Northern Shaolin Style: Shaolin Number 5 Martial Skill

"There is an actual system known as "Northern Shaolin." The main proponent of this system in the Twentieth century was GM Gu Ru Zhang. One branch of the school is through the teacher Wong Jack Man, well known in San Francisco Chinatown. One of his students, Rick Wing, has produced a book on a key form out of the Northern Shaolin lineage: #5 or Martial Skill. This is a good choice. First, it has never been exhibited in an English language edition. It comes from the "first half" of the system which is composed of sets around 40 movements long. But it is generally regarded as the most complex and interesting of this group. It is a great exhibition form and we've had a number of students win tournaments with it. It shows more of the Shaolin skills than a number of the other forms. Wing himself is enthusiastic about the system. He is also quite limber and that "sells" the Northern kicks a bit.He has a lot of style and shows a practiced skill with the sets. The book is laid out with form explanations shown in large and small photos. It shows both back and front views. He also discusses all the other forms in the core system and their practice and meaning. There is a nice history in the front and applications in the back. There are also sections on Gu Ru Zhang and Yim Shan Wu. Notes on the arrangement and meaning of the famous "ten core sets" help to give a feeling for the plan of the Northern Shaolin system. There are historical notes that will be useful to those researching Shaolin. If you are an enthusiast of Bei Pai Shaolin then this is a good addition to your library. Our only real criticism is that the photographs are a bit small. The applications section, for instance, is really too abbreviated to show much detail.