Product Description

This unique book offers a comprehensive and practical introduction to kung fu and all the other aspects of Shaolin wisdom. An inspirational read, it shows how kung fu and other Shaolin arts can bring you health, vitality and spiritual joy. It includes practical exercises and meditation techniques and provides a fascinating history of various styles of kung fu, how kung fu patterns and sets are constructed and the strategies for victory developed. The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu is a seminal guide which will be invaluable to everyone interested in martial arts, meditation, stress management, healing and spiritual development.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28015 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 226 pages

About the Author
Wong Kiew Kit has practised and taught Shaolin kung fu, chi kung and meditation for more than 30 years and has over 2,000 students. He is the fourth generation successor of Monk Jiang Nan of the Shaolin Monastery and Grandmaster of Shaolin Wahnam Kung Fu and Chi Kung Institute. He is the author of several books on oriental wisdom.

Customer Reviews

Excellent, if occasionally too esoteric
Many other reviewers seem to think that this book is not brilliant as an instructional kung fu manual. This is not actually the case; the descriptions are incredibly clear, as are the line drawings. The emphasis is placed on force and combat application; each move has at least one practical application and at least one counter, and setting them out into combat sequences to show how the movements can flow in combat is also a brilliant idea. The 5-animals set presented in the book is concise and pretty good, (although there are one or two times when the description seems to be a tad convoluted - but at least effort has been made to put descriptions and pictures all on the same page) and advice is given on composing your own sets to improve combat efficiency. About 50 or 60 patterns are in the book, but as the author says, the number of techniques is not necessarily important - it is the application that matters.
It must be mentioned that the style presented is fairly basic in some senses. This is not a criticism; and when I say basic, I mean it is quite easy to learn, and contains very little that isn't practical and simple. The style is a mish-mash of southern styles, especially Hongjia ("hung gar"), and there are consequently few kicks. In other words, it is, like many other Shaolin styles, the master's own; it is not a generic Shaolin method, if there even is such a thing.
The only major drawback I can think of is that the author shows the diveristy of Shaolin kung fu by showing the range of punches one can do with a simple level fist - but then disregards most of them (there are 12 punches on the page, but the patterns, and consequently the sets, shown have only 4 punches within them in totality). I suppose there is no reason why you can't employ the punches that are shown in sets, but it's always nice to have a name (especially a florid Chinese name) to give to something like a punch.
Apart from the final chapter or two (on Zen and enlightenment, etc), the book is a highly practical guide to a pragmatic martial art. The writing is clear and actually enjoyable to read, and the author comes across as jovial, clever and definitely a good martial artist. If you follow every step from the beginning (ie, stances, hand forms, basic patterns, a simple set, combat application, a more advanced set, more combat application, lots of force training, and finally some quite advanced qigong) then you will find that the book is actually an excellent starter.

Great read into eastern philosophy
Wong Kiew Kit really is a fanstastic writer and as a kung fu master you get the best information from a man who knows what hes talking about. You can learn basic shaolin 5 animal sets and stretches and also meditation techniques to enhance your martial art ability. A great book for any martial art enthusiast. Shaolin kung fu is without a doubt one of the best martial arts in the world including Shaolin Taijiquan (tai chi chuan). Brilliance a must buy.

Excellent
I bought this book along with 'Introduction to Shaolin Kung Fu' and havefound both books enthralling. If your looking for just moves to show offthen this book is NOT for you, you'd be better off with the one i'vementioned above. But if youre open to new ideas and want to discover moreabout the theory and mind set behing kung fu then this book is perfect. Itdoes explain forms and moves but the illustrations are too poor to reallylearn anything new. I have found that in reading this book, my way ofthinking has changed and i now know that there is more to martial artsthan what i have learnt from my instructors in the past. I am juststarting out learning kung fu and i know that they say that there is nosubstitute for a teacher but this book makes a flipping good go of it.