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.

Shaolin Mantis Cha Chui - SC 805
by Geng Jun
110 pages, photographs and a summary sequence at the end
$7.95 Simplified Chinese Characters and English

This dual language Chinese/English edition is beautifully designed.
This series has an introductory calligraphic introduction by Yang Zhao Ting, the former president of the National Chinese WuShu Association. The writer of the series studied under SuXi, SuFa and Li ZhuanYuan. This is the entire Shaolin version of the famous Seven Star Mantis form Insert Hammer. There are general notes and demonstrations of the Shaolin stances for the entire series. There's also a nice short color section on students and Geng Jun's activities. The side-by-side Chinese and English make this a very useful text with clear instructions.

#ESL88 Shaolin Kung Fu
Li Ying Jie
127 pages, Oversized, Published 1988, Photographs,

US $19.95

This large book starts out with color plates including those famous murals from the Shaolin Temple walls. This is done in the "cut out" photo sequences popular in the Sixties and Seventies. It starts with basics then proceeds to a short Southern style Bridge Set. Next is a partner set which, according to the text, has the essences of Tan Tui, Mantis, Eagle Claw, and LuoHan. The major set given is Nian Shou Quan or "Sticky Hand Boxing". This form is said to have been handed down from Sun Yu Feng, a great master of LuoHan Shaolin. The moves, obviously emphasize contact between the two partners.

#EKF61 Kung Fu :History, Philosophy and Technique
David Chow and Richard Spangler
225 pages, US $ 14.95 Plum price $12.95

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.

#EKF78 Phoenix-Eye Fist
A Shaolin Fighting art of Northern China
Tjoa Khek Kiong
Donn Draeger
152 pages, US $17.95

The first book in English on the centuries-old Phoenix-Eye Fist style of Kung Fu. A short arm, independent system within Shaolin, Phoenix-Eye resembles White Eyebrow in its compactness and no-nonsense self defense approach. Developed by two sisters, Chu Gar (Chu being the family's name) is not only respected as a fighting art but often associated with royal families especially of the Hakka minority lineage. This volume provides a thorough introduction to every aspect of this fascinating art. Clearly written with nice layout, much background and cultural theory and more than 600 photos, this book is an invaluable manual for learning and understanding this remarkable fighting art.

This text, taken from an original native source, bears the stamp of Donn Draeger and Chambers work. Done with pride and concern for the material this is one of the first authentic books on Kung Fu ever written in English. Draeger deserves our respect as demonstrating a kind of genius for preserving the intent and the organic integrity of each martial art he tried to record. A good book. NOTE: There is another edition of this easily available but we don't think it is a better version, just different.

#EKF86 DIM MAK (Dian Hsueh): Pressure Point Kung Fu
Compiled and Edited by Douglas H. Y. Hsieh
54 pages. Illustrated , Printed in Taiwan.
US $8.99

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 illustrations
US $ 19.95

"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.