Jerry Johnson - Internal Essence of Martial Arts

vince1

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I am not sure if the author Jerry Johnson has been discussed before. It was recommended I read volumes 1 and 2 titled , Internal Essence of Martial Arts. I have always been interested in QiGong, Qi, Chi energy for many years. Has anyone read both volumes ? What are your thoughts ? I have read some fantastic reviews online.
 
Dr. Johnson is a priest and a TCM doctor.
His work is more in those areas and reflects in his writings. He has produced videos and books on internal arts, but in my opinion I do not feel that area is his strong point.

I also think his work would be harder for a beginner to comprehend. I personally would recommend Dr.jwing Ming yang work in qigong as a foundation, study some Daoist texts, take some classes, and practice and then approach Dr. Johnson work.
 
I went online and found Dr. Jwing Ming website and had a look at all the books he has written. Very interesting and have come across him in the past but didn't realize how many books he has written. I have taken an 8 week course in Gigong foundation about a year ago by my old sifu who is a Daoist Priest and found it very similar to Dr. Jwing Ming paperback book on Qigong foundation.

It was recommended by a fellow martial artist I read read both volumes of Internal Essence of Martial Arts by Dr. Johnson. I appreciate the recommendation and will definitely start reading some of Dr. Jwing Ming books and see if I can find used copies on Amazon.
 
FWIW I don't think the only way to learn/use Gi/Chi is by reading Taoist or other Chinese religious works. I think it inclines the student to studying the religion more that the use of Gi.

In the Hapkido I studied, as part of our warm up, we worked on breathing exercises moving our arms, while concentrating on our Tanjon; the area about 3 fingers below our belly button. Worked for me without any change in my religious beliefs. Did I learn as fast, or as well? I can't say since I did not try the other as well. And I haven't tried blowing out candles through a wall from 20 feet away, or knocking opponents off their feet without physically touching them. I wouldn't say that is impossible, but I doubt people's ability to do so.
 
Is there any other content on volume 1 and 2 besides what the books share? Some of the stuff is really interesting and would be great if expanded on.
 
Does anyone know where to find more material from this book? The descriptions of the animal styles and how they fight are super cool and some of the basic training also is nice but would be good to see more examples of. I'd love to see where I can find more about it to learn and train the stuff as well
 
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