Author: Wong Kiew Kit

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Pub. in: November, 2002

ISBN: 0804834393

Pages: 240

Measurements: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA01386

Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0804834391

One of the most received resources on Shaolin and Kung Fu.

This is a great backgrounder on the subject of Shaolin Kung Fu and on how to recognize and zero in on your own approach to learning and training. Don't expect it to be annotated reference work, but rather a general history and exposition, which is quite a lot for any book on a topic as vast as Shaolin Kung Fu. Historical exactitude is not always the order of the day as you read this, but generally speaking, it reflects the veteran Chinese understanding of Shaolin, which is way better than you would typically get otherwise, plus a reasonably accurate historical view, nonetheless. Not utterly engrossing 100% of the time, but more like 80%, which is still very good.

As this book attempts to demonstrate, Shaolin Kung Fu is deceptively deep and complex in an unraveling, level-by-level way. For some, it is too deep, or too physical, or too hard (as opposed to too soft), and so it's good to look into it a bit before plunging into all that sweat and mabu hurt and aching shins. Part of the problem with taking up something as difficult as Shaolin is that the levels may not really seem to make sense to you. That is why you need a good understanding of what you expect to get out of it. Schools have two dimensions: 1) making money, and 2) teaching a life-enriching martial art. No school can focus on just one, so if the school/teacher strikes a good balance, this is often the best sign.

For anyone contemplating taking up Shaolin, start here amidst your kwoon window shopping phase. And take comfort in the fact that Shaolin encompasses so much of probably everything you ever liked about martial arts in the first place, within its own bottomless, broad curriculum. This is due to the "martial arts college" nature of the Temple throughout it's long history. Also understand that Shaolin is an excellent starting place for most any martial arts study, no matter where you eventually may end up. All martial arts, while they were not always invented at Shaolin Temple per se - some Indian fighting arts actually predate the Shaolin Temple, just as Shaolin Kung Fu's "founder" Da Mo was himself an Indian Buddhist monk - nontheless, all were at least most probably preserved by the Temple monks, as well as honed and perfected there over time. Most Chinese martial arts (and thus Japanese and Korean) thus tend to owe the Temple due as their mother in some sense or another. Certainly everything the West understands to be "martials arts" was shaped or preshaped there into what it currently is today. This book goes into quaint legends and explications of how and why kung fu survived the way it has, thanks to the Shaolin Temple's supervision and care.

(From quoting Mark Brimm, USA)

Target readers: Kung Fu, martial arts and Chinese cultural lovers.