Product Description

In a loft space in Manhattan, Sifu (Master) Shi Yan Ming trains men and women of all ages and body types in the fundamentals of kung fu. Yan Ming is a fighting monk hailing from China's Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Ch'an Buddhism and a Mecca for all martial arts. A world-renowned master of the martial arts, he has developed a kung fu-based workout programme that is unsurpassed for getting the body and mind into 'fighting trim' shape. Now, Sifu Shi Yan Ming shares the secrets of the Shaolin in "The Shaolin Workout". It features a four-week programme of physical and mental training that offers the reader the chance to transform their body, mind and spirit. As well as providing a step-by-step beginner's course in Kung-Fu, Yan Ming shares his philosophy in daily lessons that are pertinent to other areas of life, such as work, relationships and family.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5043 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

About the Author
Shi Yan Ming is a 34th generation Shaolin fighting monk from China. His work has featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.

Customer Reviews

Not what it says on the tin!
Be very careful before buying this product. If you are an absolute beginner to the martial arts (indeed maybe even to any sort of physical exercise), Buddhism, positive thinking, meditation etc, then this could well be for you. But if you have any prior martial arts experience, this (despite being cheap) would be a waste of money.
It is not a daily workout for anyone other than a sloth until you're into the final week, and even then it's not much of a workout. The first nine days are basic stretches that most people who've ever done any form of sport will have been doing since junior school. And these are done one stretch at a time, so day one, all you do is warm up your wrists and ankles! Each day you're supposed to repeat the previous stuff you've learnt so it builds up every day. And that's fine in weeks three and four but in one and two, you're not doing a whole lot. After the stretches, the punches and kicks are all very basic. There are a few interesting moves near the end but there are far better products out there for example the Shaolin Workout DVDs by Shifu Yan Lei.
This is only for absolute beginners, and even then, it's a matter of taste. There's also a meditation section at the end of each day, only it's not a meditation, it's just some of Sifu Shi Yan Ming's ramblings about how to be positive and improve your life. Quite frankly, the 28 days of supposed meditations could be summed up in a few lines. And you'd be better off simply reading a few inspiring quotes from the Dalai Llama, more concise and more wisdom. There's also a bizarre 'whooping' element to the book. It's VERY American! Every so often it congratulates you, which is bizarre because maybe you haven't actually done what you're reading (I personally only tried a few things near the back of the boook). The writer has this American 'rock on', 'way to go' 'yeah'! style of writing, which I personally find very strange in a book that I was hoping would teach me some King Fu. It's an attractive book with lots of pictures and some of the introduction is interesting but unless you're really at ground zero when it comes to physical aptitude, this book is not for you.

very unahppy with this purchase
I bought this book a couple of months ago, hoping for a traditional martial arts style fitness regime, (with added meditations). What I got was a lot of stretches and strikes, with no excercises at all. If you want "the flexibility of a mutant" read Pavel Tsatsouline's book on stretching (do a google search I forget the name). It is more scientific and more thought out, I have no suggestions for the fitness side, but this book does not have the answers.
Before buying this, please read some of the book online (I forget where I found it- but do a google).
I didn't write this out of spite for the author, but because the book is that bad, I don't want others to waste decent money on this.

Not quite what the title says...
This book describes a set of solo exercises that is best described as warm up exercises to a normal martial arts training session. About half of the book describes warm up and streching techniques. One quarter of the book is about how to get into and out of some basic kung fu stances while the last quarter is about some basic kicks and punches. All exercises are show in a stand alone format more as aerobic exercises than martial art techniques. The explanations in the book describe how to perform the exercises but not what they are for or how to use them in a martial arts setting.

If you are already practicing a martial art superficially like kung fu then there is nothing new or life changing in this book. If you have not practiced martial arts or just want some variation to your normal aerobics class then this book may be for you.

By the way, some of the streching techniques described in the book are actually very bad streching techniques. If you do buy this book, whatever you do, DON'T BOUNCE while streching! Bouncing, or any fast movement, while streching triggers a protective reflex in the body that contracts the muscles you are trying to strech. If you bounce while streching you significantly increase the risk of tearing a muscle or tendon as well as causing the muscle to become slightly shorter. Slowly and decisively is the way to strech.