Finalist - 2014 IndieFab Book Awards The Internal Foundation of Tai Chi Chuan Tai chi chuan is an internal martial art that uses soft/round movements to redirect an opponent's incoming force. Qigong exercises are an internal method of increasing and circulating your body's energy (qi). This book teaches tai chi qigong exercises that are useful for improving your tai chi skills and overall health. If you already know a tai chi form, here are a few ways you will use tai chi qigong to reach new levels of skill and ability: *To feel qi*To regulate body, breathing, and intention*To learn how to use intention to lead qi*To learn how to circulate qi*To learn how to expand qi*To learn how to use qi to energize muscles*To accelerate the health benefits of tai chi If you don't know tai chi, but want to benefit from qigong exercises, here are a few ways tai chi qigong can help you: *The exercises are short and easy to learn*They help reduce stress*They loosen muscles and joints*They stimulate qi flow*They can help develop a strong immune system*They sharpen concentration*They build a deeper awareness of breath and body coordination

Practiced by millions of people around the world, the ancient and gentle Chinese martial art of tai chi offers the perfect balance of mind and body, strength and flexibility, grace and agility. Its smooth, fluid movements demand precision and control while offering exercisers of all ages improved fitness, stress reduction, and self-defense skills. Whether you are a curious novice, an intermediate student seeking deeper understanding, or a tai chi expert, "Inside Kung-Fu's Ulitmate Guide to Tai Chi" offers you a wealth of insightful, reliable, hard-to-find information from world-renowned experts in every aspect of tai chi. Inside, you'll find chapters that inform and inspire, addressing such topics as: The history of traditions of tai chi chuan How to find and evaluate schools and teachers Creating a strong foundation of basic techniques Mastering advanced techniques, including the cultivation of chi, breath control, and the use of weapons The founders of tai chi and teh variety of tai chi styles The self-defense applications of tai chi In this volume, you'll find everything you need to know to enhance your practice, increase your understanding, and reap the proven health and fitness benefits of the powerful internal martial art of tai chi. John R. Little is the author of "The Warrior Within" and "Bruce Lee: Words from a Master" as well as other books on Bruce Lee. He is also the author of numerous published articles on martial arts philosophy and practice. Curtis F. Wong is the publisher of "Inside Kung-Fu" and other highly respected martial arts magazines.

This book combines academic expertise and philosophical inquiry with the practical expression of T'ai Chi. The authors combine eastern philosophy and the wisdom of T'ai Chi as expressed through a Master. The result is a harmonious blend of Taoist philosophy and the everyday use of its principles through the Chinese art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. The exploration of Taoism and T'ai Chi begins by examining their origins and affiliations under the title of Beginnings. Subsequent chapters take up the themes of Harmony (expressing the duality and interrelation of yin and yang); The Way (which looks at the philosophy of the Tao and the path that leads to its practical expression through T'ai Chi); Change (which examines the influence of the I Ching and the Eight Energies); Direction (an analysis of the Five Elements); and Energy (which explores alchemy and the vital energy of ch'i). The primary focus is on Movement and Stillness, which harmonizes the softness of movement with the stillness of the inner self -- leading to the theme of Unity, the ultimate goal of philosophical Taoism and the practical dimensions of that philosophy in T'ai Chi.

"Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points." Bruce Lee, The Tao of Jeet Kune Do The best of both Eastern and Western stick fighting techniques The Art and Science of Stick Fighting is a unique, non-style specific, approach to fighting with the short stick. Its curriculum is streamlined and divided into nine logical stages of training that allow the reader to quickly and methodically learn and develop the skills needed for fighting with the stick. Whether you are just starting out, or have been practicing stick fighting for years, there is something for everyone in this book. Also included are systematic workouts and descriptions of how to make and use specific training equipment as you learn and master The Art and Science of Stick Fighting. The Art and Science of Stick Fighting features Nine levels of instruction, progressing from easy to expert Over 700 photos with motion arrows A "nondenominational" approach to the stick, utilizing the best of Eastern and Western arts A comprehensive, methodical approach to building stick fighting skills This book stands apart from other stick fighting training manuals because it emphasizes the dynamics of combat. Many other books focus on forms and twirling. The author draws on thirty years of martial experience, presenting the best of both Eastern and Western traditions. The Art and Science of Stick Fighting begins with the basics, upon which everything else relies. A stable stance Basic footwork An effective guard From there you learn different types of strikes and how to practice them in helpful, easy-to-learn patterns. The aim is to grow so comfortable wielding a stick that it is as though the stick has become an extension of your body. Once the basics are in place, you learn the strategies and tactics of fighting with the stick at long, middle, and close range. By controlling the distance, you control the fight! Learn important guidelines for sparring, from light contact up to full-contact training. Learn how to construct your own padded weapons. Learn effective fighting tips that will rev up your game. Also included are chapters on advanced techniques; combating short ranged weapons such as a knife to long range weapons like the staff. Even detailed techniques to use when your opponent is armed but you are not! Whether you already study the stick or are just starting out, if you want to learn how to get an edge , The Art and Science of Stick Fighting is for you!

For over one thousand years, Bodhidharma's (Da Mo) timeless qigong classics have been considered the key to enlightenment and long-lasting youth. This third edition includes Updated pinyin that includes diacritical tonal marks (for proper pronunciation of Chinese words). Updated Chinese text character font (providing better readability). Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, acclaimed for helping readers better understand qigong concepts, has translated and written commentaries for both the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) and the Xi Sui Jing (Marrow/Brain Washing Classic). Using ancient Buddhist and Taoist documents as its foundation, this book analyzes and discusses theory and training methods in a modern, scientific manner, and presents safe ways for you to begin your own practice. Contents include General introduction qigong and practice Historical survey of Da Mo and his influence on qigong Buddhist and Daoist qigong Adjusting qi with kan and li Training theory of Muscle Tendon Changing Training theory of Marrow Brain Washing Whatever style of these classics you may practice, making sense of qigong theory and principles is the best way of achieving your goals sooner, more accurately, and deeper.

Advanced Taoist techniques for detoxifying and rejuvenating the internal organs through the release of negative chi
- Works with the navel center, where negative emotions, stress, and illness accumulate
- Presents advanced techniques to release negative energy from the body and reestablish a healthy flow of vital energy to internal tissues and organs
From the Taoist point of view, good health depends upon the free flow of chi--healthy life-force energy--throughout the body. Taoists refer to healthy chi as good wind. When energy is trapped in the body it stagnates and becomes negative, manifesting in the symptoms of physical or emotional illness. Taoists call this negative energy sick or evil wind. The advanced Chi Nei Tsang practices focus on mastering these winds. They include techniques for developing sensitivity to sick winds, releasing internal energy blockages, and chasing sick winds from the body to reestablish a healthy flow of energy.
Negative energies caused by stress, tension, and the effects of past illnesses tend to accumulate in the naval center, so the advanced Chi Nei Tsang techniques use elbow pressure on specific reflex points around the navel to release energy blockages associated with each internal organ. They also work with wind access points found near the standard acupuncture points. These advanced practices build upon the organ detoxification and rejuvenation practices introduced in "Chi Nei Tsang," allowing the practitioner to work intensively at an energetic level toward the restoration of optimum health and well-being.

THE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 100 MILLION COPIES SOLD. "Jin Yong's work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" combined" Nick Frisch, New Yorker "Like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along." Jamie Buxton, Daily Mail In the Jin capital of Zhongdu, Guo Jing learns the truth of his father's death and finds he is now betrothed, against his will, to two women. Neither of them is his sweetheart Lotus Huang. Torn between following his heart and fulfilling his filial duty, he journeys through the country of his parents with Lotus, encountering mysterious martial heroes and becoming drawn into the struggle for the supreme martial text, the Nine Yin Manual. But his past is catching up with him. The widow of an evil man he accidentally killed as a child has tracked him down, intent on revenge. Meanwhile, his true parentage at last revealed, Yang Kang, the young prince Guo Jing must face in the Garden of the Eight Drunken Immortals, is forced to choose his destiny. Will he continue to enjoy the life of wealth and privilege afforded to him by the invader of his homeland, or give up all he has known to avenge his parents? Translated from the Chinese by Gigi Chang

Take Taekwondo beyond just kicking and punching--discover powerful grappling moves that build on the patterns you already know! Taekwondo is the most popular Korean martial art, with over 70 million practitioners in the world. Taekwondo Grappling Techniques presents the most effective grappling maneuvers ever developed for Taekwondo. With this comprehensive Taekwondo book as your guide, you'll confidently defend yourself against attacks and apply your own devastating grappling techniques to bring assailants into submission. This guide contains 15 chapters with 89 different Taekwondo techniques. Movements include: Low Double Knifehand Block to Circular Block Upward Elbow Strike to Double Knifehand Block Sitting Stance Punch to Sitting Stance Punch to Outer Forearm Block Reverse Punch to Scooping Block Square Block to Inward Knifehand Strike Vertical Spearhand Strike to High Backfist Strike Reverse Inner Forearm Block to Reverse Punch Double Knifehand Block to High Punch Includes instructional DVD. All disc content is alternatively accessible on tuttlepublishing.com/downloadable-content.

A rare in-depth look at the history, teachings, and wider implications of Wing Chun Wing Chun In-Depth offers an historical overview of the art's development, it examines how to properly approach training for fighting skills that give you an edge in street defence and it presents Wing Chun's underlying principles and strategies as a way of life for health and happiness. This work traces the lives and legends of the great masters of Wing Chun, it reveals their training techniques and philosophies, and shows the reader how they can be applied in all aspects of life. Written in an enjoyable and readable way, Wing Chun In-Depth shares profound insights, training drills and martial techniques that will improve your fighting foundation; it connects you to the great masters of Wing Chun-their lives, their martial teachings, and their philosophies. In the end, it is intended to inspire and enrich readers with history, practical skills, and a winning mindset for all of life's challenges. Contents include Part 1 The origins of Wing Chun from its legendary past. Its historical development and its present evolution from Ip Man and Wong, Shun-Leung. Insight into Bruce Lee's relationship with Wing Chun, Ip Man and Wong, Shun-Leung. Part 2 Forms, training drills, and techniques that can be used to develop oneself into a skilled fighter. Part 3 Explores the strategic and martial fruits of Wing Chun as a practice which provides both skills for combat and strategies for life. Startling truths that enrich life inside and outside the training hall (kwoon). Ip Man's senior student, Wong Shun-Leung was the man who made Wing Chun famous in Hong Kong's challenge matches. He was also a close friend and mentor to Bruce Lee. This book's author, Sifu Loukas Kastrounis, one of the few active teachers of this lineage, is a highly respected Wing Chun teacher who has spent his life honing and developing Wing Chun. "Written at the request, and in collaboration with Sifu Loukas Kastrounis-a third generation master of the Wong Shun-Leung lineage, it is the fruit of over 5 years of my careful observations and research into Loukas's teachings as both his student and as a professional historian."-Munawar Ali Karim

In the months leading up to his death, Bruce Lee was working on this definitive study of the Chinese martial arts--collectively known as Kung Fu or Gung Fu. This book has now been edited and is published here for the first time in its entirety. Bruce Lee revolutionized the practice of martial arts and brought them into the modern world--by promoting the idea that students have the right to pick and choose those techniques and training regimens which suit their personal needs and fighting styles. He developed a new method of his own called Jeet Kune Do--combining many elements from different masters and different traditions. This was considered heretical at the time within martial arts circles, where one was expected to study with only a single master--and Lee was the first martial artist to attempt this. Today he is revered as the "father" of many martial arts practices around the world--including Mixed Martial Arts. In addition to presenting the fundamental techniques, mindset and training methods of traditional Chinese martial arts, this martial art treatise explores such esoteric topics as Taoism and Zen as applied to Gung Fu, Eastern and Western fitness regimens and self-defense techniques. Also included is a Gung Fu "scrapbook" of Bruce Lee's anecdotes regarding the history and traditions of the martial arts of China. After Lee's death, his manuscript was completed and edited by martial arts expert John Little in cooperation with the Bruce Lee Estate. This book features an introduction by his wife, Linda Lee Cadwell and a foreword from his close friend and student, Taky Kimura. This Bruce Lee Book is part of the Bruce Lee Library which also features: Bruce Lee: Striking Thoughts Bruce Lee: The Celebrated Life of the Golden Dragon Bruce Lee: Artist of Life Bruce Lee: Letters of the Dragon Bruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human Body Bruce Lee: Jeet Kune Do

Authentic qi gong as practiced in the Shaolin Temple where this discipline originated centuries ago
- Reveals the fundamental spiritual principles and includes both a short and long form of the daily exercises
- Explains the benefits of mastering energy in the body, such as organ strengthening
- Includes a 53-minute DVD of exercises performed by the author, a Shaolin monk
The great teacher Bodhidharma is credited with the creation of Shaolin Temple qi gong and kung fu in the 6th century CE. Motivated by the terrible physical condition of the monks who spent all their time meditating or copying scrolls, his two-part system promoted physical as well as spiritual fitness and became the basis for all the martial and meditative arts taught in the Shaolin Temple. These ancient practices increase physical health and vitality, enhance creativity, and can be practiced well into old age.
Author Shi Xinggui, a Shaolin monk, explains the fundamental principle of qi gong--the art of mastering energy (qi) and moving it through the body--and provides clear demonstrations of all the positions and movements. In order to develop qi attentively, it is necessary to cultivate the art of slowness in both movement and breathwork. Shi Xinggui provides both a short form and a long form of the daily exercises, with lessons on heart centering, organ strengthening, and balancing the energy using the three dantians--the three energy centers of the body. A 53-minute DVD of the exercises performed by the author is also included.

Qigong, a holistic approach to health and wellness, focuses on gentle movement, breathing, and meditation. Qigong Basics teaches you all the fundamentals of this ancient Chinese discipline in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. Related to tai chi, this practice engages the mind and body, while helping to strengthen muscles, find balance, and reduce stress. This introductory book contains the following vital information: The origins of Qigong--its philosophy, history, and different styles How to find a teacher and a class that are right for you Getting ready for your first class--what happens in a Qigong class? The essential elements--breathing, stances, grounding and expansions How to complement your Qigong training with meditation and qi exercises Powerful ways to promote health and well-being through specific sequences Resources to help you develop your knowledge and understanding of Qigong Whether you're just getting started, or you've already been training for a year or two, Qigong Basics offers an easy to read, yet comprehensive introduction to the sport.

Can training in the martial arts help you in everyday life? In Pragmatic Karate Mark Jennings argues that it certainly can. Provided you have a thorough grounding in the principles of this ancient fighting art and take the right approach, both physically and mentally, the karate moves you learn in the dojo can prove invaluable in a confrontation, or threatened confrontation, in ways more subtle that most people realise. Your karate training can even change the way you look at the safety of your family and your home. This is a detailed, authoritative work from a karate practitioner with 35 years' experience who is also a long-serving police officer.

Soul of the Samurai contains modern translations of three classic works of Zen & Bushido. In Soul of the Samurai, bestselling author and respected translator Thomas Cleary reveals the true essence of the Bushido code or Zen warrior teachings according to 17th-century Japanese samurai master Yagyu Munenori and his Zen teacher Takuan Soho. The three works of Zen & Bushido translated in Soul of the Samurai are: The Book of the Sword by Yagyu Munenori The Inscrutable Subtlety of Immovable Wisdom by Takuan Soho The Peerless Sword by Takuan Soho Yagyu was a renowned swordsman and chief of the Shogun's secret police, while Takuan was the Zen spiritual mentor to the Emperor. This samurai philosophy book contains the first English translations of their seminal writings on Bushido. Cleary not only provides clear and readable translations but comprehensive notes introducing the social, political, and organizational principles that defined samurai culture--their loyalty to family, their sense of service and duty, and their political strategies for dealing with allies and enemies. These writings introduce the reader to the authentic world of Zen culture and the secrets behind the samurai's success--being "in the moment" and freeing the mind from all distractions, allowing you to react instantaneously and instinctively without thinking. In these classic works, we learn that Zen mental control and meditational training were as important to the Samurai as swordsmanship and fighting skills.

Qigong is an aspect of traditional Chinese medicine that involves coordinating breathing patterns with physical postures to maintain health and well-being. Wu Qin Xi: Five-Animal Qigong Exercises is an accessible, fully-illustrated guide to a particular qigong exercise that imitates the movements of animals and birds. The book explores the development of the five-animal exercises from the work of Hua Tua, a leading physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty whose inspiration came from the observation of tigers, deer, bears, monkeys and birds. He came to the conclusion that wild creatures regularly performed certain exercises which can be replicated in order to build up the constitution and improve life skills. Each routine is described step-by-step, and is illustrated with photographs and key points. The authors also point out common mistakes and offer advice on how to correct these. Complemented by an appendix of acupuncture points and accompanied by online content, this book will be of interest to Qigong and Tai Chi practitioners at all levels, students of martial arts and anyone interested in Chinese culture.

A handbook of the classical Chinese literature on which the art of t'ai chi is based. First English translation of the classic texts of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. This is required reading for practitioners of every style.

The "Wing Chun Compendium" explains the theory of wing chun from a technical, lifestyle, and philosophical perspective. Written by Wayne Belonoha--a certified Ving Tsun Instructor and National Certified Coach, 7th Level, Master Degree--the compendium offers hundreds of tips and techniques specifically designed to help readers advance to the next stage. The Wing Chun Compendium is divided into eight sections, including Theory, Techniques, Drills, Chi Sau (Sticky Hands), Forms, Pressure Points, Health and Fitness, and Terminology.
Students of all levels will find tips for improving technique and gaining benefits from the book's instruction in over 20 of the top skill-building drills and exercises, such as the Maai Sang Jong and Bong Guek (Sticky Legs) drills. Covering all three hand forms (Siu Nim Tau, Cham Kiu, and Biu Ji), it also provides a detailed examination of each movement and application and features an extensive terminology section that includes the Chinese characters and both Cantonese and Mandarin pronunciations for over 200 of the most common wing chun terms. The compendium concludes with Grandmaster Sunny Tang's special article, "Reflections of Siu Nim Tau After 30 Years."

The only American heir to W. C. Chen, Phillip Starr continues the master's teachings in this useful guide that also profiles the exciting early years when martial arts were still new in America. Through this entertaining collection of personal anecdotes involving Master Chen, the author, and his classmates, readers learn a particular aspect of the traditional martial arts. Included are explanations of the importance and meaning of courtesy and the custom of bowing, the significance of training with weapons and how it impacts bare-handed skills, and the value of traditional forms and how they relate to actual combat.