The Shaolin Way: 10 Modern Secrets of Survival from a Shaolin Kung Fu Grandmaster
Now:$5.98
Product Description
Born in the projects of Spanish Harlem to a disabled mother and an abusive father, Steve DeMasco spent most of his childhood lost and angry. Drifting from one job to another, he stalked the streets as a troubled youth, barely surviving while all of his peers were either dead or in jail, until he found himself on the steps of the Shaolin Temple. Originating more than 1,500 years ago in ancient China, the Shaolin monks were simple farmers and worshippers of Buddhism w… More >>
Categories: Kung Fu books
I just finished this book and was surprised when I logged on to write a review to find negative comments about the book. I found it otherwise.
A legitimate criticism from one reviewer notes the contradiction between the Shaolin ranking system which does not award belt ranking or degrees in Shaolin Kung Fu, but it likewise fails to recognize the way the art developed in the US to compete with Japanese styles by offering a ranking system.
Despite the obvious contradiction, it is no reason to avoid the depth of insight this book provides on multiple spiritual and humanist levels.
The author also notes in the book of his invitation to visit with the head monk at the Shaolin monastery in China, who after watching him perform an ancient routine awarded him a Masters designation, and provided MeMasco with a certificate of achievement in his craft. This alone ought to put to rest the level of achievement DeMasco has achieved in his life long quest in pursuit of Kung Fu.
The book blends Shaolin wisdom with modern problems and depth psychology which is a primer to achieving a rounded and dynamic personhood. The aim of the book methinks.
DeMarsco describes his own disadvantaged upbringing on the mean streets where he encountered bullies, gangs, dysfunctional family histories, and the struggle to grow as a human person. In this sense the book provides a wealth of human centered wisdom for overcoming human anger and integrating the lessons of an ancient wisdom for personal transformation.
The stories in the book are profound and meaningful for anyone with an open mind and heart. It is clear the DeMasco is a wise elder who has dedicated his life to the less advantaged and hoping to make a positive outcome within populations of at-risk kids trying to help them overcome disadvantages most people take for granted not having come out of that experience of street life in single parent or no-parent households.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in martial arts and their true core: finding the courage to face the challenges that emerge within our own hearts, biases, struggles, and dysfunctional behavior.
I respect and admire DeMasco as a wise elder engaged in the authentic human struggle of our times, i.e., human transformation.
Rating: 5 / 5
The opening quote of the book reads, “It will all be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, its not the end. -Anonymous”
The guy is former FBI and calls himself a “10th degree BB in shaolin”. I should have checked out the book more carefully before buying it. If you like the law enforcement mentality, you may enjoy this one. The whole book is just blah blah blah, not a single demonstrative image anywhere. I don’t even want to waste time going into detail, there are plenty of good long fist books and this is certainly not one of them. If you are looking for martial morals, ethics, and philosophy, this ain’t it either.
The end was not “Ok”, fortunately it did end.
Rating: 1 / 5
Although, the writer is obviously not a professional writer and his martial arts credentials, although respectable enough, are open to question, there is a lot of very good insight into personal responsibility and accountability. Not enough people in this world hold themselves accountable for their own happiness. Steve Demasco manages to encourage without being overly pretentious.
Rating: 4 / 5
It never ceases to amaze me that people fall for this kind of stuff. A “tenth-degree black belt in Shaolin kung fu”? Since when did the Shaolin monks start handing out black belts? Since when did they start wearing karate gi’s? And what’s so difficult about entering the Shaolin Temple Museum? You just pay your entrance fee and you can get in along with the other million plus annual visitors. And if you give the government installed “abbott” a nice check, you can get a nice certificate from him and he will even display your school plaque in the museum courtyard. Then you can tell your students that you are the “official (put the name of your country here) representative of the Shaolin Temple”. Fact is, there haven’t been any real martial monks at the museum for decades.
Rating: 1 / 5
Hi Bhaiya kaise ho aap? mujhe pehchana main hu Sushant from adawad mujhe aapki email id chahiye aap mujhe skkrajput@gmail.com es email id par bhej do.Main aapka online intajar kar raha hu.