The Shaolin Workout by Shi Yan Ming
I just received an uncorrected proof of Yanming's new book, The Shaolin Workout. It's being published by Rodale, a major publisher in the world of health publications. They do the magazines Prevention, Men's Health, Runner's World, Women's Health, Organic Gardening, Backpacker, Best Life, Bicycling and Mountain Bike. Will Yanming be on one of those covers next? Rodale also published several New York Times Bestsellers like Martha Stewart's The Martha Rules, Bill Maher's New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer, as well as The South Beach Diet and The Abs Diet franchises. Most martial arts books are published through small publishers or vanity published. Rodale is a whole new level for a Shaolin book.
The Shaolin Workout is well marketed - just what you might expect from Rodale. It's subtitled "28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior Way". I haven't had a chance to do more than skim it, but it looks like a general outline of Shaolin basics - mostly stretching and warm ups, basic stances and kicks. The presentation is very clean and professional. It's slated for release on June 2006. It's be hardcover, 7 1/2" x 9 1/8", retailing at $29.95.
Long live the Shaolin Soccer Moms!!!
TaichiMantis, you could start a trend - a massive legions of Shaolin soccer moms. Just imagine. It would be glorious.
Banjos_dad, you shouldn't make the mistake of confusing what individual monks are doing with 'the temple'. Yanming is independant of the temple, as are most of the monks that have immigrated out of China. They all retain ties to the temple and various Shaolin masters in Dengfeng, but they are not 'official' representatives. Shaolin Temple is a huge organization, a tradition with 1500 years of history. Throughout that history, there have always been splinter factions. In short, I doubt that any of the profit from this book will go back to the temple, nor was the temple consulted on it at all. That's why the abbot is trying to trademark the Shaolin 'brand', but at this point, you might as well try to trademark 'zen'.
rickyscaggs, I wouldn't call Shaolin jibengong a crappy workout routine. Quite the opposite. And if all the McDojos started doing it, that would be fantastic. It'd be like all the McDonalds offering choice prime rib.
I've always thought a good Shaolin jibengong program was in order. Guolin's Fundementals of Shaolin is the only one readily available and that doesn't cover a lot of it. Yanming's new book doesn't cover all of it either, but in all fairness, he's writing to a different audience and this is only the first in what could be a potential series. Jibengong is where it's at. That's the foundation. All the forms videos that everyone else put out are useless without basics.