There is a Renaissance going on in martial arts, and it is not purely physical. We are talking about the quantity of high-quality martial writing in English, which includes translations of Chinese origin.
This unexpected level of cogency delights us. We are seeing the maturity of an art, along with the rooting of well-planted seeds from earlier teachers. The considered and well-tested appreciation of traditional skills and principles have found voices in both newly written texts as well as translations of older material, a good deal of the latter coming from the previous martial literary blossoming of the 1920’s, and 1930’s.
Some of these well-written volumes offer a broad survey of their master styles. Others expand on techniques or more advanced principles, the types of things you usually get only from working directly with a teacher as guide. And the translations — now aided by, though not restricted to, the newest technology — provide gems of insight from our fore-teachers, no longer out of reach of those who are not scholars of martial Chinese.
Take a look at some of these recent texts and translations — some are familiar, some new. Over the next period, we will rotate and highlight authors below and, to encourage you, add a discount to sweeten it up a bit.
Here is our next batch of titles to celebrate!
We have two NEW translations from Chen Faxing, both on Tai Chi. The first is on the lesser known Wu (Hao) style, wirtten by the well-respected teacher, Hao Shaoru. The second is Sun Jianyun’s famous text, compiling some of her father’s work (Sun Lutang) accompanied by photos of herself performing the set. Chen continues to pick put noteworthy texts for his offerings, and I am sure we’ll have more to come on Plum.
The last is also a translation, plus interpretation and explanations of some of the most well-known texts from Xingyiquan. Byron Jacobs, a disciple of Di Guoyong in Beijing, has been working on this book for at least 10 years, and it is one of those labor of love master pieces that enrich the canon. Before Byron had even had the chance to let us know of its coming, we had already heard from Andrea Falk, who praised the work and its importance, encouraging us to seek it out. You can read more about it in its separate post.
Use code “Zaisheng” in the Shopping Cart to get an additional 10% off these texts until August 20.
Small Frame Taijiquan: The Tradition of the Wu-Hao Style
Sun Family Taijiquan
Dragon Body, Tiger Spirit: A Translation and Explanation of the Classic Text of Xingyi Quan
