This book addresses how to explore, generate and control energies not usually available to humans. 190 photographs and step-by-step instruction in two of the most influential and powerful training systems ever handed down: Shipalohanshou/18 Methods of the Enlightened Ones and Yijinjing/Muscle-Sinew Changing. It offers integrated training for those who wish to do the work of improving cerebral functions, coming to full understanding of the human experience, and maintaining multi-level health. It is based on the training methods from ancient India and China, as experienced by the founder of Chan/Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma (Tamo) as he grew into adulthood and spiritual maturity. The Patriarch of Zen was considered a dangerous rebel by the status quo, and for good reason: his approach to human development rejected authority outside of oneself, including scripture and officials. Officials/Intellectuals within the Buddhist hierarchy have always had a hard time with Tamo's methods of direct pointing.

For instructors of non-sport martial training, this Master's Manual details 340 duan chuan fa or "Short Fist" extremely aggressive and terminal close range fighting techniques, maneuvers and strategies against specific aggressions. As this is oriented toward seasoned instructors, no photos are included, nor are they necessary with the detailed written directions. This is not "self defense" material: that is not its genesis and it is patently inappropriate for those who do not train seriously.The techniques present combinations of throws, locks, breaks, holds, chops, kicks, punches and other strikes arranged in 11 levels of belt ranks up to 5th Black, as presently used in the Chuan Fa Kenpo system. Each technique will easily suggest 10 optional and equally effective maneuvers, i.e. these are "seeds" for dynamic, adaptive responses. There has been a deliberate attempt in the Manual's layout to allow room for you to leave tracks as you modify these seminal maneuvers.

Would our world be a better place if some of us were benders? Can Katara repair the world through care? Is Toph a disability pride icon? What does it mean for Zuko to be bad at being good? Can we tell whether uncle Iroh is a fool or a sage? The world is out of sorts. The four nations, Water, Earth, Fire, and Air, are imbalanced because of the unrelenting conquest of the Fire Nation. The only one who can restore balance to the world is the Avatar. On the face of it, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a story about a lone superhero. However, saving the world is a team effort, embodied in Team Avatar, aka the Gaang. Aang needs help from his friends and tutors, even from non-human animals. Through the teachings of Guru Pathik and Huu he comes to realize that though the world and its nations seem separate, we are all one people. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree. Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy brings to the fore the Eastern, Western, and Indigenous philosophies that are implicit in the show. Following Uncle Iroh’s advice that it is important to draw wisdom from many traditions, this volume features contributions by experts on Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian, and Indigenous schools of thought, next to focusing on Western classical authors such as Plotinus, Kant, and Merleau-Ponty. The volume is also unique in drawing on less common traditions such as black abolitionism, anarchism, and the philosophy of martial arts. Intertwining experience and reflection, ATLA and Philosophy helps readers to deeply engage with today’s burning questions, such as how to deal with ecological destruction, the aftermath of colonialism and genocide, and wealth inequality, using the tools from a wide range of philosophical traditions.

For instructors of non-sport martial training, this Sifu or Sensei's handbook offers a “seed repository” of 340 duanda chuan or “Short Fist” techniques against specific aggressions. The techniques are detailed step-by-step verbally;no photos are used--nor should they be necessary for the experienced teacher.The thinking instructor will appreciate the possibilities of this well-organized curriculum. Extremely aggressive and terminal techniques are detailed step-by-step. This is not “self defense” material: that is not its genesis and it is patently inappropriate for those who do not train seriously.The techniques present combinations of throws, locks, breaks, holds, chops, kicks, punches and other strikes arranged in 11 levels of belt ranks up to 5th Black, as presently used in the Shaolin Chuan Fa Kenpo system. The first four levels (White, Blue, 2nd Degree Green, 1st Degree Green) concentrate on dealing with how to deal with holds and locks, and leave the assailant down-and-out in the process. Although some time is spent on defending against fist and leg attacks, not until the following two levels (3rd Brown and 2nd Brown) will such challenges be studied. The seventh and eighth belt levels (1st Brown and 1st Degree Black) then concentrate almost exclusively on resolving multiple opponent and weapon attacks. And finally, the defense curriculum of the last three belts (2nd through 4th Black) elicits longer and more complex responses, drawing on the incremented training of the previous levels.These maneuvers insist on development of the capacity for fluid adaptation according to circumstance, practitioner, and opponent. Adaptability and resourcefulness are sought, not robotic responses. The idea here is to place the onus of responsibility directly on the practitioner--where it belongs. Each technique will easily suggest 10 optional and equally effective maneuvers. That's what I mean by saying these are “seeds.” There has been a deliberate attempt in the Manual's layout to allow room for you to leave tracks as you modify these seminal suggestions.PRIME PRINCIPLE: maximize body-mind powerChuan Fa Kenpo is a combat orientated method developed with one purpose in mind: destroying the enemy. Based on close range fighting techniques, maneuvers and strategies, it specializes in combining whole-body power into a central path. The style functions at all angles and distances; however due to its striking methodology, maximum power is reached through short-range attacks.

Ellis Amdur's writing on martial arts has been groundbreaking. In Dueling with O-sensei, he challenged practitioners that the moral dimension of martial arts is expressed in acts of integrity, not spiritual platitudes and the deification of fantasized warrior-sages. In Old School, he applied both academic rigor and keen observation towards some of the classical martial arts of Japan, leavening his writing with vivid descriptions of many of the actual practitioners of these wonderful traditions. His first edition of Hidden in Plain Sight was a discussion of esoteric training methods once common, but now all but lost within Japanese martial arts. These methodologies encompassed mental imagery, breath-work, and a variety of physical techniques, offering the potential to develop skills and power sometimes viewed as nearly superhuman. Usually believed to be the provenance of Chinese martial arts, Amdur asserted that elements of such training still remain within a few martial traditions: literally, 'hidden in plain sight.' Two-thirds larger, this second edition is so much more. Amdur digs deep into the past, showing the complexity of human strength, its adaptation to varying lifestyles, and the nature of physical culture pursued for martial ends. Amdur goes into detail concerning varieties of esoteric power training within martial arts, culminating in a specific methodology known as 'six connections' or 'internal strength.' With this discussion as a baseline, he then discusses the transfer of esoteric power training from China to various Japanese jujutsu systems as well as Japanese swordsman-ship emanating from the Kurama traditions. Finally, he delves into the innovative martial tradition of Daito-ryu and its most important offshoot, aikido, showing how the mercurial, complicated figures of Takeda Sokaku and Morihei Ueshiba were less the embodiment of something new, than a re-imagining of their past.

This chi kung set is a complex one, with both physical and internal movements. It is not physically difficult, but the length of time required to pay attention to the subtle movements of the various energies is a suitable task for advanced students of the arts. This second manual is a capstone to the tripartite training (18 Hands of the Lohan, Muscle-Tendon Changes, and Marrow Washing) as handed down by Bodhidharma at Shaolin Songshan Temple, ca. 530 A.D. See my first manual for a treatment of the first two systems. "Returning to Source" refers to the conscious use of Original Heavenly Tien Chi and Earth Di Chi to renew your own chi and return to a natural, balanced state. From that point of balance you have access to a conscious modification of your DNA. How? By generating and guiding these energy sources of light into your muscles-organs-meridians, then pumping and packing the chi into your bones, into your marrow (includes your brain!), and then washing your genetic helixes with that light. When we practice these integrated and open-ended systems of training, we reside within the realm of non-Aristotelian, non-Cartesian evidence, a locus that connects all possibilities of human existence simultaneously. We as traditional, classical martial artists don't need no stinking badges from modern science to experience the truth of the matter: 1) We are responsible for our own existence, and 2) We can energetically control both our present and future genetic states. We don't need to ask permission to grow beyond the boundaries of our previous experiences or beyond our culture. Or even beyond our genomes. Have you considered how your training influences your genetic drift? We don't need to leave our future to the vagaries of "drift." Nor remain at the mercy of the pathetically inferior path of modern society, with its dependence on accepting central authorities outside of oneself (central message from Bodhidharma!). Clamoring and clawing through a life of getting and spending, accepting tidbits tossed to you by elitists swayed by destructive myopia, massive ignorance, and out-of control egos, is no life, but a hell. The original impetus for sacred warriorhood-indeed, the worthwhile goal of all complete martial training-was and is to wake up. That is, by means of cathartic mind and body activities, to live with clarity. Switch on your own light.

Spiritual Dimensions of the Martial Arts is a study of the meditative and religious elements that form the core of the great martial arts traditions. Unsurpassed in scope and detail, the book covers the spiritual beliefs and the practices of the fighting arts of India, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, and the United States. Subjects discussed include Bruce Lee's unique views on spirituality and meditation, rituals used to induce altered states of consciousness in Indonesian Pencak-Silat, the unusual relationship of Korea's Hwarang warriors to Mahayana Buddhism, the importance of Buddhist ritual in Muay Thai, the role of African mystic beliefs and Christianity in the practice of Capoeira, spiritual practices in the Filipino martial arts, the significance of Zen and esoteric Buddhism to the Samurai, the relationship of Indian martial arts to Yoga, the impact of Daoist concepts on the Chinese martial arts, and psychological development and martial arts training.