Hsing-I: Chinese Mind-Body Boxing »

Robert W. Smith is one of America's great pioneers in the Asian martial arts and has written numerous books and articles on these ancient fighting traditions. Smith is the author of Pa-Kua: Chinese Boxing for Fitness and Self-Defense and Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods, also available from North Atlantic Books. He lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Harmoniously merging the mind and the body, Hsing-I Ch'uan is simultaneously one of the most simple and most complex of the Chinese martial arts. The five forms, based on the Chinese concept of the five elements, provide a toolbox of techniques that the skillful Hsing-I practitioner uses to box with himself, channeling ch'i into spirit and spirit into mindful stillness. From this synthesis of external and internal forces springs new energy and true ability.

Engagingly written and amply illustrated with black and white photographs, Robert W. Smith's primer includes the history and meaning of Hsing-I, detailed instruction in the five forms and twelve animal styles, and cogent advice from the masters. First published almost 30 years ago, Hsing-I: Chinese Mind-Body Boxing was among the first books on Hsing-I and remains one of the best.