Herman Kauz

Herman Kauz, acclaimed author of the best-selling Tai Chi Handbook, has been instrumental in advancing the practice of tai chi chuan in America. In this exciting new book the companion to the Tai Chi Handbook, Kauz presents detaied instruction in push-hands, tai-chi practiiced with a partner.

The book begins with the thoughtfully reasoned argument that a cooperative approach to living-trying to accord with life's rhythms-is superior to a competitive one. The author advocates tai chi push-hands as a method of internalizing this philosophy. The text elucidates the meditative and athletic benefits of the practice, which is a welcome alternative to martial arts like karate and judo, where the competitive aspect is overly stressful for many. The nearly 100 photographs help to illustrate possible attacks and counterattacks. For anyone who has practiced tai chi and is interested in expert instruction in getting started with push hands, this is the essential handbook-private lessons with one of tai chi's most accomplished teachers.

Herman Kauz has advanced certification in and has been a teacher of both external and internal martial arts systems sicne 1952. He is the auathor of well regarded books in the field, including The Martial Spirit, A Path To Liberation (Overlook) and the best-selling Tai Chi Handbook. After many years of teaching martial arts in New York he now lives asnd teaches in the San Diego area of California.

Push-hands the long-awaited follow-up to the best-selling tai chi manual of all time.

For anyone who is interseted in gettng started with push-hands-the practice of tai chi with a partner-here is the essential handbook-private lessons with one of tai chi's most accomplished teachers, Herman Kauz.

'Kauz is a real teacher, open, generous and undogmatic.'-Robert W. Smith, co-author of Asian Fighting News

'Kauz is an established authority.'-Journal of Asian Martial Arts

Contents

I Introduction
II The competitive milieu
III Positive and negative aspects of competition
IV The difficulty of changing thinking and behavior
V Learning to see the world differently
VI Development made possible by push-hands
VII Taoism and tai chi chuan
VIII The push-hands form
IX Main considerations in push-hands
X Training tips… (más)

form dust jacket

In recent years the tremendous growth in popularity of the martial arts all over the world has resulted in the emergence of an extraordinary number of magazines and books, films, schools, and tournaments on the subject. With hardly an exception, however, they all concentrate on 'how-to' aspects, not on the spiritual underpinning.

Herman Kauz' exploration of The Marital Spirit is the first book to go beyond the conventional viewpoint of physical training and self-defense; Kauz places the primary emphasis on mental training and the psycohological and philosophical elements. He reveals the East-West inter-relationship few understand, even those physically skilled in the martial arts world.

Accompainied by Tetsu Okuhara's extraordinry photography The Martial Spirit compares the various martial arts systems and describes how students physically and spiritually develop skills on their own and then with a partner. One chapter deals with philosophical concepts and their relevance and application in training; another points out the mind-body problems encountered at the outset of student invovement. Aways present in The Martial Spirit are the student-teacher dynamics and spiritual aspects.

This thoughtful and inspiratonal work shows how serious martial arts study and training can: promote better physical and mental health, enhance the growth of self-understanding, increase the knowledge of others, and contribute to a feeling of personal worth.

Herman Kauz is a fourth-degree black belt in judo and a second-degree black belt in karate. He has abeen a teacher for over a quarter of a century and is the author of the best-selling Tai Chi Handbook.

'In a field crowded with charlatans and books which are little more than catalogs of swindles, Herman Kauz has written a comprehensive and sober guide to the Asian martial arts. Kauz is a real teacher, open, generous, and undogmatic. The Martial Spirit reflects these qualities.'--Robert W. Smith co-author of Asian Fighting Arts.

Contents

Foreword
Chapter I Introduction
Martial Arts as Self-defense; Martial Arts as Physical Exercise; Martial Arts as Meditation
Chapter II What Kind of Marital Art Should be Studied?
Class Procedure; Weapons Systems; Sport vs. Non-sport Systems; Internal vs. External Styles; Comparison of National Styles or Systems; Who Can Study?
Chapter III The Aim of Individual Form Practice
Developing skill; Kata Practice; Meditative Aspects of Individual Form Practice; Tan tien or tanden; Hara; Analytical and Intuitive Aspects of the Mind; Extensions of a More intuitive Approach to Life; Discipline
Chapter IV The Result of Training with a Partner
Developing Skill; Relating to Others; Assessing Character; Competition; Learning to Concentrate
Chapter V Philosophy: Its Relevance and Application
Philosophical Ideas in Martial Arts; Individual Differences in Students; Difficulty of Meeting Ideals
Chapter VI Problems Encountered at the Outset of Training
Mind Control; Selecting a Teacher
Chapter VII Summary and Conclusion… (más)

from cover

'Kauz is a real teacher, open, generous, and undogmatic.'-Robert W. Smith, co-author of Asian Fighting Arts

Where most books on the martial arts concentrate on the physical aspect of the various disciplines, A Path to Liberation deals with the equally important spiritual side. The chapters addresss such topics as teacher-student interactions, health, diet, and drugs, finding the ideal dojo, meditation, reconciling the physical and the spiritual sides of the martial arts, and many other important issues. Drawing on his own experiences with the various disciplines, Kauz constantly examines motives and urges the abandonment of common wrong attitudes and techniques. Freed of the counterproductive forces of ego, expectations, habit, and socialization, a student's progress quickens-and the trained mind proves as athletic, graceful, and effortless as the body.

For the advanced martial arrtist who is ready to delve beyond the physical aspects of his chosen discipline, for the beginner who seeks active and meditative refuge from an increasingly frantic and confusing lifestyle, for all those who see martial arts as a proving ground of the spirit, A Path to Liberation is exactly what its title implies.

Herman Kauz is a fourth-degree black belt in judo and a second-degree black belt in karate. A teacher for over forty years, he is the author of The Marital Spirit (available from Overlook) and the bestselling Tai Chi Handbook.

Contents

I Introduction
II Physical exercise in Martial Arts
III Self-Defense in Marital Arts
IV Meditational Aspects of Martial arts
V Interactions Between Teachers and Students
VI Interaction Among Students
VII Actions and Attitudes That Hinder Development
VIII Assessing the Values of Our Training
IX Health, Diet and Drugs
X The Ideal Dojo
XI My Approach to Marital Arts Training
XII Summary… (más)