An American's Journey to the Shaolin Temple

I am mainly a karate, kali/escrima, and chin na (which is also part of kung fu, especially styles like eagle claw, tiger claw, and praying mantis styles) student and teacher, but I really enjoyed this book, as I also study Hung Gar kung fu and tai chi and have been exposed to several other styles of kung fu in the past, such as 7-star praying mantis, wing chun, white crane, northern ching kung, and southern black tiger. I'm no master of kung fu, just an enthusiastic and interested student who appreciates the historical as well as martial and technical importance of the Chinese arts and whose karate reflects their influence, as my karate is quite a bit more fluid and flowing than your typical karateist (although without sacrificing speed and power and focus, which is what I specialize in training advanced students and black belts on). Although I claim no great skill at kung fu, my kung fu teachers have said the way I'm applying the principles to my karate is very valid and the modifications I've made have their full approval and blessing (and, before anyone says anything, my fellow karate teachers usually like my karate too, and some of them are my students). Before getting into my own comments about the book, I noted the previous very negative review, saying DeMasco doesn't do the stances properly and uses the wrong names, but I was already aware of most of those points, but the reviewer is technically correct although I must point out that since DeMasco is a direct student of Tak Wah Eng, who certainly knows what he's doing, I'm inclined to give DeMasco the benefit of the doubt in regard to his overall level of knowledge and skill. For example, when he was training at the school and the students were asked anyone knew and could demonstrate the iron wire form, only DeMasco stepped forward and was able to perform it. My only concern is whether the monks are practicing real kung fu these days or wu su. Although wu su has become the national sport of China, it's not the same as kung fu. I understand that some styles, such as eagle claw, have basically died out on the mainland, and that the only instructors are either in Taiwan, or in the U.S., such as Lily Lau or Dr. Yang Jwing Ming. I have three video tapes of monks at the southern Songshan Shaolin monastery doing their forms, which confirmed this suspicion, as they are wu su, not kung fu. I don't recall which monastery DeMasco visited on his trip to China, perhaps it was the northern monastery, and things are better there. But getting back to the book, part travelogue, part autobiography, and part martial arts manual, in this book master Stephen DeMasco gives the student some of the essence of his 30 years of experience and training in the martial arts and kung fu. DeMasco first regales the reader with stories of how he first became involved with kung fu (he was turned away at the door of the studio or kwoon for 5 years, but persisted and was finally allowed to train). The story of how he cam

Extremely fascinating to read.