place of the Shaolin Temple in Chinese martial arts history. Beautifully designed, and illustrated with hundreds of photographs and drawings, this book presents a multifaceted portrait of Chinese martial arts and their place in Chinese culture."Brian Kennedy, an attorney, has practiced Chinese martial arts since 1976. His previous books, published in Chinese, include Witness Examination Skills and American Legal Ethics. This is his first martial arts book.

Elizabeth Nai-Jia Guo is a professional translator and practitioner of qi gong and hatha yoga. She has translated a wide range of books into Chinese, including titles on church architecture, the history of science, and criminal law. Together, Guo and Kennedy write a regular column for the magazine Classical Fighting Arts.

OUT OF STOCK! Please place me on your WANT LIST for this item.

#EKF47 Wushu Dictionary
Chinese/English, English/Chinese
Chief Editors: Duan Pin & Zheng Shouzi
401 pages, US $26.95, some illustrations, color plates

This book from the mainland is an excellent reference for those interested in Wushu research. The focus in on translation and explanation of common movements and terms in Chinese martial arts. There is also an extended section on the biographies and famous teachers and fighters mostly following the Ming Dynasty. Other valuable sections include discussions of styles, principles, basics for hands and weapons, a bibliography and more. Note: This is a translation of Simplified Chinese characters.