How can you not like a Sifu — “master” — who drinks beer and champagne and calls these drinks “special water” and “very special water?” Ming comes across as a very likable person and this likeability makes you believe in what he says.
Bottom Line: This book offers something for everybody. Even if you really don’t intend on trying any of Sifu’s positions, The Shaolin Workout provides practical and historical information about Buddhists, their traditions and philosophies, and how kung fu is an integral part of the Buddhist way of life. Sifu talks about how kung-fu “teaches you that it is through the serious training that you develop the physical and mental lightness to fully appreciate the beautiful gift that is your life.
"The discipline leads to joy, and the joy in turn leads to discipline.” This philosophy can and should be applied to any exercise program, so even if you don’t follow Sifu’s program, you can apply his philosophy to your workout. Buy this book.
For all of you who may be interested, I’ll reinforce some of the points I’ve made above and provide you with some additional tidbits of info about The Shaolin Workout.
The physical appearance of The Shaolin Workout is impressive and obviously a lot of care was put into making this book. It is the best-looking exercise book I have seen. There are great pictures of Sifu –- who bears an uncanny resemblance to Sulu from Star Trek -– as he poses in front of the New York City skyline and Coney Island. The photo demonstrations for the various poses that make up his program are clear and concise.
The program itself is very straightforward, as Sifu does a great job of describing the proper form to use for his positions. Some of these positions are very complex, but with practice and patience you should be able to follow Sifu’s instructions and get into the proper positions.
This 28-day program starts off slow. Some of the moves towards the end of program are very difficult and will give almost everybody a lot of trouble, but in a good way. My recommendation is, at about session 13, perform each session twice before moving on. Sifu himself recommends that you are better off taking your time and perfecting early movements, and that this slower pace is preferable to skipping ahead without mastering the basics.
Framing this workout in the 28-day time frame is one of my criticisms of the book. I understand the nature of marketing and all of that, but it would have been nice to see this program put forth in such a manner where the gimmick is that there is no gimmick. There is no way beginners or people who are not in shape will be able to perform most of these positions in 15-minutes or be able to “get it” after doing them for one day.
Article comments
1 - Snarkattack
Heh heh, most amusing review, you actually make me want to buy the damn book. That and the fact that Sifu calls beer and champagne 'special water' and 'very special water' respectively. Clearly a top bloke.
The Iron Egg?! Could such an exercise really exist?
2 - sal m
snark:
my feelings exactly...i still don't understand how people refer to the scrotal area as the "groin."
3 - Victor Plenty
Perhaps because a warrior who gets kicked in the groin will quite often, for at least a few moments, find his awareness intensely focused on the scrotal area.
(Unless of course the warrior in question happens to be female.)
4 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
5 - gonzo marx
most Excellent review....
/golfclap
as for the "Iron Egg"...some of the more esoteric Shao Lin Chi Kung is fucking amazing...
but i digress
..:::bows, hand over fist:::..
Excelsior?
6 - Snarkattack
Hey Victor - as I was told by self-defence trainers in high school, women do have a lot of nerve endings in the groin area, so it will hurt like hell if a female receives a kick in that area, just thought I'd add that in. Despite lack of scrotal area.
Sal - I forgot to say that your review really sells the book. Had it not been for reading your (excellent) review, I most likely would've dismissed this as a fad-type exercise regime. My bad. But I can admit it, too quick to judge.
7 - Christopher Rose
I can confirm that. I once accidentally kneed a woman in the crutch and it really hurt her. I still feel her pain!
8 - sal m
snark:
thanks for the high praise....and there's no reason to apologize for having low expectations when it comes to the health and fitness materials...most people who operate in the business of fitness are looking to make a fast buck without really having much to say...this book is a welcome counter to current trend.
9 - Victor Plenty
Please note I never said a female would feel no pain, only that in the case of a female warrior, "his awareness intensely focused on the scrotal area" would not accurately describe the results of a kick to the groin.
It's also worth noting that a warrior woman wishing to toughen up the groin area against kicks and punches will have to find some other exercise to do it. The "Iron Egg" sounds even more likely to cause lasting damage to a woman than to a man.
Getting away from the groin for a moment, I did want to ask Sal whether the Shaolin Workout includes that exercise where you use your forearms to pick up an urn filled with red hot coals, or the one where you try to walk across rice paper without leaving a mark, or the one where you snatch a pebble from the trainer's hand.
10 - Mohjho
I guess my questions would be: Does this book contain something new or unique from the hundreds of other martial arts books that have been written?
Would I keep this on my shelf for frequent reference?
Remember, you cant separate a chinese (or any other) martial artist from the "mystical mumbo-jumbo" that that the teacher has grown up with.
And the question I would ask Shi Yan Ming is "why do Buddhists learn to fight?"
Just curious.
11 - sal m
victor:
the book is geared to teaching the fundamentals of kung fu to beginners or the uninitiated...that being said, i think that the book offers a lot for people who are into working out - regardless of their philosophy - because there are valuable items to cull from sifu's presentation.
mohjho:
as i mention in the begining of the review this book is geared to those who aren't already familiar with kung fu, as sifu's goal is to give us the fundamentals - as he sees them - that we'll need in order to continue beyond this introductory program.
since this book is introductory in nature it probably doesn't offer anything to those who are already familiar with kung fu.
and sifu ming makes it clear that while he doesn't teach kung fu to be offensive, but to prepare people to defend themselves when the time comes.
12 - Mohjho
Thanks sal, good writeup.
When you wrote this book has something for everybody, I thought it was maybe deaper than a begginers book. My missunderstanding.
13 - gonzo marx
Mohjho...
might i Suggest that even those proficient in their technique can learn much from the Root offered by a direct disciple of Shao Lin temple?
for those Interested in something in addition to, or for deeper Study... might i offer Dr. Yang Jwing Ming's book "Shao Lin Chin Na"...there are newer volumes he has written....divided between Comprehension and Analysis...but that was the Original work and quite Comprehensive, imho
for sheer Work Out books combining chinese gung fu and physical training in the Advanced category...
"the Tao of Jeet Kune Do" by Bruce Lee has not only much to offer in deepening understanding of Martial Arts, but has Sifu's own workout regimen in detail...
and THAT will challenge even the most Advanced in their pursuit of physical training...
your mileage may vary
Excelsior?
14 - sal m
and even though this book is geared for beginners, most people who do train using some method or another can get a lot of mileage out of the positions sifu presents.
i do a lot of kettlebell training and see a great deal of complementary movements between these two kinds of methods. the kb work certainly will aid the martial artist, and the martial arts basics will certainly aid anyone interested in improving whatever it is that they are already into.
15 - Mohjho
Gonzo
I guess you aswered my question. The problem with martial arts books is that there are so many of them and that the same underlying pricipals are explained in so many.
I agree, "the Tao of Jeet Kune Do" is one of my first and best loved books on technique and philosophy. I also read "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi and Tai Chi Classics among others.
The best part of these types of books, is that the lessons they teach are not just for martial arts, but life in gerneral.
It is not clear how much 'root' is explained in the book reviewed, however you are right to look into anything that a direct disciple of Shao Lin temple has written. Nothing to loose, so much to gain.
16 - gonzo marx
no problem Mohjho...
if you enjoyed the Tai Chi classics..might i highly re-reccomend the book by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming...he is considered quite proficient in Tai Chi, among other Studies...and the Chin Na book gives a certain Depth to the studies
/bows, hand over fist
Excelsior?
17 - Hairynipples
Eddie Griffin could have used this book for the flexibility positions to us during his drive-in theater problem, eh?