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Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Smith
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $4.90
You Save: $11.05 (69%)
New (19) Used (8) Collectible (1) from $4.89
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 603593
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2 Sub
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.9 x 0.5
ISBN: 155643085X
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.8153
EAN: 9781556430855
ASIN: 155643085X
Publication Date: January 26, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: In stock - Sent fast from British booksellers.
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Product Description
Distilling the martial art known in the West as kung fu, Robert Smith presents Chinese boxing (ch’uan shu) as an art “that combines the hardness of a wall and the softness of a butterfly’s wings.” His lively, pragmatic account conveys the discipline and insights acquired in ten years of study and travel in Asia. Smith describes his work with t’ai chi master Cheng Man-ch’ing, and connects ch’uan shu with the softer aspects and inner power of that popular practice. Fifty black and white photos illustrate this informative and personal account of the Chinese boxing tradition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
Chinese Boxing October 22, 2008
James Fortinberry (Tampa)
Excellent book! Numerous fascinating characters. Reading about Smith living in Taiwan and searching these guys out to get to train and learn from them was very interesting. Throughout my own experience reading the book I would continually confront myself with the fact that I was stationed in Taichung in the mid-70s and many of these individuals would have been there at that very time while I was completely oblivious to it.
This extremely interesting book presents just what the title promises: it discusses the masters; it discusses the methods. (It helps clarify the use of some terms, too.) You also get, in numerous instances, the 'family tree' as it pertains to who was trained by this master, who was trained by that one, and so on. These martial artists are often so different from each other as well. You get the guy who looks like an athlete gone to seed, complete with booze and smokes, who hurts you even when he's pulling his punches along with the 120-pounder that you can't move when you are "pushing hands."
If you are interested in the subject, you will definitely like the book!
 Interesting read, although lacking in accuracy. August 15, 2008
Bryan A. Baskett (Mansfield, TX USA)
The author's information on Shuai Chiao is errant. He states that "Shuai Chiao is defective in that sweeps are not in it's repertoire", I would offer that Master "Shang" (I think he is refering to late Grandmaster Ch'ang Tung-sheng) only taught him a limited number of Shuai Chiao techniques. Shuai Chiao is indeed a complete system, teaching kicks, sweeps, joint locking, punches and throws, emphasis on throwing. As for Shuai Chiao not "evolving", as a complete martial art, there is no evolving that needs to take place. In regards to Shuai Chiao's effectiveness against Judo, I can state from first hand experience (I trained in Judo for 8 years while living in Japan and participated in numerous Judo competitions) that Shuai Chiao is very effective against even the most senior of Judoka, and can be preformed just as effectively in a Judo gi as the tighter fitting short sleeved Shuai Chiao jacket.
In fact the technique I found MOST effective against Judoka was the Shuai Chiao leg sweeping technique "jian twei".
Sifu Bryan Baskett
1989 U.S. Middle Weight National Champion - Shuai Chiao
Pretty good January 11, 2007
Mark Twain (Roma)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is o.k. I guess. It is quite interesting although a bit superficial. The biggest regret is that the author concentrates his studies almost exclusively on internal northern systems, mostly Hsing I, Bagua and Tai Chi. Apart from that, it's quite an entertaining book if you are interested in the subject of Chinese martial arts masters.
 Superb August 16, 2006
Ralph Kinetsuke (Athens, GA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The author, a US government employee, arrived in Taiwan when that nation's government was extremely grateful to the US. He was given introductions to many of the leading Chinese martial artists of the time, and took up every one -- adding what they had to teach him to what he had learned earlier in the US and during a posting in Japan. Virtually all of the masters he describes in the book are dead and no longer available for interview. His accounts of what he saw, heard and experienced can never be matched, and Asian principles of loyalty to a single master mean that nobody other than he was able to study as widely from the leading teachers of the day. The more you learn personally about Chinese boxing, the better this book shows itself to be. For those on the first steps of this study, the book's a profound inspiration.
 Biased and arrogant! June 8, 2006
Steve FInch (Beijing, Beijing China)
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
Once I finished reading this book, Robert W Smith made a really terrible impression as both an individual, a writer and a martial artist. He writes and communicates in an arrogant and conceted manner. However his book on Baguazhang was a lot better. This book is a waste of money, though you will find out what one American thinks, if that is what you want. His attitudes about chinese martial arts on Taiwan and on China are biased. He just seems to really dislike China.
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