Ron Sieh

There may be no one in the world better at teaching martial arts to pre-teens and teenagers than Ron Sieh. Not just martial arts but values, heart, courage, a sense of humor, a way to turn bullying and teaing into reconcilation and fun. And that's because he is a big zen kid himself. Sieh is the antidote to Columbine and the dark Goth disembodied culture of so many of today's youth. He is 'bad' himself, but in a way that allows life and hope. His message is: do the form right because it is your form, kid, no one else's.

Sieh's teaching is a mixture of Jet Li and a Roadrunner cartoon. He will unexpectedly spin his forearm like a propellor, point to the ceiing an then, when you look up, lay a soft punch on your nose:

'Zap! Nailed again, big buddy! I'm trying to get you to be the best you can, but you obviously have some other agenda. Every time you let something slide by into unconscioiusness, you're doing that. And we're practicing something else. Hey, dangerous art! Wake up! This is real. Faster is not the issue. Stay in control. Hands out, dude! Move your left foot. No, your other left foot. Yowee! Don't have a plan. Render my actions obsolete by your actions. Was that pure muscle or mystical willpower? Just because you made a nice move is no excuse to drop your guard. Today I'm going to be...the cloud man. Take your head out of the way-duh! Don't squeeze your thumb in your fist, you dope. You'll break your thumb. Truce.'

Of his previous book, T'ai Chi Ch'uan: The Internal Tradition, a reviewer at Prediction Magazine wrote: 'This is simply the best book I have ever read on any martial art.' Now the gentle boxer man is back with a new four de force.

Ron Sieh is the director of the Wu Wei School of Martial Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Contents

An angry young man
Being alive
New schools
Being awake
Back to California
Reining in the fear
Magic and paradox
Some Internal practices
Martial arts as I teach it… (altro)

Martial Arts for Beginners is an overview of the martial arts of China, Okinawa, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brazil-their history, mythology, and technique, along with their evolutions from life-and-death fighting arts to 'sports' (and sometimes back again!). This unique book answers questions about the 'Arts' that most of us are too naive to ask, like:

What do all the martial arts have in common?
What are their differences?
What separates the so-called 'hard style' and 'soft style?'
The 'internal' and 'external?'

The author also makes a distinction between martial arts for competition, spiritual development, and learning how to fight (not that these are necessarily separate categories). The book also includes little-known, practical information like:

How does an experienced martial artist know when it's time for a new teacher?
Why you should 'interview' several instructors before committing to one.
Aikido, a martial art so gentle that you take pains not to hurt your attacker, has one of the highest injury rates for someone learning the art.

Perhaps even more improant, Martial arts for Beginners effortlessly shows how the mind-skills you develop from the right kind of martial art are exactly the skills required to live your life like: focusing your attention, avoiding distraction, the cost of misreading people and situations. Prediction Magazine called Ron Sieh's last book 'simply the best book I have ever read on any martial art.' This book is even better.

Contents

Introduction
Internal or external; Soft or hard
1 China
Northern or Southern?
Northern styles of Shaolin
External and internal
Internal arts
T'ai chi
Yang style history
Cheng Man Ching
Wu style
Yin and yang
Solo and two-person work
Hsing I Ch'uan
Pakua
Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do
2 Okinawa
Training and ranking
The way
3 Japan
Jiu jitsu
Weapons
Judo
Aikido
4 Philippines
5 Brazil
6 Korea
7 Thailand
8 Ninjutsu
9 Indonesia
About the author and illustrator
Index… (altro)

'After studying Ron Sieh's book (and trying a few maneuvers in front of the mirror), I feel I could take on two if not three of New York's top-flight muggers. Surely a classic in its field.'-George Plimpton, author of Out of My League and Shadow Box

'While an excellent primer for students of t'ai chi ch'uan, this book has much to offer other martial artists as well as students of life,'-Richard Heckler, author of Aikido and The New Warrior and In Search of the Warrior Spirit

'This clear and insightful approach to t'ai chi weaves mindfulness and body presence through stages of training and development of technique. Ron's inquiry into the 'fighting' aspect makes the emphasis on the internal or feeling style a powerful tool for bringing more integrity and clarity into our lives.'-Wendy Palmer, author of The Intuitive Body

'A fascinating and useful introduction to the martial arts-all of them-by a passionate practitioner of t'ai chi ch'uan.'-George Leonard, author of The Ultimate Athlete and Mastery

'I think it is time that t'ai chi enthusiasts of all schools begin to take stock of what the art is really about...to move the whole field and study on to something even more real, powerful and honest han what we have been doing up to now. Rkon has truly made this his task. Bravo! And like all good teachers he ocontinues to push on. Well done!-Peter Ralston, founder of Cheng Hsin School; author of Cheng Hsin: The Principles of Effortless Power

Ron Sieh founded the Minneapolis School of Internal Martial Arts. He now teaches t'a chi ch'uan and general internal martial practice in the Bay Area

Contents

Preface, by Peter Ralston
Introduction
Introduction to t'ai chi ch'uan
Ch'i and the internal martial arts
Relaxation
Mindfulness
Feeling
Perception
Ego
Groundedness
Sinking
Wu wei t'ai chi ch'uan
Technique
The game
Afterword… (altro)