Kirin Rise the Cast of Shadows

It’s 2032, and the world has new gladiators. The fighters in the United Federation of Mixed Fighting keep audiences entertained with brutal bouts of uninhibited violence. Each year at the annual culmination of the tournament, competitors fight to the death in the DOME.

Chicago teen Kirin Rise didn’t begin martial arts for the power or the glory. She fights for her family, her friends, and her city.

Kirin Rise: The Cast of Shadows details Kirin’s first experience with the fighting style she would grow to love and embody, Wing Chun Gung Fu. As a young Korean American teenager dealing with the harsh realities of racism and sexism, she’s drawn to a martial art that uses her opponent’s own aggression and power against him.

In this new young adult adventure, author and experienced martial artist Ed Cruz gives you a new heroine to root for. Under the tutelage of her teacher, Sifu, Kirin learns the rigorous mind-set and practice of Wing Chun Gung Fu, the only martial art style invented by a woman.

Kirin knows that she can serve as an inspiration to the people of Chicago, but powerful enemies will do anything to stop her from winning her next big fight.

Ed Cruz brings his thirty-nine years spent practicing martial arts and his eighteen years spent teaching Wing Chun Gung Fu to his martial arts–inspired young adult series.

Cruz credits a meeting with Gung Fu master Augustine Fong as changing the course of his life. Wing Chun Gung Fu was the only martial art created by a woman, and Cruz immediately fell in love with its direct and effective approach. He has published several articles on the style.

Cruz was born in Manila in the Philippines and emigrated with his family due to political unrest. At the age of three, he moved with them to Chicago, Illinois, which he considers his home. He received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Loyola University.

Cruz reminds readers that in his debut novel about Wing Chun Gung Fu, the story may be fictional, but the skill is real!