March 2023 Book Survey Part 1

 

 Welcome to the March 2023 book survey, part one. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. The theme for this month is Kung Fu.

Introduction

In March 2023, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This month I surveyed a number of books on Kung Fu. 

Wing Tsun Kuen, Leung Ting, Richard Lee, 1978/1994

I bought my copy of Wing Tsun Kuen while briefly studying Wing Tsun in San Antonio, Texas, before 2002. My copy is a 13th printing of the first edition. It is a hardcover measuring 8 1/2 inches by 11 1/2 inches, with 324 black and white pages and some color inserts. 

It begins with about 20 "congratulatory" pages, similar to the books by George Dillman. The bulk of the material covers 3 forms, wooden dummy techniques, chi sau, and other exercises. 

This title is (was?) the handbook of the International Wing Tsun Martial Arts Association. For example, here is some information on rank:

I was surprised to read on pages 30 and 31 that the author, Dr. Leung Ting, doubts the authenticity of the Ng Mui Wing Chun creation myth! He reprints them anyway though, along with popular but wrong Shaolin origin stories.

The form pictures are small but clear. 

There is a good use of content with a hand-done layout. 

The book is surprisingly interesting, despite the negative vibes I've gotten over the years from this particular affiliation.

Remember that if you want to best resource on Wing Chun history, the answer is without doubt The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts by Ben Judkins and Jon Nielson.

Dynamic Wing Tsun Kung Fu, Leung Ting, Richard Lee, 1985

I also bought my copy of Dynamic Wing Tsun Kung Fu while studying this style. My copy is a paperback measuring 5 11/16 inches by 8 3/8 inches with 210 black and white pages. My version even includes the folded "BIG Color Poster"!

This is another Hong Kong publication with a 1970s quality feel. Dr. Leung Ting says he composed the book using seminar notes his students wanted to read. This title also begins with about 20 pages of congratulatory material and "hero photos."

The technique photos are sometimes small but they are clear enough. The unorthodox, hand-done layout actually works well here.

Wing Chun Martial Arts: Principles & Techniques, Yip Chun, Danny Connor, 1992/1993

I bought my copy of Wing Chun Martial Arts: Principles & Techniques when I got the previous two titles. Mine is a paperback measuring 8 inches by 10 inches with 128 black and white pages. There's now a Kindle edition available too. The author is the oldest son of Ip Man, and apparently Yip is an alternative family name spelling.

This is almost like a small paperback "coffee table" book. There are nice photos but not a lot of content, given the small number of pages. When there are techniques, there's not much context.

The book is really just useful as an introduction for further study.

The interviews are probably the most useful aspect for the student reader.

Internal Body Mechanics for Tai Chi, Bagua and Xingyi, Ken Gullette, Nancy Gullette, 2018

I believe I bought Internal Body Mechanics for Tai Chi, Bagua and Xingyi after either seeing the author in a video or listening to him on a podcast. My copy is a paperback measuring 6 inches by 9 inches, with 184 black and white pages.

I like sifu Gullette's "no woo" approach to internal arts. He declares his book a "woo-woo free zone." He claims that so-called "energy" ("qi" some might say) is just sound body mechanics.

I really liked this quote:

"It should not take you 20 years to learn how to use these arts for self defense. You should be able to apply the internal arts in self defense within a few weeks, perhaps at a basic level."

The photos are a bit small but they still communicate effectively. There is no index and I wish a glossary was included. This is a great little book. 

Kung Fu: History, Philosophy and Technique, David Chow, Richard Spangler, 1977/1982

I bought my copy of Kung Fu: History, Philosophy and Technique when I realized one of the authors worked on the original Kung Fu TV series, one of my all-time favorites. My copy is a hardcover measuring 7 1/8 inches by 10 1/4 inches, with 228 black and white pages. There appears to be a new printing as of last December. You can find copies of the 1978 original edition on the Internet Archive.

Right from the start, this book links itself to the TV series. From there, it's a virtual tour of popular kung fu myths, from Bodhidharma to the so-called Muscle Change Classic / Change of Sinews and Marrow Washing. Ng Mui appears as so-called founder of Wing Chun, and so on. 

After a tour of a selection of Kung Fu styles, we see some techniques like the following:

As you can see, the pictures are really too small and poorly done to see details.

This book features some of the funniest woo techniques in a major production book. Check out this advice on how to train to be able to walk backwards up a wall!

This book is useful as a snapshot of what some authors considered to be Kung Fu in 1978. It's shocking to see it in print in 2023.

The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defence, Health and Enlightenment, Wong Kiew Kit, 1996

I bought my copy of The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu when it first arrived in 1996. It's a paperback measuring 6 inches by 9 3/16 inches with 215 black and white pages. There are a couple printings available on the Internet Archive.

The author claims to be the "fourth generation successor of Monk Jiang Nan of the Shaolin Monastery." He repeats the myth surrounding a Chinese origin for jujutsu, saying "Chen Yuan Bin" went to Japan in 1619 as a "kung fu master," "laying the foundation for jujutsu, the forerunner of judo" on page 15. Check out our post Annotating Wayne Muromoto's "The Legacy of Chin Gempin" to escape the Chinese tendency to claim that anything good must have a Chinese origin.

The book continues with the standard Chinese myths of Bodhidharma, a southern Shaolin temple, etc.

The sad contents for this book are packaged nicely, and I like the simple diagrams.

The book actually includes a form or two, but it's impossible to follow from the material provided. 

This is another book that I cannot believe is still in print in 2023.

Conclusion

Surprisingly, the first book by Dr. Leung Ting is pretty neat if you find a used copy somewhere. Otherwise, I would check out sifu Gullette's book.

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