Beyond the Known: The Ultimate Goal of the Martial Arts

by Tri Thong Dang

Written by one of the world's greatest living t'ai mantis system teachers, Beyond the Known is about the martial arts quest, and a mediation on the art of discipleship.

In a series of parables relating the experiences of an unusually talented but otherwise typical martial artist, it calls for teachers and practitioners of all martial arts to question their motives and goals, to go beyond the superficial dazzle of prizes and awards, beyond repetition of techniques, ultimately to go beyond the known—the ultimate goal of the martial arts.

Tri Thong Dang was born in Vietnam and studied under the revered Chiu Chuk-Kai, eighth-generation grandmaster of the Chinese t'ai mantis system. In addition, he was a practitioner of pa kua chang, hsing i ch'uan, qigong, and Yang style tai chi ch'uan. He studied and taught martial arts worldwide and was the author of Toward the Unknown and Beginning T'ai Chi , both from Tuttle Publishing. He was the founder and director, until his death of California's Budo Educational Center.

Chapters

Genres: Martial Arts

168 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1993

Reviews

[Ibeliz]

This is my second time reading this book and I have come to understand more of what my Master has been teaching. It is clear to me that I have only grazed the surface of the martial way.

[Stephane]

I was expecting this to be more of an academic style book but turn out to be the story about a disciple named Lam and his journey towards fulfilling his potential. Under the tutelage of Master Tai-Anh, Lam tries to go from the basic martial arts techniques and superficial things such as money, fame and praise to finding the true meaning behind martial arts training. Although meant to be catered for martial artists I believe that everyone can take away something from Lam's journey which will undoubtedly make you realise how short-sighted and superficial we as human being are.

[Eddie Martinez]

One of my favorite books! I've read this book several times and take something new away each time. To me, the story reads like a classic martial arts flick: action and adventure, seasoned with morals.

[Clint]

Another great book. About the true purpose of the martial arts -- defeating the self and the ego, something that needs to be rediscovered in this age of MMA and "Ultimate Fighter."

[John Fredrickson]

excellent book

[John Opalenik]

It's a great read for any serious martial artist. After having read through it several times I can still pick it up, open to any chapter and continue to get more out of it.

[Chris Holmberg]

I didn't like this quite as much as the first book, but still a worthy read.

[Jessica Solis]

Great insight on the art of the martial arts and the art of living. Definitely will be continually reading this book as I progress through my journey of self discovery.