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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Combat sports & self-defence > Oriental martial arts
Increase muscle strength, improve flexibility, and reduce pain
and stiffness. Each year, millions of people worldwide discover the
incredible physical and mental benefits of tai chi. Now, with "Tai
Chi Illustrated," you can, too.
Internationally renowned instructor Master Pixiang Qiu and
mind-body exercise expert Weimo Zhu demonstrate the most effective
forms for harnessing the healing power of chi, or energy. Follow
their lead and improve balance and coordination, relieve stress,
and reduce pain and muscle stiffness.
"Tai Chi Illustrated" is a step-by-step guide complete with
detailed instructions and full-color photo sequences for the basic
movements and popular forms, such as Grasp Sparrow's Tail and Part
the Wild Horse's Mane. You will connect the forms to follow the
yang-style sample routines, or create your own to address your
health and fitness needs.
Whether you are completely new to tai chi or have practiced for
years, "Tai Chi Illustrated" will you be your guide to the path of
better health and self-awareness.
In the spring of 1959, eighteen-year-old Bruce Lee returned to San
Francisco, the city of his birth. Although the martial arts were
widely unknown in America, Bruce encountered a robust fight culture
in the Bay Area, populated with talented and trailblazing
practitioners such as Lau Bun, Chinatown's aging kung fu patriarch;
Wally Jay, the innovative Hawaiian jujitsu master; and James Lee,
the Oakland street fighter. Regarded by some as a brash loudmouth
and by others as a dynamic visionary, Bruce spent his first few
years back in America advocating for a modern approach to the
martial arts, and showing little regard for the damaged egos left
in his wake. The year of 1964 would be an eventful one for Bruce,
in which he would broadcast his dissenting worldview before the
first great international martial arts gathering, and then defend
it by facing down Wong Jack Man-Chinatown's young kung fu ace-in a
legendary behind-closed-doors showdown. These events were a
catalyst to the dawn of martial arts in America and a prelude to an
icon. Based on over one hundred original interviews, Striking
Distance chronicles Bruce Lee's formative days amid the heated
martial arts proving ground that thrived on San Francisco Bay in
the early 1960s.
The ancient warrior culture of Japan produced a sophisticated
martial philosophy that we know today as Bushido--the Way of the
Warrior. In "Samurai Wisdom," author Thomas Clearly provides five
important new translations of major Japanese works on Bushido.
The writings of the scholar Yamaga Soko and his disciples are among
the clearest expositions we have of the core ideals and philosophy
underlying the Samurai's disciplined way of life and outlook.
Together they provide an in-depth, practical guide to character
building and conduct according to the precepts of Bushido--a code
for professional warriors that retains as much relevance in today's
world as it had when these works were written 400 years ago.
Yamaga's writings inspired the transformation of the Samurai from a
feudal class of warriors under the command of the Shogun to a group
of powerful individuals with great intellectual, political and
moral leadership and influence. The works translated in "Samurai
Wisdom" for the very first time are as timeless and important today
as the works of Sun Tzu, Musashi and Clausewitz.
The five Japanese works on Bushido translated in "Samurai Wisdom"
are: "The Way of the Knight" by Yamaga Soko "The Warrior's Rule" by
Tsugaru Kodo-shi "Essentials of Military Matters" compiled by
Yamaga Takatsune "The Education of Warriors" by Yamaga Soko "Primer
of Martial Education" by Yamaga Soko
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