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Thread: Your favorite Books (ving tsun, kung fu, life, zen etc...)

  1. #1

    Your favorite Books (ving tsun, kung fu, life, zen etc...)

    I have a bookshelf to fill. What are some good books you all would recommend that are about VingTsun, kungfu life, philosophy, life, zen, buddism, taoism, chinese culture...etc? Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Lightbulb

    Quote Originally Posted by mossman
    I have a bookshelf to fill. What are some good books you all would recommend that are about VingTsun, kungfu life, philosophy, life, zen, buddism, taoism, chinese culture...etc? Thanks
    Taoism:
    Tao Te Ching - Translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English
    Tao of Pooh - Benjamin Hoff
    Te of Piglet - Benjamin Hoff
    Chuang Tzu - Translated by Martin Palmaer with Elizabeth Breuilly

    Buddhism:
    The Accidental Buddhist - Dinty W. Moore

    Life:
    The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
    The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz

    Aside about Aikido and Life:
    The Spirit of Aikido - Ueshiba

    Chinese Culture/Chinese Medicine:
    The Web That Has No Weaver - Ted Kaptchuk

    Kung-Fu:
    The Complete Guide to Kung-Fu Fighting Styles - Jane Hallander

    Peace,
    Kenton Sefcik
    “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” – Friedrich Engels

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by mossman
    I have a bookshelf to fill. What are some good books you all would recommend that are about VingTsun,
    Complete Wing Chun-Ritchie/Chu

    kungfu life,
    Living the Martial Way-Morgan
    The Book of Five Rings-Musashi


    philosophy, life, zen, buddism, taoism,
    Prometheus Rising-RAW
    Quantum Psychology-RAW


    chinese culture...etc? Thanks
    ??
    Sapere aude, Justin.

    The map is not the Terrain.

    "Wheather you believe you can, or you believe you can't...You're right." - Henry Ford

  4. #4
    [[I have a bookshelf to fill. What are some good books you all would recommend that are about VingTsun, kungfu life, philosophy, life, zen, buddism, taoism, chinese culture...etc? Thanks]]

    On Wing Chun...

    Look Beyond the Pointing Finger... David Peterson
    Simple Thinking - Why Wing Chun Works Part 2... Alan Gibson

    On Philosophy/Religion...

    Tao of Muhammad Ali... Davis Miller
    Chronicles of Tao... Deng Ming Dao
    The Prince... Niccolo Machiavelli
    Tao Teh Ching, Art of War, Book of 5 Rings (all published by Shambhala)

    Comics
    DK2... Frank Miller

    enjoy!

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by mossman
    I have a bookshelf to fill. What are some good books you all would recommend that are about VingTsun, kungfu life, philosophy, life, zen, buddism, taoism, chinese culture...etc? Thanks

    VingTsun, kungfu life:
    http://www.sonypictures.com/intl/cn/...e/index_en.php





    philosophy, life:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ima...283155&s=books

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0312...18#reader-link


    http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1561...18#reader-link






    zen, buddism, taoism, chinese culture...etc? :

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078446/

    http://home.beaumontenterprise.com/comix/10/

  6. #6
    I have gained good insights of the Chinese philosophy from this scholarly book. You'll find WC is heavily influenced by its outlook on the nature of change and chance.

    http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/5644.html

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by mossman
    I have a bookshelf to fill. What are some good books you all would recommend that are about VingTsun, kungfu life, philosophy, life, zen, buddism, taoism, chinese culture...etc? Thanks

    FAVORITE:

    WING CHUN BOOK............ "My Life With Wing Chun" (William Cheung)

    ZEN BOOK......................... "The Zen Way To The Martial Arts" (Taisen Deshimaru)

    BUDDHISM BOOK................ "The Voice Of The Silence" (Helena Blavatsky)

    TAOISM BOOK................... "Tao Te Ching" (Lao Tsu)

    PHILOSOPHY...................... "The Kybalion - Hermetic Philosophy" (Three Initiates)

    LIFE................................. "Mystic Christianity" (Yogi Ramacharaka)

  8. #8
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    Location
    Southwest Idaho
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    "As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen

    Short (<100pages) classic which is old enough to be in the public domain, and so now available online for free at a few different sites. (Try Google search.)

    Can't recommend this book highly enough, and although it's title may sound Christian, it transcends any organized religion.

    -Lawrence
    I don't think Wing Chun is so limited that I can't do it when I wrestle, box, kickbox, or fight by MMA rules, nor am I so limited a student that I can't improve by training in each of those forums. -Andrew S

    A good instructor encourages his students to question things, think for themselves and determine their own solutions to problems. They give advice, rather than acting as a vehicle for the transmission of dogma.
    -Andrew Nerlich

  9. #9
    Simple:

    Why Wing Chun Works books 1, 2, 3 by Alan Gibson

    Look Beyond The Pointing Finger, The Combat Philosophy Of Wong Shun Leung by David Peterson
    It's time to turn it on! This is what i train for, this is where i want to be. Fear is not an option it's time to release the rage!

  10. #10
    Okay, I'll 2nd Kevin's motion on David Peterson's valuable book on Wong Shun Leung. Many good insights on WC forms and training methods. I think it's out of print though. =)

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
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    Prometheus Rising-RAW
    Dang! Beat me to it.

    Complete Wing Chun - Rene, Robert Chu and Y Wu

    Zen and Japanese Culture - Daisetz T Suzuki

    Strong on Defense - Sanford Strong

    The Gift of Fear - Gavin de Becker

    All of Geoff Thompson's books (esp. Watch my Back, Dead or Alive, The Fence, Fear - The Friend of Exceptional People)

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M Pirsig

    The Mighty Atom - the spiritual journey of Joseph L Greenstein (can't remember author's name, it reminds me I lent it to someone who never returned it )

    Meetings with Remarkable Men, Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson - G I Gurdjieff

    The Road Less Travelled - M Scott Peck

    The Fourth Way - Peter Ouspensky

    Tao of JKD - Bruce Lee (the more recently published collections of his writings are great also)

    Functional JKD series I & II - Matt Thornton (DVD's)

    Undertow, Aenima, Lateralus - Tool (music to make you think)

    BJJ Fundamentals - John Will

    Advanced BJJ - the BJJ guard - John Will

    BJJ Advanced Attacks and Escapes - John Will

    Fight Logic - John Will

    Power Yoga - Liz Lark (nice pictures too, fine looking gal)

    Chuang Tzu - Inner Chapters

    The 48 Laws of Power

    The Prince - Machiavelli

    Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

    Angry White Pyjamas - Robert Twigger (part serious, part funny about Aikido)

    and the essential lifestyle primers:

    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S Thompson (RIP)

    How to be an Orgasm King - (just kidding)
    Last edited by anerlich; 03-10-2005 at 03:24 PM.
    "Once you reject experience, and begin looking for the mysterious, then you are caught!" - Krishnamurti
    "We are all one" - Genki Sudo
    "We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion" - Tool, Parabol/Parabola
    "Bro, you f***ed up a long time ago" - Kurt Osiander

    WC Academy BJJ/MMA Academy Surviving Violent Crime TCM Info
    Don't like my posts? Challenge me!

  12. #12
    Gee! My bibliography would be too extensive to list. But a somewhat arbitrary very short list.
    On Wing Chun- The books of Augustine Fong-- all out of print except the first volume.
    The theory and principles book sold out almost as soon as it appeared. Paraphrases of it appears in strange places.

    Chao and Weakland- the 3 volume- Secrets of Wing Chun Kung Fu. Chao was a private student of Ip Man.

    On Taiji: Almost any major video of Chen Xiao Wang and his presentaions during his first Arizona visit. Or videos of Feng Zhi Quan

    Douglas Wile: The Lost Taichi Classics.

    On Boxing: The Joe Jacob and John Clayton(?) collection of major old boxing films.
    Jose Torres -on Tyson
    Gene Tunney's major book.

    On Kalaripayat: Zarilli's The Body Has a Thousand Eyes.

    On Stick and Knife; Pulin Behari Das- On Lathi and Dagger

    On Yoga-
    Patanjali's Yoga
    Vethathiri-on Kundalini Yoga
    Iyengar- Light on Yoga

    On Ideas-(too big to even begin)
    Lankavatara Sutra
    Red Pine- Zen Teachings of the Bodhidharma
    Dogen- Shobygenzo
    Dhammapada
    Plato's Symposium (Charming but wrong treatment of Eros)
    The Sayings of Diogenes(the Cynic)
    Selections from Epicurus
    Collected works of Thos. Jefferson
    The Letters of Seneca(late Stoic)
    Northrop-The Meeting of East and West
    Heisenberg's Physics and Philosophy.
    Schrodinger'sCat
    Margenau- Nature of Physical Reality
    Freidman-Thoughts Without a Thinker

    On relevant Chinese History-
    Wakeman 2 volumes- The Great Enterprise;
    The Ching conquest of China.

    On General Asian MA-
    Draeger and Smith-Asian Fighting Arts
    Encyclopedia of Indian martial Arts
    Latest Commentary on Mushashi(Shambala)
    Sun Tzu-the Art of War

    Tongue in Cheek_
    "John Gilbey"-the Fighting Arts of the World
    Vatsyansa's Kamasutra Revised. Banned before publication.
    69 ways to find the centerline.

  13. #13

    Talking

    In the beginning -- a basic implementation, milestone, and core trascendental processes, of Siu Lien Tau

    by Yellowpikachu. isbn4876543560988
    Last edited by Hendrik; 03-10-2005 at 11:05 PM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    A lot of good recommendations here. I'm going to use this list next time I'm buying books. One that I've read a couple times and HIGHLY recommend is

    Living the Martial Way: A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think
    - by Forrest Morgan

    Amazon Listing Here

    Check it out. It will really pump you up about training and about the martial arts mindset. Not as specific to Wing Chun, or Philosophy, or History.....just an overall great martial arts book.

    I could list a bunch more, but if you haven't read this one yet, go get it.
    Aut Pax Aut Bellum - Either Peace or War

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Posts
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    books

    Daoism:

    Thinking from the Han: Self, Truth, and Transcendence in Chinese and Western Culture
    by David L. Hall, Roger T. Ames


    A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation
    by Chad D. Hansen



    Wing Chun:

    Look Beyond the Pointing Finger: the Combat Philosophy of Wong Shun Leung.
    by David Peterson

    Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen History & Foundation
    by Renee Ritchie

    Life:
    Dao De Jing : A Philosophical Translation by Roger T. Ames, David L. Hall
    Seek knowledge by questioning widely; set aside aversion and reluctance.
    What loss is there in dignity, what worry is there of failure?
    If your will is not strong, if your thought does not oppose injustice,
    you will fritter away your life stuck in the commonplace.
    Silently submitting to the bonds of emotion, forever cowing before mediocrities, never escaping the downward flow.
    - Zhuge Liang

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