graceffo

“Suddenly I found myself in one of those situations only I can find myself in … I knew that I could fight my way out of most rooms, but here I would be fighting my way out of a room full of kung fu monks. If you had made a quick call to Atlantic City, bookmakers would have told you that they were giving 5,000-to-1 odds against my survival.” – Antonio Graceffo

After the shock of 9/11, New York investment banker and longtime martial artist Antonio Graceffo quits his job and travels to Asia to pursue his dream: to study kung fu at the legendary Shaolin Temple in China. From there, Graceffo embraces an even greater adventure: to learn from the greatest martial arts masters in Asia.

Warrior Odyssey: The Travels of a Martial Artist Through Asia is Graceffo’s record of where culture, communication and martial arts meet during his decadelong travels through nine countries. No matter whether Graceffo is learning the almost extinct art of bokator in Cambodia, crossing into rebel camps in Burma or absorbing the knowledge of disciples of ancient wisdom in Taiwan, Warrior Odyssey is like no other quest written about before or since.

Antonio Graceffo has been traveling, living and studying martial arts in Asia for the last decade. He is a monthly travel columnist for Black Belt and is a frequent call-in guest on regional radio talk shows in the United States. He has worked as a martial arts consultant for the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. He has studied martial arts for more than 20 years.