Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense

by Bruce Lee

Book Overview

Originally published in 1963, this book includes personal testimonies regarding the author and his art from James Y. Lee, the legendary Ed Parker, and jujutsu icon Wally Jay. Through hand-drawn diagrams and captioned photo sequences, Lee's text comes to life as he demonstrates a variety of training exercises and fighting techniques. Topics include basic gung fu stances, waist training, leg training, and the theory of yin and yang. The re-edition of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0897501128
• ISBN13: 9780897501125
• Release Date: February 1987
• Publisher: Black Belt Books
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Bruce Lee A True Master

A lot of people have their opinions on Bruce Lee books. Some are fans and some read the books for the wealth of knowledge you can tap into on martial arts and self defense. I belong to that second group! Bruce Lee is a true master in the martial arts. His fighting skills are incomparable, and his way of life, is one that we wish we could all live. "Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense" is a treasure that all martial artists should have on their book shelves. Bruce kept with his simplistic style while writing this book, making the basic techniques you learn in this book, executable by anyone who reads the book. You will also get this basic crash course on Chinese Gung Fu, without the ego that some other martial artist authors seem to have. Those people are more interested in plugging their art/system, than they are in actually teaching it. You won't get any of this with Bruce Lee! I was very happy to learn that this book was made available to the public again, after it was pulled off the shelves, after Bruce's unfortunate death. The information in this book is well written, and worth learning. This book is more than one you put on your coffee table to collect dust and do nothing else. This book will teach you the basics of an ancient art, that may well be extinct in the world of martial arts today. All I've got left to say now is.... BUY!!!!!! BUY!!!!!! BUY!!!!!!

Be Water...

There are quite a few books out there about Bruce Lee. This one was authored by him in 1963. The original book had a yellow cover, and was quite understated in it's design. This was because the book was meant to have its pages ripped out, put up on the wall of your workout area and practiced repeatedly. It is simple, and easy to follow. Bruce Lee provides step-by-step instructions through photo's and drawings (his own). I suggest finding a work out partner and recreating the moves outlined in the book. Stretches, exercises and more are included. Everything except the dedication required to learn... "Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee

A taste of Bruce Lee's knowledge

This book, though pretty short, does an excellent job of outlining Wing Chun's basics. The illustrations are well done and easily followed unlike so many other books of this type. The book is well worth the price if you are interested in Wing Chun.

A stage in Bruce Lee's development.

This is a great book for a Bruce Lee fan. It constitudes the only book published by Lee during his lifetime. It includes excellent diagrams for streaching-excercises drawn by Lee himself! However, this book is not really an introduction and it would prove non-beneficial to a beginner. There are far better introduccions to martial arts or even Bruce Lee's art and I suggest you look at the Bruce Lee Library books for that. On the other hand, this book provides a great insight into Lee's early technique and thoughts on the martial way.

classic!

The technique is the distil of Wing Chun - self defence with attack