Jingwu: The School that Transformed Kung Fu by Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo

[Chief_Suicide]

New JingWo (Chin Woo) Book

Written by the same authors that put out Chinese Training Manuals. Looks interesting, I guess I can find out in June.

[brianlkennedy]

I hope you do find it interesting! My wife Elizabeth and I were very proud to have gotten both Stan Henning and Tim Cartmell to write the cover blurbs for the book. Elizabeth and I would like to say thanks to both those fine historians and writers for their support with this project.

Thanks too to Sifu Robert Louie, Pat Hodges and Rick Wing for all their help with the Jingwu materials.

The book has tons of great historical photos and I tried to tie the Jingwu Association into wider aspects of Chinese history of the time.

I did an interview a couple of days ago and one of the questions they asked was about the relevancy of my book. Here was my answer

Does the Jingwu story have any relevance to modern times?
“It is completely relevant. One of the reasons I wrote this book is because the situation that the Jingwu faced in the early 1900s is identical with the situation that traditional martial arts faces today. Here is the deal. Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, has to a large extent pushed traditional Chinese martial arts off the map so to speak. This is true not just in the west but also to some extent also in Asia. Young people, be they Taiwanese, Chinese or North Americans; if they are interested in martial arts they turn to MMA for their training. Traditional martial arts are seen as outdated and ineffective and are in a very real danger of being marginalized. In fact many traditional martial arts I suspect will die out over the next few decades. This was exactly the same situation that the Jingwu faced in China in the early 1900s.”
“For traditional Chinese martial arts to survive going into the 21st century they must remake themselves, as the Jingwu remade traditional Chinese martial arts going into the 20th century.”

take care,
Brian

[peace&love]

I really looking forward to reading this book. Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey is a fantastic piece of historical literature. Thank you, Brian.

[ghostexorcist]

I already pre-ordered it!

[brianlkennedy]

Thanks folks. It is kind of interesting too, the Jingwu back in Shanghai is celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the founding of the Jingwu. The organization has been brought back to life in China, I guess it was about ten years ago. I would actually be interested to know what the new "Neo-Jingwu's" program looks like. I would hope and presume they would continue traditional Chinese martial arts.

take care,
Brian

[sanjuro_ronin]

Your last book was great Brian and I am really looking forward to this one.

[Chief_Suicide]

I read your Chinese Training Manuals book. I enjoyed it.

It is great to be able to talk to the author of the book itself.

I thought JingWu accepted all forms of martial arts, or is that just movie myth? I'm know some about the school, but not what I should I suppose.

[Michael Dasargo]

Awesome! My students and I are looking forward to purchasing the book. Are you still in SD?

[brianlkennedy]

Chief Suicide, It is true that the Jingwu taught a wide range of different Chinese martial arts. But in the first few years they stuck with a program that was Northern Shaolin (actually Mizongquan) based. As the Jingwu spread other traditional arts were brought in. These included other forms of Northern Shaolin, different Mantis Boxing systems and when the Jingwu spread to the south, different Southern Shaolin systems including Crane Boxing.

If I understand it correctly, most of the Jingwu Associations in North America and in Europe teach mostly Northern Shaolin. In contrast the Jingwu Associations in South Asia teach mostly southern shaolin type arts.

Sanjuro Ronin, thanks much for the kind words. I should mention, given your forum name, I started Kendo a few weeks back. I had always wanted to do it and so I finally did. I practice at the San Diego Taiwanese Center.

Sifu Dasargo, yes, I am still here in San Diego. I had to take over our family business about a year ago when my brother died. So playing business owner has kept me busy.

take care,
Brian

[sanjuro_ronin]

Sanjuro Ronin, thanks much for the kind words. I should mention, given your forum name, I started Kendo a few weeks back. I had always wanted to do it and so I finally did. I practice at the San Diego Taiwanese Center.

I am sure you are enjoying it !
I am from the Yagyu-Shinkage ryu "lineage" myself and my time in Kendo was great fun ( though the Ryu tended to be more Kenjutsu oriented, which I prefer).

[Jimbo]

Brian, I really enjoyed your last book, and yesterday I pre-ordered this one. Thanks for the heads-up! It's always inspirational to find high-quality CMA books, which aren't the easiest types of books to come by.

[Skip J.]

Our own Brian Kennedy and his hardworking associate Elizabeth's new book is now available... according to the publisher...

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/d...583942420.html

some words from them:

"in 1909, because of their ties with the failed Boxer Rebellion and the rise of modern weaponry, Chinese martial arts were in serious danger of extinction. The Jingwu Association was formed to keep these ancient arts alive. Jingwu: The School That Transformed Kung Fu tells the story of this seminal institution. Extensively researched, the book shows Jingwu as the first public martial arts training school and the first to teach kung fu as recreation, not simply as a form of combat. It was also the first to incorporate women’s programs with men’s, and the first to use popular media to promote Chinese martial arts as both sport and entertainment. Through these efforts, the Jingwu Association helped guarantee Chinese martial arts would survive the transition from traditional to modern China.

This lively history covers the school’s tumultuous beginnings; the four historical phases of Chinese martial arts that inform it; profiles of important practitioners like Huo Yuanjia; those elements, such as the integration of women, that have made Jingwu distinctive and enduring; individual branches and practices within the larger system; and more. Rare historical documents and vintage photographs take the reader directly into one of the most fascinating and important stories in martial arts."

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GeneChing]

I'm looking forward to digging into it on the flight to Legends of Kung Fu. I won't get the chance to crack it until then. I think I'm on a flight with Lily Lau and Daniel Tomizaki.

[tommyf350]

its on my list of books im looking to purchase.

[Skip J.]

I'm looking forward to digging into it on the flight to Legends of Kung Fu. I won't get the chance to crack it until then. I think I'm on a flight with Lily Lau and Daniel Tomizaki.

Yeah, I know... broken record and all that...

I will have my copy before then, and maybe have read some of it too....

What I'm looking forward to is Brian and Elizabeth giving the true story of how Huo Yuanjia died.... Jet Li movies are great.... and Bruce Lee's movies too..... but somehow I think maybe it was romanticised a bit in the various movies????

Brian and Liz research out every link to an historical event and tell all sides of it and which in their opinion is the most likely to have happened and why.