Pa Kua

Pa Kua
Author: Robert W. Smith
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2002-12
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 9781556434396

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. 50 black-and-white photos are included.

Chinese Boxing

Chinese Boxing
Author: Robert W. Smith
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 164
Release: 1993-01-26
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781556430855

Distilling the martial art known in the West as kung fu, Robert Smith presents Chinese boxing (ch’uan shu) as an art “that combines the hardness of a wall and the softness of a butterfly’s wings.” His lively, pragmatic account conveys the discipline and insights acquired in ten years of study and travel in Asia. Smith describes his work with t’ai chi master Cheng Man-ch’ing, and connects ch’uan shu with the softer aspects and inner power of that popular practice. Fifty black and white photos illustrate this informative and personal account of the Chinese boxing tradition.

Pa-kua

Pa-kua
Author: Robert W. Smith
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 106
Release: 1990-07-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1462906222

This book outlines the history and techniques of Pa-kua—a style of boxing based on the eight (pa) trigrams (kua) of the I Ching. This martial arts guide gives a thorough account of the philosophy behind the art. It also presents to the West for the first the orthodox style of the last Chinese Pa-kua master Wang Shu-chin. Described in great detail and fully illustrated are the basic techniques, the eight palm shapes, and the eight traditional methods of "walking the circle." Guided by this easy-to-follow text, the student of Pa-kua can probe deeply into the hitherto hidden secrets of one of the most complete systems of self defense ever developed.

Hsing-I

Hsing-I
Author: Robert W. Smith
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2003-05-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781556434556

Harmoniously merging the mind and the body, Hsing-I Ch'uan is simultaneously one of the most simple and most complex of the Chinese martial arts. The five forms, based on the Chinese concept of the five elements, provide a toolbox of techniques that the skillful Hsing-I practitioner uses to box with himself, channeling ch'i into spirit and spirit into mindful stillness. From this synthesis of external and internal forces springs new energy and true ability. Engagingly written and amply illustrated with black and white photographs, Robert W. Smith's primer includes the history and meaning of Hsing-I, detailed instruction in the five forms and twelve animal styles, and cogent advice from the masters. First published almost 30 years ago, Hsing-I: Chinese Mind-Body Boxing was among the first books on Hsing-I and remains one of the best.

Chinese Internal Boxing

Chinese Internal Boxing
Author: Robert W. Smith
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2012-01-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1462904424

Chinese Internal Boxing: Techniques of Hsing-I and Pa-kua is an illustrated martial arts guide to two soft-style Chinese martial arts. Chinese internal boxing and other internal martial arts do not depend on muscular strength. Instead, their power is drawn from the cultivation and practical application of internal energy, or ch'i, making them perfect for people of all ages and all levels of fitness. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions and over 380 black-and-white photos and diagrams, this indispensable martial arts book is ideal for both wushu beginners and advanced practitioners. It describes in detail and fully illustrates the basic techniques of Hsing-I and Pa-kua, including the five fists and twelve animal styles of Hsing-I and Pa-kua's eight palm shapes and eight traditional methods of walking the circle.

The Hidden History of the Chinese Internal Martial Arts

The Hidden History of the Chinese Internal Martial Arts
Author: Sal Canzonieri
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2014-05-17
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781490430713

Today, the martial arts of Bagua Zhang, Taiji Quan, and Xing/Xin Yi Quan are the best known of the Neijia arts and are often practiced together. The origins of these so-called “Big Three Internal Martial Arts” are both mysterious and controversial. These convoluted origins are often interconnected and interrelated and span through many other Chinese martial arts. Often times some aspects of one style's boxing routines served as a root to the development of another style, though their relationship may have become long forgotten today. During the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912), many famous Chinese martial artists arose who practiced not only all three arts of Bagua, Taiji, and Xingyi, but also some form of Long Fist Boxing as well, such as Shaolin Quan and Tongbei Quan. It is important to understand the roots of one's style, so that one can see how the movements developed over time and perhaps learn why there are done the way they are now done. It is an interesting, long winding road exploring who taught what to whom, when and why. This book was developed from over 30 years of research and it is a book about what my opinion is that the research reveals. Hopefully it will lead others to do more research and many new books will arise tracing the historical and stylistic and often mysterious evolution of the Chinese Martial Arts. It is very surprising to find out how the different styles are connected to each other in many different ways.

Hsing-I

Hsing-I
Author: Robert W. Smith
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2012-01-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1462904491

Master Chinese internal boxing or Hsing-I with this illustrated martial arts guide. Unlike most martial arts, Chinese internal (soft-style) boxing does not depend on muscular strength. The secret behind its power lies in the cultivation and practical application of internal energy—ch'i, There are basically three soft-style martial arts: T'ai-chi, already well known worldwide, and Hsing-I and Pa-kua, relative newcomers to the West. Although they are not essentially fighting arts but living arts, they are devastating as systems of self-defense. This martial arts book outlines the history of Hsing-I—a style of boxing given form (Hsing) by the mind (i)—and gives a thorough account of the philosophy behind the techniques. It also presents to the West for the first time the orthodox style of the late Chinese Hsing-i master Ch'en P'an-ling. Described here in great detail and fully illustrated are the basic techniques, the five fists of Hsing-i, a linked form of the five fists, and the twelve animal styles.

Hsing Yi Chuan

Hsing Yi Chuan
Author: Shou-Yu Liang
Publisher: Jamaica Plain, Mass. : YMAA Publication Center
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1990
Genre: Martial arts
ISBN: 9780940871083

Traditional training methods from this well-known Chinese martial art.

The Shaolin Monastery

The Shaolin Monastery
Author: Meir Shahar
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2008-01-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 0824831101

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.

Scholar Boxer

Scholar Boxer
Author: Chang Naizhou
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2005-07-07
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781556434822

Master Cháng, known as the “scholar-boxer,” lived and practiced in Hénán province, at the center of Chinese culture and martial arts near the Shàolín Temple and legendary Luòyáng. His extensive writings reflect many of the ideas, even the phraseology, now familiar from classic Tai Chi Chuan texts. Chinese-language authority Marnix Wells traveled to Cháng’s village, where the master’s family carries on his tradition of Cháng boxing. This resulting study of Chang’s life and teachings reveals the true origins of today’s internal martial arts.