Gate of Nine Dragons—Searching for Kung Fu

The first part of this book Searching for Kung Fu recalls my own journey over decades in the search for both the most traditional Kung Fu practices and the philosophical teachings embedded within. It begins as a teenager studying Karate in America, learning from one of the great Okinawa masters Shihon Kenneth Funakoshi. Realizing that the root of Karate is actually Kung Fu, the journey brought me to China, to the legendary Shaolin Monastery seeking the source of Kung Fu. During these years I have had the opportunity and privilege to train under many of China’s great masters whose stories and philosophies are imparted in this book. I am sharing the story of my journey, as it is really the shared journey of every martial artist.

The second part of this book The Gate of Nine Dragons reflects nine key Kung Fu principles presented through the traditional “Nine Dragon Sons.” These are nine Kung Fu concepts that can be understood as a code shared by and belonging to every school of martial arts. As a code this set of nine principles represent a set of integrated mind-set values that we can adopt in our daily lives: Perseverance, Loyalty, Balance, Change, Centering, Harmony, Flow, Emptiness, Non-violence.

These nine Kung Fu principles can be understood as nine stages of training, nine aspects of Chinese philosophy, or nine values shared by martial artists offered here as a code.