The Chinese secret for youthfulness, health and long life lies at least partly in T'ai Chi, the balletlike calisthenics they've practiced for centuries. This rhythmical art stresses slow breathing, balanced and relaxed postures and absolute calmness of mind. The practice itself need take no more than ten minutes a day. This book is a complete stepbystep manual for the beginner that will enable anyone to master the sequence of thirtyseven postures that make up the T'ai Chi solo exercise
Pa Kua is a vigorous martial arts discipline that hones reflexes and cultivates the understanding of one's body. One of the three orthodox "internal" styles of Chinese martial arts, Pa Kua makes use of the eight trigrams found in the I Ching. This text offers a history of Pa Kua, profiles of its great practitioners, and exercises that illustrate the practice.
"This book introduces T'ai-chi as a means to a healthier life, as a sport, and as a means of self-defense. It is a complete step-by-step manual for the beginner. It will enable him, with conscientious practice, to master the sequence of thirty-seven postures that make up the T'ai-chi solo exercise. The directions are clear-cut and easy to follow. More than 275 photographs, together with 122 foot-weighting diagrams, guarantee a ready understanding of the correct procedure. A convenient fold-out illustrates the thirty-seven postures in a continuous sequence. The main emphasis in this introductory manual is on T'ai-chi as a superior way to healthful living. But T'ai-chi, when practiced with a partner, is an enjoyable sport, and its movements form the basis for an unexcelled system of self-defense. The book therefore gives both of these important aspects of T'ai-chi their due share of attention and shows the student how to progress from exercise to sport to self-defense with the maximum of efficiency."--Amazon
This book is the sequel to the underground classic Secret Fighting Arts of the World , and chronicles the further adventures of the Indiana Jones of exotic martial arts, John F. Gilbey. His fistic and foot festivities take him in and out of dojos and gyms in the United to Iceland, Brazil, Iraq, and even an outer Tahitian island. Investigating claims of seemingly supernatural powers, Gilbey gives a strong nod to developed and carefully school inner disciplines, but has strong words for the fast buck artists who degrade serious martial arts like karate, kung fu, and jujutsu.
Unikátní monografie o historii, vývoji a technikách bojových umění Číny (kung-fu), Okinawy (karate), Koreje (taekwon-do, yu-sool), Japonska (bušidó, nindžucu, aikidó, kendó, džudo, džiu-džitsu), Malajsie (kun-tao, pentak-silat), Indie, Pakistánu, Barmy, Thajska, Filipín a Indonésie. Kapitoly jsou doplněny množstvím přehledných tabulek, ilustrací technik a zbraní.