In an English-language edition, this detailed training manual is a complete guide to Gao-style bagua zhang, as preserved through the lineage of Liu Fengcai. The youngest of the major bagua lineages, Gao-style bagua shows the influence of taiji quan, xingyi quan, and shuai jiao, incorporating traditional bagua weapons, pre-heaven palms, and animal forms, with sixty-four individual post-heaven palms and their accompanying two-person forms.

USA Best Book Awards Winner - USA Book News Finalist - 2014 Eric Hoffer Awards According to the World Taekwondo Federation, there are over 90,000,000 taekwondo practitioners worldwide. Every level 1 black belt student is required to learn Poomsae Koryo. Yet few are familiar with the ancestral form known as the 'Original Koryo'. Prearranged forms known as poomsae in taekwondo, are a primary method of transmitting martial arts skills from teacher to student. As sport preference supplanted fighting preference in taekwondo's reason for existence, the Original Koryo was modified in kind to today's well-known Koryo. Written specifically for level 1 and level 2 black belt students, this book is a scholarly attempt to capture, transmit and preserve as an inheritance, the historical treasures and technical elements inherent in Original Koryo and Koryo, as well as the applications less obvious or even secretly encoded in these forms. This knowledge will benefit those seeking more than triumph in the ring or aerobic fulfillment from their taekwondo training. In summary, students will find in this book: *History and philosophy*Technical elements for learning the basics*Detailed instruction for learning Koryo*Detailed instruction for learning Original Koryo Over two hundred photographs, line of motion charts, stepping patterns, and martial applications are provided throughout this in-depth instructional book.

Focusing his expertise on the techniques and history of the bokken--the wooden training sword used by both ancient samurai and today's swordsmen--the author maintains that training with the bokken is important on two levels for the modern practitioner: to build the physical stamina, rhythms, and adroit body movements of traditional swordsmanship and to achieve something of the animating spirit of the traditional swordsman. This history of the bokken combines the author's concise, eloquent writing style with more than 100 photographs to provide the reader with the traditional and modern perspectives of this vital, historically rich practice tool.