Improve your balance, strength, focus and martial skills as you master this elegant and effective weapon of Gong Fu with America's most respected author and teacher.

Improve your balance, strength, focus and martial skills as you master this elegant and effective weapon of Gong Fu with America's most respected author and teacher.

This meticulously researched and eminently readable study considers the economic, political, and religious factors that led Shaolin monks to disregard the Buddhist prohibition against violence and instead create fighting techniques that by the 21st century have spread throughout the world.

This book is a comprehensive study guide to the fundamental and intermediate levels of Shaolin long fist kung-fu. In terms of showing and preserving knowledge for the students and instructors of long fist, this volume provides an invaluable aid for teaching sequences and explaining other aspects of the style. This book lays a foundation for beginning and advanced stages of long fist in terms of giving the student of kung-fu a grounding in fundamental and intermediate knowledge and skill.

Ever wonder what all those fancy martial arts weapons are for? Find out in this definitive manual.

Traditional Chinese martial arts (also referred to as kung fu), Northern Shaolin originated in the northern regions of China. It is a component of the Shaolin Martial Arts tradition, an extensive lineage that originated at the renowned Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, China. Northern Shaolin is distinguished by its emphasis on speed, agility, and precision in its acrobatic and dynamic movements. Shaolin practitioners in the North commonly execute an extensive repertoire of maneuvers, such as kicks, punches, sweeps, leaps, and flips. Frequently, the style integrates intricate routines or forms referred to as "taolu," which consist of series of movements performed individually or in a duomic partnership. Conditioning exercises to develop strength, flexibility, and stamina, along with drills to enhance striking, blocking, and footwork, are customary components of Northern Shaolin training. Weaponry instruction may also be provided by some institutions, including instruction with the spear, staff, sword, or other traditional Chinese weapons. Its profound philosophical underpinnings, extensive historical significance, and global and Chinese impact on alternative martial arts disciplines all contribute to the notoriety of Northern Shaolin. From novices to experts, martial artists of every age and background engage in its practice.