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Warrior Odyssey: The Travels of a Martial Artist Through Asia
“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
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
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 4, 2010
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July 20, 2013
"If we want to know about a culture, we can go learn their martial art. And that will tell us who the people are and what they are about." Adjarn Sok Chai, mentor and teacher of Tony Jaa. Following childhood dreams originating in part, for Graceffo and so many martial artist like him (including myself), in the television series "Kung Fu" and with the movies of Bruce Lee, Graccefo leaves a troubled youth and adventures in the military, merchant marines, education abroad, and Wall Street, and makes the decision after 9/11 to live a full life of his own choosing, travels the world, learning Kung Fu in Taiwan and the original Shaolin Temple in China, spending time in Hong Kong, and training in Muay Thai in a rural monastery Thailand. He travels and trains in Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, and Burma as well, each time searching for indigenous martial arts and finding them as well as more modern martial arts, often of foreign origin. He has a very unique narrative style, mixing linguistics, history, and ethnography with the earthy sensibility of someone who has spent a lot of time trading blows with other fighters. It is written, in the large part, much as a travel journal, or as an extended conversation with the author. It is not your typical academic study on the subject by any means, but it will leave the average reader learning much more about the regions he travels to, the cultures he studies, and the martial arts traditions he engages with than if he or she had read a text written in a more academic register. As someone who has studied martial arts with origins as diverse as Thailand, Japan, Korea, Hawaii, the U.S.A., and the Philippines for nearly 30 years, I found it to be a very enjoyable and educational text, and I highly recommend it.
One of the things that was interesting to me about this book was the details about Graceffo’s actual journey to and training in the original Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, for, like Graceffo, I had wanted to train to become a Shaolin warrior monk since my childhood. This temple is called the Northern Shaolin Temple, in contradistinction to the Southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian province. Graceffo says that the Northern Shaolin Temple must not be confused with another “artificial” Northern Shaolin Temple that has “no connection whatsoever with the original Shaolin Temple” which caters to foreigners, is much more expensive, and is owned by the Chinese government.
I have trained in martial arts since I was eleven or so. I started in Shotokan Karate, Tang Soo Do, and Tae Kwon Do. When I was 19 or 20, I started training in Muay Thai. I trained for over a year, and loved it, as it added much to what I already knew and was very practical. I was able to do many of the fancier moves, as I was very good at jump kicks, multiple kicks, etc. I always kept my skills relatively sharp, but hadn’t trained formally for years when Tony Jaa appeared in “Ong Bak” in 2003. It was so amazing to see Muay Thai represented in such a powerful way, and I have much respect and love for Tony Jaa. So, I was very thrilled when I read that Graceffo was going to visit Tony Jaa’s home in Surin City. This ends up being interesting for many reasons. First, while Tony Jaa (original name Panon Yeerum) is not there, his brother and parents are, and Graceffo is able to get an interview because he is a journalist AND he is accompanied by a friend who is a Buddhist monk, the Jaas being very pious. Tony has bought them a mansion, but on the grounds, there is an old, dilapidated wooden house, which ends up being the house that he had grown up in. His mother says, “Every day, we look out the window and we know where we came from.”
Tony Jaa’s father was a Muay Thai boxer, and he was one of his father’s first teachers, but there are many other insights that anyone who enjoys Jaa’s movies will appreciate in the description of the interview. His father informs Graceffo, when asked if he is Khmer rather than Thai, a claim that has been made against him in some circles as 70% of the people in Surin have Khmer blood and speak the Khmer language. He answers that they are “Kuy”.
The Kuy, called Suoy in Thai language, are an ethnic minority and tribe from India who migrated through Cambodia and arrived in Thailand about 400 years ago. They brought elephants with them, which the Thai king quickly realized had excellent military applications. He gave the Kuy Thai citizenship and made them the official royal elephant handlers. Today, no matter where you go in Thailand, the handlers are probably Kuy. (180)
This explains the connection to elephants in Ong Bak 2 and 3, and “The Protector.” A very ancient and authentic connection. His family still keeps elephants.
I found this beautiful:
"In Kuy tradition, a boy is given an elephant when he is about one or two years old; the boy and the elephant grow up together. Elephants have a life cycle similar to humans and live to be 60 years old or older. The respect that is given to humans is the same as a person of the same age. An elephant of five is treated like a child of five. When they get older, the elephants are consulted on family decisions. If the Kuy wants to get married, build a new house or move to a new location, they have to ask permission from the elephants. When an elephant dies, it is like losing a member of the family." (181)
"If we want to know about a culture, we can go learn their martial art. And that will tell us who the people are and what they are about." Adjarn Sok Chai
Adjarn Sok Chai was by far one of the most interesting people in Graceffo’s text. “Adjarn” means “teacher of teachers”, and he was Tony Jaa’s first teacher. Anyone who wondered at the transition between “Ong Bak” and its sequels, with wild warriors and holy men, should look to Adjarn Sok Chai, who has appeared in some of his movies, with his dreadlocked hair of perhaps six feet in length. He trains students in the long staff, sword, gymnastics, contortion, and muay Thai boran, mixed with krabi krabong. The descriptions that Graceffo provides in the book of the strength, skill, and agility of this man, as well as his spiritual and ascetic lifestyle gives one great insight into the messages Jaa was trying to convey in his movies.
“Tony didn’t make it on physical strength. He made it because he is respectful and helps his teachers and the students and his family. Jaa meditates a lot in the forest and with monks at the temple. Monks taught him special meditation for universal strength and power of earth, water, air, and fire. It was this spiritual power that allowed him to make Ong-Bak.” (187)
There are many touching sections of the book, and one of the most interesting sections was on Phra Khru Bah and the Golden Horse Monastery. I would recommend watching the documentary “Buddha’s Lost Children”. Beautiful documentary about former professional Muay Thai boxer Phra Khru Bah, Abbot of the Golden Horse Monastery, who works with the poor hill people in Thailand near the Burmese border, taking in orphans and the many victims of the regional drug trade and cycles of addiction. The monastery is home to 120 horses, most of them saved from slaughterhouses, and those admitted to the monastery are healed and developed through a regimen of prayer and meditation, working in the fields and with the horses, firm and tough love, and training in Muay Thai. Well worth watching. Khru Bah once was attacked by 40 men because of his intervention in the drug trafficking in the region, and was able to defend himself using his Muay Thai skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzEaB...
The last chapter of the book that focused on the plight of the Shan people of Burma was the most touching. Graceffo deals with real victims of war and oppression—women and girls who have been raped, orphans, stoic tribal peoples trying to exist under a brutal regime that has done much to suppress and ethnically cleanse many non-Burmese peoples, including the Rohingyas. Graceffo risks a lot to get information about the Shan and their struggle, and for this, he has my respect.
The Shan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZb51V...
The Rohingya:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-...
You will learn from this book.
One of the things that was interesting to me about this book was the details about Graceffo’s actual journey to and training in the original Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, for, like Graceffo, I had wanted to train to become a Shaolin warrior monk since my childhood. This temple is called the Northern Shaolin Temple, in contradistinction to the Southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian province. Graceffo says that the Northern Shaolin Temple must not be confused with another “artificial” Northern Shaolin Temple that has “no connection whatsoever with the original Shaolin Temple” which caters to foreigners, is much more expensive, and is owned by the Chinese government.
I have trained in martial arts since I was eleven or so. I started in Shotokan Karate, Tang Soo Do, and Tae Kwon Do. When I was 19 or 20, I started training in Muay Thai. I trained for over a year, and loved it, as it added much to what I already knew and was very practical. I was able to do many of the fancier moves, as I was very good at jump kicks, multiple kicks, etc. I always kept my skills relatively sharp, but hadn’t trained formally for years when Tony Jaa appeared in “Ong Bak” in 2003. It was so amazing to see Muay Thai represented in such a powerful way, and I have much respect and love for Tony Jaa. So, I was very thrilled when I read that Graceffo was going to visit Tony Jaa’s home in Surin City. This ends up being interesting for many reasons. First, while Tony Jaa (original name Panon Yeerum) is not there, his brother and parents are, and Graceffo is able to get an interview because he is a journalist AND he is accompanied by a friend who is a Buddhist monk, the Jaas being very pious. Tony has bought them a mansion, but on the grounds, there is an old, dilapidated wooden house, which ends up being the house that he had grown up in. His mother says, “Every day, we look out the window and we know where we came from.”
Tony Jaa’s father was a Muay Thai boxer, and he was one of his father’s first teachers, but there are many other insights that anyone who enjoys Jaa’s movies will appreciate in the description of the interview. His father informs Graceffo, when asked if he is Khmer rather than Thai, a claim that has been made against him in some circles as 70% of the people in Surin have Khmer blood and speak the Khmer language. He answers that they are “Kuy”.
The Kuy, called Suoy in Thai language, are an ethnic minority and tribe from India who migrated through Cambodia and arrived in Thailand about 400 years ago. They brought elephants with them, which the Thai king quickly realized had excellent military applications. He gave the Kuy Thai citizenship and made them the official royal elephant handlers. Today, no matter where you go in Thailand, the handlers are probably Kuy. (180)
This explains the connection to elephants in Ong Bak 2 and 3, and “The Protector.” A very ancient and authentic connection. His family still keeps elephants.
I found this beautiful:
"In Kuy tradition, a boy is given an elephant when he is about one or two years old; the boy and the elephant grow up together. Elephants have a life cycle similar to humans and live to be 60 years old or older. The respect that is given to humans is the same as a person of the same age. An elephant of five is treated like a child of five. When they get older, the elephants are consulted on family decisions. If the Kuy wants to get married, build a new house or move to a new location, they have to ask permission from the elephants. When an elephant dies, it is like losing a member of the family." (181)
"If we want to know about a culture, we can go learn their martial art. And that will tell us who the people are and what they are about." Adjarn Sok Chai
Adjarn Sok Chai was by far one of the most interesting people in Graceffo’s text. “Adjarn” means “teacher of teachers”, and he was Tony Jaa’s first teacher. Anyone who wondered at the transition between “Ong Bak” and its sequels, with wild warriors and holy men, should look to Adjarn Sok Chai, who has appeared in some of his movies, with his dreadlocked hair of perhaps six feet in length. He trains students in the long staff, sword, gymnastics, contortion, and muay Thai boran, mixed with krabi krabong. The descriptions that Graceffo provides in the book of the strength, skill, and agility of this man, as well as his spiritual and ascetic lifestyle gives one great insight into the messages Jaa was trying to convey in his movies.
“Tony didn’t make it on physical strength. He made it because he is respectful and helps his teachers and the students and his family. Jaa meditates a lot in the forest and with monks at the temple. Monks taught him special meditation for universal strength and power of earth, water, air, and fire. It was this spiritual power that allowed him to make Ong-Bak.” (187)
There are many touching sections of the book, and one of the most interesting sections was on Phra Khru Bah and the Golden Horse Monastery. I would recommend watching the documentary “Buddha’s Lost Children”. Beautiful documentary about former professional Muay Thai boxer Phra Khru Bah, Abbot of the Golden Horse Monastery, who works with the poor hill people in Thailand near the Burmese border, taking in orphans and the many victims of the regional drug trade and cycles of addiction. The monastery is home to 120 horses, most of them saved from slaughterhouses, and those admitted to the monastery are healed and developed through a regimen of prayer and meditation, working in the fields and with the horses, firm and tough love, and training in Muay Thai. Well worth watching. Khru Bah once was attacked by 40 men because of his intervention in the drug trafficking in the region, and was able to defend himself using his Muay Thai skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzEaB...
The last chapter of the book that focused on the plight of the Shan people of Burma was the most touching. Graceffo deals with real victims of war and oppression—women and girls who have been raped, orphans, stoic tribal peoples trying to exist under a brutal regime that has done much to suppress and ethnically cleanse many non-Burmese peoples, including the Rohingyas. Graceffo risks a lot to get information about the Shan and their struggle, and for this, he has my respect.
The Shan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZb51V...
The Rohingya:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-...
You will learn from this book.
October 23, 2025
I read this about 10 years ago while on deployment to Afghanistan and still think about it to this day. I’d be interested in rereading it to see if it holds up but my impression was very positive at the time. I remember the author having a captivating but accessible reading style with a unique story to tell.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews