My next book is one I acquired and read years ago and enjoyed greatly. Flipping through it now I can see why. You don’t have to agree with everything that is in this book, but each part will have you pondering.
The book is: “The Sword Polisher’s Record: The Way of Kung-Fu” By Adam Hsu and is it was “originally a monthly column that appeared for more than a decade in three magazines, including Kungfu magazine and Black Belt magazine.”
Even though it is a book on Kung-fu I found the ideas discussed apply to many styles and system Kung-fu or not Kung-fu.
As stated, this is a collection of monthly columns which means it has a variety of topics covered. The book is broken into parts:
- Knocking on the Kung-fu door
- The foundation of Kung-fu
- Myth and Reality of Kung-fu styles
- The role of forms in Kung-fu
- Mind and Body training
- The Soul of Kung-fu
- Masters and Students
- Kung-fu for Today and Tomorrow
I think this one is for those who want a broader view of martial arts. Certainly, there are helpful specific things, but I think there is a larger picture looked at as well. I know I enjoyed it, and in fact should set it up to reread.