Lesley Jackson delves into a chunky read for the internal martial artist. The chapters vary like a variety bag of sweets as they range from the practical, the interesting and just plain mumbo jumbo.
Nei Jia Quan
Publisher: Blue Snake Books (2007 – second edition)Pages: 395 pages Languages: English RRP: £15.99
Book Review:
Picking up this book, and it is quite a book at a hefty 400 pages, was like dipping into a bag of Revels. You could dip your hand in hoping for an orange centre and when you bit into the little chocolate treat, you were never quite sure if you were going to get the satisfying tang of the orange fondant middle or crack your tooth on a peanut. Or even worse, get a coffee cream. It was much the same with reading this book. When I picked it up, I knew that I was going to have to swallow a thick chunk of the internal martial arts and myself being a Taekwondo-ist, having to swallow several times being told that everything I do I rubbish. However, much like the bag of chocolates that I always buy at the petrol station, this book’s chapters had a mixture of centres that were either orange or coffee.
We start with an introduction from the book’s editor, Jess O’Brien, himself a practising internal martial artist. As he rightly points out, with the advent of the internet and much improved communications the mystery of the Chinese martial arts “is now much more mundane.” We are then offered sixteen chapters by prominent American and Chinese internal practitioners from a variety of the different styles. The one thing that they tended to have in common was they preached, “people who pursue internal martial arts are often more interested in gaining knowledge about themselves than in looking for a fight.” The general theme of this book is about the importance of internal power over external force and this is what is to be expected in this type of text. However, after reading basically the same argument but in twelve slightly different ways, even the most patient of book reviewer’s eyes could swivel to the back of one’s head.
Some chapters that did stand out were those that strayed off the path of chi, qi or tan tien and either recounted some anecdotes of their life or discussed the practical applications of their martial art. The first chapter by Tim Cartmell is a strong start as he provides a discussion of what the martial arts are actually used for. He even dares to challenge the assumption of softness in internal styles when he asserts, “You can wave your hands around all day and try to cultivate your qi and do all that, then when you get on the mat with a guy that’s well trained, you’ll get your ass kicked.” His refreshing view of the practical purpose of a martial art is countered by the uber-aesetic Gabriel Chin, whose bizarre claims that “This thing performs miracles” as his healing powers of Tai Ji could cure a man’s severed hand. One of the most entertaining chapters came from a wizened Chinese man called James Wing Woo who recounted the time he met Bruce Lee. He had a dim view of the star’s martial art as he declared, ““But he was a horrible martial artist! All of that Jeet Kune Do, I call it BS!”
Chris Crudelli Tai Chi Fighting Tutorial
In a special video tutorial, Martial Edge met with BBC TV presenter and martial arts guide Chris Crudelli to discuss the deadly combat applications of the graceful Chinese art of Tai Chi. Our mission: to find out just how affective Tai Chi is as a self defense system.
For the internal martial artist, this book provides a chunky read from some impressive practitioners in their field. If you are not an internal specialist then you will pick up some gems, particularly in the chapter by William Lewis, but you will have to wade through some airy-fairy detail to get there.
Lesley Jackson delves into a chunky read for the internal martial artist. The chapters vary like a variety bag of sweets as they range from the practical, the interesting and just plain mumbo jumbo.
Add as favourites (6) | 
Quote this article on your site | Views: 83
