If you’re looking for a Kung Fu History Philosophy and Technique Book Review, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I’ll review the Kung Fu History Philosophy and Technique Book and give you my honest opinion about the content. In addition to my review, I’ve written a few articles on Kung Fu and the history of the art form.

I bought this book “Kung Fu History Philosophy And Technique” some 16 years ago. When comes to learning kung fu in 2022 I advocate using all resources at your disposal. In-person training, online training, reading books and magazines, etc.

Kung Fu History Philosophy and Technique Table Of Contents

I will give you a summary of each chapter to give you an idea of what you will learn about.

(Introduction) Kung Fu History Philosophy and Technique

True words are not fine sounding; Fine sounding words are not true. The good man does not prove by argument; And he who proves by argument is not good.

True wisdom is different from much learning; Much learning means little wisdom. The sage has no need to hoard; When his own last scrap has been used up on behalf of others, Lo, his stock is even greater than before!

For Heaven’s way is to sharpen without cutting, And the sage’s way is to act without striving.

-Tao Te Ching Chapter 81, Arthur Waley translation.

Being that this is the first chapter of the book. David Chow goes into great detail about the origins of kung fu. For instance, Elements of Chinese martial arts can be traced back to the Neolithic Age around 4000 years ago. This chapter also covers the Shang dynasty, Chou dynasty, and more…

Chapter 2: Kung fu history philosophy and technique

This chapter is rather short. This chapter as you might suspect is an account of Bodhidharma and his contribution to what we know as Kung Fu today.

Chapter 3: Taoist Contribution To Kung Fu

If you have been wanting to know about the connection between Taoism and Kung Fu you can learn all about that in this chapter. I really enjoy wise quotations, and this book contains many of them. There is so much knowledge and wisdom in these ancient writings. You will also learn about the Taoist priest Chang San-feng the creator of Tai Chi Chuan known as the “Grand Ultimate Fist”. This chapter also covers some really cool internal martial art techniques as well as some qigong and neigong.

The myriad of things carry Yin and embrace Yang

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 42

Chapter 4: External Styles Of Kung Fu

In this chapter, we find that there are approximately 360 styles of kung fu. We also know that masters over the past 3000 years have different interpretations of kung fu. It’s quite possible that at one point or another every single martial art technique within all the different styles has been used. Sometimes these styles just had animal names or were named after insects, heroes, etc. You find out about the significance of the northern Shaolin Temple. Of course, there are plenty of photos and illustrations.

Conclusion

This book reveals some of those “secret” Kung Fu techniques people talk about. It is incredible to think of what a single individual can do. Because of the excessive emphasis placed on combative parts, its legendary roots are sometimes overlooked. To clarify those points, I recommend reading this book.

It’s by remembering the past that can we keep passing along wisdom that has been written hundreds and thousands of years ago about kung fu martial arts. These kung fu techniques have been refined tested and refined again. Even today they are still being refined and tested.

Enjoy The Read!