Gate of Nine Dragons—Searching for Kung Fu(尋找功夫的英文版)

作者:Laurence Brahm
出版日期:2024年8月
定價:HK$158
頁數:332頁
裝幀:精裝
開本:32
語種:英文版
ISBN:9789888869657

The first part of this book Searching for Kung Fu recalls my own journey over decades in the search for both the most traditional Kung Fu practices and the philosophical teachings embedded within. It begins as a teenager studying Karate in America, learning from one of the great Okinawa masters Shihon Kenneth Funakoshi. Realizing that the root of Karate is actually Kung Fu, the journey brought me to China, to the legendary Shaolin Monastery seeking the source of Kung Fu. During these years I have had the opportunity and privilege to train under many of China’s great masters whose stories and philosophies are imparted in this book. I am sharing the story of my journey, as it is really the shared journey of every martial artist.  

 

The second part of this book The Gate of Nine Dragons reflects nine key Kung Fu principles presented through the traditional “Nine Dragon Sons.” These are nine Kung Fu concepts that can be understood as a code shared by and belonging to every school of martial arts. As a code this set of nine principles represent a set of integrated mind-set values that we can adopt in our daily lives: Perseverance, Loyalty, Balance, Change, Centering, Harmony, Flow, Emptiness, Non-violence.

 

These nine Kung Fu principles can be understood as nine stages of training, nine aspects of Chinese philosophy, or nine values shared by martial artists offered here as a code.

Laurence Brahm

 

Laurence Brahm is an explorer, author, and international award-winnning film director and producer. He is the founder of Shambhala Studio, specializing in films related to Himalaya culture and Asian martial arts. He is a Fifth Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, a fourth generation lineage holder in Zhangjia Kungfu, and has extensive training experience in Wing Chun, Qigong and Shaolin Five Animal Neigong. He is also a deep practioner of Tibetan Secret Yoga. Between 2017-2024, he has produced and directed three documentaries on the life of the Lotus Born Master, together with three science fiction films on the Shambhala prophecies. Together this film series has won over thirty international film festival awards. He has also directed and produced films on Kung Fu, including the award winning Searching for Kung Fu documentary and The Karate Source. He is also a senior international researcher at the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank. He serves as a policy advisor expert at the China Foreign Experts Bureau, is an international conflict resolution lawyer, and an environmentalist.

Preface I     iii

Preface II    v

The Gate of Nine Dragons: An Anonymous Story          1

INTRODUCTION  The Kung Fu Code: Gate of Nine Dragons       10

 

PART I: SEARCHING FOR KUNG FU

Remembering Master Pi 20

My First Lesson of Zen  25

My First Lesson of Yin and Yang      31

Viennese Ball or Vietnamese Brawl?          38

We Need Kung Fu Diplomacy to Re-Start China-USA Relations      41

Lessons of Tai Chi and Praying Mantis       44

Secrets Revealed at a Manchurian Summer Palace        48

Bodhidharma, Zen and the Martial Arts      53

Pilgrimage to Shaolin      57

Kung Fu Movies and Street Fight Training With KC Wong    63

Huo Yuanjia and My First Lesson in “Ren” (忍)    68

Bruce Lee and the Huo Yuanjia Legend      72

Returning to the USA     75

The Search Begins          77

Karate Kid   81

Kenneth Funakoshi          84

Karate Lawyer      90

Searching for Kung Fu   94

I Want to Walk Again, Then Punch and Kick       96

Karate Girl  104

Zheng Qing Guan (Martial Arts Studio of Righteousness and Clarity)        109

Internal Qi—From Hard to Soft and Soft to Hard           111

Karate’s Roots in Shaolin      114

Shaolin Five Animal Forms and the Art of Qi      120

Zhang Family Kung Fu  128

Gate of Three Purities     131

The Art of Cultivating Qi         135

 

Part II: THE GATE OF NINE DRAGONS

Level I EARTH“地”

The First Dragon Gate: PERSEVERANCE 忍    144

Returning to Shaolin       146

Spirit of Ren (忍) Perseverance        150

Understanding Ren (忍) Perseverance        155

Ninjitsu—Ultimate Ren 157

Visualization and the Martial Arts     160

Shaolin as Origin of Ninjitsu    163

The Second Dragon Gate: LOYALTY 忠 166

Outlaws of the Marsh     168

Earning Respect    170

Returning Home   172

Becoming a Disciple       173

Entering the Gate  175

The Legend of White Eyebrow          177

Loyalty Sometimes Means Fighting the Impossible        182

The Third Dragon Gate: BALANCE 平     185

Finding Bodhidharma Balance at Shaolin    187

Cultivating Balance, Finding Your Roots    189

The Five Elements and Hsing Yi Quan (形意拳)           193

Yue Fei: Legendary Founder of the Hsing Yi Quan Lineage   196

Hsing Yi Quan Legends in Old Beijing       198

Chinese Medicine and Five Elements          201

Level II HUMANITY“人”

The Fourth Dragon Gate: CHANGE 易     206

The Fuxi’s Bagua        208

The Baguazhang Emerges from I-Ching     210

The Dong Haichuan Legand    212

Baguazhang in Honolulu           214

Learning Baguazhang in Beijing        217

Understanding the Nature of Change 221

The Fifth Dragon Gate: CENTERING 中  223

Finding the Sifu    225

The Legend of Wing Chun       228

Evolution of Wing Chun           231

Wing Chun Goes from Foshan to Hong Kong Then Global     234

The Centerline Approach          238

Being Centered and the Middle Way 239

The Sixth Dragon Gate: HARMONY 和   242

Going from Hard to Soft          244

Go Slow to Go Fast        247

Chen Family Clan and Tai Chi           249

Tai Chi Comes to Beijing, Goes Global       254

Yin-Yang Harmony        257

Level III  HEAVEN“天”

The Seventh Dragon Gate: FLOW 無        261

Temple of White Clouds           262

The Gate Nobody Enters          264

Flow—Be Like Water    266

Jeet Kune Do—The Way of the Intercepting Fist 268

Becoming Formless        270

Being in the Mindset of Flow  274

The Eighth Dragon Gate: EMPTINESS 空          277

The Black Stele Tablet   279

Going from Form, to Formless, to Empty   282

Emptying the Mind         284

The Tao of Qi        286

Qigong—The Power of Breathing     288

Transformation When Breath Becomes Qi 289

Bodhidharma—Patriarch of the Martial Arts         292

Bodhidharma’s Last Lesson at Shaolin—Be Empty    294

The Ninth Dragon Gate: NON-VIOLENCE 武   296

Wushu Means Non-Violence    298

Supreme Martial Arts—Win Without Fighting      301

Amidst the Mists of Shaolin     303

Conclusion: The Kung Fu Code         307 

結論:功夫密碼  221