Gate of Nine Dragons—Searching for Kung Fu (電子書)

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.

Laurence Brahm

Laurence Brahm is an explorer, author, and international award-winnning film director and producer. He is the founder of Shambhala Studio, specializing in films related to Himalaya culture and Asian martial arts. He is a Fifth Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, a fourth generation lineage holder in Zhangjia Kungfu, and has extensive training experience in Wing Chun, Qigong and Shaolin Five Animal Neigong. He is also a deep practioner of Tibetan Secret Yoga. Between 2017-2024, he has produced and directed three documentaries on the life of the Lotus Born Master, together with three science fiction films on the Shambhala prophecies. Together this film series has won over thirty international film festival awards. He has also directed and produced films on Kung Fu, including the award winning Searching for Kung Fu documentary and The Karate Source. He is also a senior international researcher at the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank. He serves as a policy advisor expert at the China Foreign Experts Bureau, is an international conflict resolution lawyer, and an environmentalist.