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The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-defence, Health and EnlightenmentSnagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here! The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-defence, Health and Enlightenment by: Wong Kiew Kit  Amazon.co.uk's Price: £10.99 Prices subject to change.Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 796 EAN: 9780091876593 Edition: New edition ISBN: 0091876591 Label: Vermilion Manufacturer: Vermilion Number Of Pages: 226 Publication Date: August 02, 2001 Publisher: Vermilion Studio: Vermilion Related Items:
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - A Most Excellent bookHi. This is a most excellent book. While it won't have you running around like little monkeys (one of the five animal forms), I did shortly after reading it find myself in a nearby park, standing on one leg, pretending to be a crane. And also making some half-baked kungfu move set up with kicks blocks and strikes (ah those were the days!) The drawings are top-notch, well done accurate and inspiring. It's all this guy Wong, or one of his students at least, performing the moves described in the text. If there's one criticism I would level at the text as a whole, is that it doesn't go far enough in the specifics. Its very good on the general history, and little stories there off, but if I wanted to know the true meaning of monkey style, or any of the other four animal forms for that matter (Tiger, Dragon, Snake and Crane), I'd have to look elsewhere. But perhaps that is the next step? I dunno. Altogether a great book, and I thoroughly recommend reading it. Rating:  - Excellent, if occasionally too esotericMany 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. Rating: - Great read into eastern philosophyWong 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. Rating: - ExcellentI 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. Rating: - A great book for beginnersWhen I first was interested in martial arts I picked up this book intrigued by the ideas of 'Shaolin' that I had heard in stories. THis book is great for philosophy and getting into it but I personally do not think it is as good for learning from. It tells you how to learn but it is far ebtter to learn from a teacher. I recommend this book to anyoen interested in the martial arts, if they then plan on being taught afterwards.  Try searching the Internet for "The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-defence, Health and Enlightenment" or Ebay for "The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-defence, Health and Enlightenment". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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