Xingyi - A Means To An End

This is one of the best treatises on Xingyi ever written*. I own almost every book on this Art, be they in Chinese, translations of such, or texts in English like this. Shrfu Patterson's book stands among the top five - easily.*Important Note:This is a very thorough composition. Its attention to detail - in writing and pictorially - is generous and precise. I think this may be why the turns** for the Forms are omitted (though I can only surmise). The turn for Wood/Beng Q'uan, for example, is - mechanically and posturally - quite involved; arguably more intricate than the line form itself. And that's just one Form turn. What's focused on in this book is what will give you the most important thing there is: a foundation. Therefore, I strongly encourage investing in the DVDs PHK Enterprises has made available, which serve as a splendid supplement to this book - and - each and all go into detail on the turns and combat applications. They're very worthy of investing in. But take your time. Mastering one technique alone can be used a thousand different ways.**Xingyi is performed in lines, back and forth, and the turns allow one to flow into 180°ing the opposite direction (and many of them are loaded with important skill sets)

a nice book that offers a xing yi practitioner and/or supporter, a good way to look at how they train their concepts. Despite differences in the way lineages will practice any particular "shape", Mr Patterson offers a way for anyone who practices this art to learn how to extract more from their training. So much of xing yi is solo training, so another perspective on what we want to feel and of what intention we want our bodies to exhibit can be helpful. He offers training tips and suggestions for those who wish to take their xing yi into more combative training applications, which is a nice change from most other books on this topic. The only thing he might do to improve the book would be not to pump his DVDs at the end of each "shape". We're intelligent enough to get the sales pitch after the first and/or second time. Otherwise a good book to add to any xing yi practitioner's library.

While no book can contain all of the information on Xingyi, the author Mike Patterson does an excellent job of at least attempting to provide an overview of the Xingyi taught by Hsu Hong Chi. I do not train in Mike Patterson's system, but under another of Hsu Hong Chi's students and it is a great manual to have since Xingyi has an exhaustive amount of material to learn and remember. I would have liked to see more information on the various body preparation exercises and on chi building exercises, but there are other books out there and this book is hefty even without that information. I will repeat as many have said before- "You can't learn martial arts from a book", but this book is an excellent reference on the various animal and five fist positions. I also enjoyed the various defense applications shown in the book and the straightforward presentation of this martial art by the author. The book is excellent and I feel that many of the principals described and shown in the book could be applied to other martial arts. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to increase their knowledge of the martial arts.

Patterson's work is valid and thorough. The Xing Yi material is worth the price and the addition of his own system that applies the Xing Yi principles( RSPCT) is an added value to the text. I would have liked some more photos of transitions, but that is simply not the planned strength of the book. The written material, which is technically solid and explained in practical terms, is the strength. And as any Western martial artist knows, a well written practical text on any Chinese art is something to be appreciated. Patterson's life has been spent in the arts and it shows in this book.

Mike Pattersons' Xingyi: A Means to an End is an excellent reference for a Xingyiquan student.It was a pleasure to read a well thought out and produced book on the theory and practice of Xingyiquan. Besides going in depth on just what is taking place with each of the Five Elements and Twelve Animals sets, Mr Patterson describes his own system of how to teach his students to actually fight with what they've learned from Xingyiquan practice. Not just applications or examples, but a theoretical, systematic and practical bridge from the classical exercises to combat.He also recounts the history of xingyiquan in general and the Tang Shou Tao school of xingyiquan in particular. I particularly enjoyed his storytelling and anecdotes.The margins of my copy will soon be filled with notes. This is the Xingyiquan book I've been looking for.

Good stuff from a leading exponent of the art

This is not the first of Mike Pattersons products I have purchased. I have also purchased video products of his in the past. I found the video products to be of a high quality, and this book does not deviate from the trend. I found the book well set out with clear instructions. It gives a nice insight into Mikes own instructor, leaving me with an impression of what Mike has gone through personally to reach his personal skill level. An enjoyable read with nice insight into Hsing-i.

I found the first 155 pages very well written with solid information. My con with this publication is that 1/3 of the book is on a self defense system created by Patterson, the R.S.P.C.T.Summary:Pro: Great resource on Xingyi.Con or Pro: R.S.P.C.T takes up 1/3 of the book. I am not interested in a 100 pages of contemporary Hsing-i methodology. However, if interested in RSPCT then the value is greater.

Bei jedem Buch mit dem Thema Xingyi, muss dem Leser/in bewusst sein, dass dies kein Ersatz ist für einen gut ausgebildeten Trainer ist, der einen ins Xingyi einführt und über viele, viele Jahre begleiten muss. Diese Kampfkunst ,wie jede andere innere Kampfkunst, bedarf ein lebenslanges Training. Daher kann jedes Buch nur eine Begleitung/ Ergänzung sein. Das Buch von M.Patterson ist m.E. eine sehr gute Trainingsbegleitung. Sie gibt in den Grundlagen der Kampfkunst eine sehr gute Einführung, die man immer wieder lesen sollte, da die Einsichten sich nie sofort einstellen, sondern erst nach und nach klar werden und somit ist dieses Buch eine lebenslange Lektüre.Er werden die zwölf Tiere erklärt, so wie M.Patterson sie gelernt hat, wobei zu sagen ist, das es je nach Stil zwischen 8 und 12 Tierformen gibt, die dann auch noch für manches Tier mehrere Möglichkeiten beinhalten. Die Erklärungen sind sehr ausführlich. Der Schwerpunkt des Buches sind, im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Xingyi Büchern, der Kunst des Kämpfens gewidmet. Somit steht Chi-Bildung, Meditation, und vor allem Ausbildung der inneren Körperstruktur ( Zhuang ), etwas im Hintergrund. Dafür sind die Erklärungen/ Beschreibungen von Grundlagen,Strategie/ Taktik, Vorgehensweise etc.pp. im Kampf/ Selbstverteidigung erstklassig und bieten hervoragende Einsichten in die Kunst des Kämpfens mit Xingyi.Die Fotos sind ok, sicherlich sind die dazugehörigen DVD's besser. z.T. auch mal auf Youtube anzuschauen.Fazit : sehr empfehlenswert!!!!

very interesting read

A really good read-interesting perspectives!

il libro è molto istruttivo e lo consiglio a tutti i praticanti e non di arti marziali ma sopratutto a gli stilisti di arti interne.sarebbe una buona cosa tradurlo anche in altre lingue.