For the last 100 years, the Order of Shaolin Ch'an has worked quietly to presierve the traditions, philosophy, and arts of the Order in the United States of America. since 1970, Shaolin and its martial arts have increasingly become a focal point of popular culture. Misinformation and disinformation have anchored this growing notoriety. In contrast, this volume stives to accurately share what is spiritually meaningful and martially significant about Shaolin. The living authors are Shaolin monks who wish to remain anonymous, but who put the book together largely from written records and orally transmitted teachings from three Shaolin priests, all of whom passed away in the 1970's. The were Li En Huo, Hua Ling P'o, and Ben Ch'i Lo.

The Shaolin Grandmasters' Text is a one-of-a-kind volume discussing the history, philosophy and Gung Fu of Shaolin Ch'an, one of the most misunderstood schools of Ch'an Buddhism. In this revised edition, the Order of Shaolin Ch'an have updated information on their martial and Buddhist legacies in an effort to further preserve the Order's heritage. Beginning in 1901, the most senior priests of the Shaolin Order fled a war-ravaged China. Over a period of several years they gathered in New York City's Chinatown. For the last 100 years, the Order of Shaolin Ch'an has worked quietly to preserve the traditions, philosophy, and arts of the Order in the United States. Since the 70's, when Shaolin and its martial arts increasingly became a focal point of popular culture, misinformation and disinformation have anchored it in a growing notoriety. In contrast, this volume strives to accurately share what is spiritually meaningful and martially significant about Shaolin.

'If I had to pick a single general martial arts history book in English, I would recommend A Brief History of the Martial Arts by Dr Jonathan Clements' RICHARD BEITLICH, Martial History Team blog From Shaolin warrior monks to the movies of Bruce Lee, a new history of the evolution of East Asian styles of unarmed combat, from Kung Fu to Ninjutsu Folk tales of the Shaolin Temple depict warrior monks with superhuman abilities. Today, dozens of East Asian fighting styles trace their roots back to the Buddhist brawlers of Shaolin, although any quest for the true story soon wanders into a labyrinth of forgeries, secret texts and modern retellings. This new study approaches the martial arts from their origins in military exercises and callisthenics. It examines a rich folklore from old wuxia tales of crime-fighting heroes to modern kung fu movies. Centre stage is given to the stories that martial artists tell themselves about themselves, with accounts (both factual and fictional) of famous practitioners including China's Yim Wing-chun, Wong Fei-hong, and Ip Man, as well as Japanese counterparts such as Kano Jigoro, Itosu Anko and So Doshin. The history of martial arts encompasses secret societies and religious rebels, with intimate glimpses of the histories of China, Korea and Japan, their conflicts and transformations. The book also charts the migration of martial arts to the United States and beyond. Special attention is paid to the turmoil of the twentieth century, the cross-cultural influence of Japanese colonies in Asia, and the post-war rise of martial arts in sport and entertainment - including the legacy of Bruce Lee, the dilemma of the ninja and the global audience for martial arts in fiction.

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.

Looks at southern Chinese martial arts traditions and how they have become important to local identity and narratives of resistance. This book explores the social history of southern Chinese martial arts and their contemporary importance to local identity and narratives of resistance. Hong Kong’s Bruce Lee ushered the Chinese martial arts onto an international stage in the 1970s. Lee’s teacher, Ip Man, master of Wing Chun Kung Fu, has recently emerged as a highly visible symbol of southern Chinese identity and pride. Benjamin N. Judkins and Jon Nielson examine the emergence of Wing Chun to reveal how this body of social practices developed and why individuals continue to turn to the martial arts as they navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving environment. After surveying the development of hand combat traditions in Guangdong Province from roughly the start of the nineteenth century until 1949, the authors turn to Wing Chun, noting its development, the changing social attitudes towards this practice over time, and its ultimate emergence as a global art form.

The Fall of the Southern Shaolin Temple and the Rise of the Ten Tigers of Canton tells the legendary story of the Southern Shaolin Temples in Fukien Provence, China, and of the renowned Shaolin Kung Fu masters who trained there. Events and betrayals led to the destruction of these Southern Shaolin Temples. The survivors fled from the Ch’ing/Qing army and dispersed around Kwangtung/Guangdong Province. Many of these eventually settled in or around the provincial capital city of Canton. They, in turn, taught their kung fu among the general population, which led to the rise of several eminent kung fu masters. The ten best were chosen and from then on would be known as the Ten Tigers of Canton.

The first book to focus on the intersection of Western philosophy and the Asian martial arts, Striking Beauty comparatively studies the historical and philosophical traditions of martial arts practice and their ethical value in the modern world. Expanding Western philosophy's global outlook, the book forces a theoretical reckoning with the concerns of Chinese philosophy and the aesthetic and technical dimensions of martial arts practice. Striking Beauty explains the relationship between Asian martial arts and the Chinese philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, in addition to Sunzi's Art of War. It connects martial arts practice to the Western concepts of mind-body dualism and materialism, sports aesthetics, and the ethics of violence. The work ameliorates Western philosophy's hostility toward the body, emphasizing the pleasure of watching and engaging in martial arts, along with their beauty and the ethical problem of their violence.