Library

“FLORIDA WING CHUN LIBRARY – SHADOWHAND”

Here is the required reading list for students wishing to advance in the Shadowhand Wing Chun Kung Fu system.  For additional reading requirements log into the Jut Sup page.

SiFu Doc Savage

Required Reading List

All comments regarding my thoughts and opinions or my insights into these treasured classics are my own and I SiFu Doc Savage alone am responsible for its contents. Copy write 2011

The Dao of Taijiquan: Way to Rejuvenation (Tai chi) by Jou Tsung Hwa, L. Wollering, L. Elais www.amazon.com

The Dao of Taijiquan by Master, Jou, Tsung Hwa, compliments “SHADOWHAND” Wing Chun Kung Fu training or any other martial art one might practice. In that it reveals the mysteries of “Don’t Fight Force with Force”, using the ancient Taoist Philosophy of balancing the forces of Yin and Yang. Master Jou has said; “To concentrate merely on the physical aspect places limits on what one can gain from its practice”. In this age of “Everyone has the Right answers” it is up to the individual to seek out everything that can be learned from more than word of mouth. Study, Search and Test is the way to learn. Don’t be so hasty claiming “If it ain’t Wing Chun, then don’t waste your time”. Read it from cover to cover and discus it, than make up your mind. SiFu Doc Savage

Note: Jou, Tsung Hwa is also the author of The Tao of Meditation: Way to Enlightenment, and The Tao of I Ching: Way to Divination, both from Tuttle Publishing.

 

The Art of War  by Samuel B. Griffith (translator) and B. H. Liddell Hart (foreword)

How does Sun Tzu’s The Art of War apply to “SHADOWHAND” Wing Chun?

The Art of War by Sun Tzu, is timeless not only for martial arts practitioners but, the everyday person in any walk of life. The strategists of ancient China written more than 2,000 years ago, grant us insight into how to plan and direct our thoughts and actions for the benefit of others as well as ourselves.

The Art of War teaches us to be able to take a thought thru to its logical conclusion. Thereby making us all better martial artists not to mention a better person.

18. Hence the saying:  If you know the enemy

And know yourself, you need not fear the result of a

hundred battles.  If you know yourself but not the enemy,

for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will

succumb in every battle.

7. There are not more than five musical notes,

Yet the combinations of these five give rise to more

Melodies than can ever be heard.

The enemy engaged by cheng (orthodox) force, was defeated by ch’I (unorthodox, unique, rare, wonderful) force or forces.

With the proper training there comes an understanding of these phrases and how they work synergistically with everything we do in “SHADOWHAND” Wing Chun.

One should understand this. SiFu Doc Savage

 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Author), D. C. Lau (Translator) 

Traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu, it offers a model by which the individual can live. The moral code it encourages is based on modesty and self-restraint, and the rewards reaped for such a life are harmony and flow of life.

“The way” as it is referred to have many martial arts attributes hidden deep in the many metaphors and analogies.

Example: A man is supple and weak when living, but hard and stiff when dead.

Grass and trees are pliant when living, but dried and shriveled when dead.

Thus the hard and the strong are comrades of death; the supple and weak are comrades of life.

“SHADOWHAND” Wing Chun train to be comrades of life by the drills we use to teach us not  to “fight force with force” SiFu Doc Savage

The benefit of learning is, while you are on the journey, you will have a better understanding of the world, best of all, yourself. SiFu Doc Savage

 

The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman (The Way of the Warrior Series) by Takuan Soho (Author), William Scott Wilson (Translator) www.amazon.com

In any situation; life-or-death or any other uncertain position one might find themselves, where should the “SHADOWHAND” Wing Chun student put his mind?

Answer; On “No Thing”.

Students accomplish this by proper training and understanding of Wing Chun Principles.

I have taught my students; “Knowledge=Confidence/Confidence=Calmness/Calmness=Awareness/Awareness=Power.” SiFu Doc Savage

“SHADOWHAND” students train themselves to have “No Mind” Not to be distracted by flashy moves or intimidating looks. We are not apart from, but, a part of everything around us. SiFu Doc Savage


Thunder in the Sky: Secrets on the Acquisition and Exercise of Power by Thomas Cleary www.amazon.com

Understanding the development and practice of power—based on an in-depth observation of human psychology—has been a part of traditional Chinese thought for thousands of years and is considered a prerequisite for mastering the arts of strategy and leadership.

 

“SHADOWHAND” students learn the finer points of dealing with and applying “simple” solutions to seemingly complex problems. Without conversation and constructive ideas, between people, one finds themselves into many arguments. SiFu Doc Savage

 

How To Think Straight: An Introduction to Critical Reasoning by Anthony Flew www.amazon.com

Practical reasoning and clear thinking are essential for everyone if we are to make sense of the information we receive each day. Being able to quickly know the difference between valid and invalid arguments, the contradictory versus the contrary, vagueness and ambiguity, contradiction and self-contradiction, the truthful and the fallacious, separates clear thinkers from the crowd.

“How to Think Straight” lays the foundation for critical reasoning by showing many ways in which our thinking goes awry.

‘How to Think Straight’ instructs on the many and varied faults that occur in argument, the power of reason, how to challenge assertions and find evidence, and how not to be persuaded by half-truths, also examines poor reasoning, and why we should be concerned with finding the truth. This enlightening study will help you develop the skills necessary to argue and reason effectively by following a few simple, easy-to-remember directions.

I could not have said it better myself. SiFu Doc Savage

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SiFu Doc Savage is currently located in Fort Walton Beach, FL and primarily teaches this art to Florida Wing Chun enthusiasts.  Others from states within the USA have arranged and fulfilled private instruction befitting their schedule to attain this powerful knowledge.  

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