Customer Rating: 
Summary: An excellent work from our main archivist.
Comment: While Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo (Lo Sifu Chin Siu Dek) was teaching in Southern California a variety of students recorded the lessons. Since Grandmaster Woo was the first to teach this martial art to anyone who wasn't Chinese, no one was sure about what was the best way to write out the techniques in English. So, those records vary greatly in the quality and clarity of what was written. Master Gatewood kept meticulous records, including many 8mm films and later video tapes. I have a number of copies of these lessons from varying sources and feel that Master Gatewood's book explains the lessons with particular clarity and stresses the priceless principals involved with each technique.Some reviewers have complained about the book lacking enough photographs. That would be true if one were trying to learn Kung Fu San Soo from a book alone. You can't, there's too much to it. If you are an experienced martial artist, looking to gain a familiarity with Kung Fu San Soo, this book will be very informative about our basic techniques. (There are hundreds of Kung Fu San Soo techniques-- the Basic 45 are the foundation for the rest.) So, if you want to learn Kung Fu San Soo, you must learn it from a knowledgeable instructor. For anyone who is, this book is very well written and invaluable.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: NEEDUM PICTURES!!!
Comment: Ah, fourty-five self defense moves. Shame that there are only thirteen pictures in it! OK, the book had some good concepts, and I'm sure that most of the self-defense lessons are servicable. However, the lack of photos is more than disappointing. I did like the fact that after every lesson, there was a "Concepts to Learn" portion. I'd like to see that in more books like this. In the beggining of the book, concepts, basic striking tools, and stances are covered, though not very well. Many of the terms used in the book are not explained well, or sometimes not at all, and this makes reading difficult. It's an OK book for a martial artist to use, mostly to incorporate into his self-defense studies, and also gives some insight into San Soo, but in that respect is by no means complete. It's a little useful, but may not be worth the price.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bringing it all back
Comment: I have been out of the art for over 13 years for a variety of reasons and was lucky to find this book. Starting with lesson one, it all began to come back. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the art of Kung Fu San Soo.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Every Picture tells a story...
Comment: I agree without pictures it is very hard to visualize exactly how do to do the lessons that are presented. Someone should revise it an do it justice by adding pictures to it to make it more understandable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A picture is worth a thousand words
Comment: The care taken to convey the material as accurately as possible is evident. However, without step by step pictures it is still hard to follow. I was a little disappointed.This should be remedied in future editions as it would add immensely to the value of the book. In its present form, this book is not worth the purchase price.
