Guge Gonji: Martial Arts for the Rest of Us

An old saying goes "It is better to know how to fight and not have to, than to have to fight and not know how to." Guge Gonji, by Master Hei Long, will not really teach you how to fight, but may save your life or protect you from a severe thrashing by showing you how to quickly neutralize your attacker. The author specifies in the introduction that the techniques outlined in Guge Gonji - which translates to "attacking the structure"- are to be used as a "second to last resort," the last resort ostensibly being killing your opponent. Published in 1991, Guge Gonji is available in paperback for $20 through Paladin Press (www.paladin-press.com).

The first chapter, The Biomechanics of Motion, gives an overview of human bone, joint and cartilage structure, and shows how a basic understanding of this topic will benefit to the modern reader. 16^th century Shaolin monks may not have been aware that the knee joint was comprised of a synovial membrane, synovial fluid, a fibrous capsule and articular cartilage (p. 12), but they knew that a well-placed kick to that area would leave their opponent on the ground squirming in pain. The following chapter, The Seven Primary Targets, introduces the prime spots to hit for disabling an attacker, namely the bridge of the foot/toes, the ankles, the knees, the fingers, the wrists, the elbows and the cervical vertebrae.

Guge Gonji is not a book which you can simply peruse or read casually: to fully benefit from the lessons and explanations you must pay attention. This means not only reading slowly and carefully, but referring constantly to the black and white illustrations depicting the target areas, and the combatants in position. But many of the illustrations are not directly paired with their respective captions, forcing the reader to constantly turn back and forth between the pages with the explanations and the pages with the illustrations. Pages 158 through 162, for example, deal with a series of defensive moves intended to block an opponent's punch, twist his wrist, and ultimately snap his elbow. Five illustrations (figures 142 through 146) depict this devastating move. But the text is on pages 158 and 159, leaving figures 144 through 146 (pages 160 through 162) with no captions beneath them.

Master Long's approach to Guge Gonji is very responsible. He in no way advocates brute force as a primary method of resolution, but clearly conveys that there are some situations which merely reasoning with a threatening individual will not resolve. The defensive moves outlined in Guge Gonji are not complicated, nor do they require a great deal of physical strength, but are more effective if studied carefully, and ideally, practiced with a partner. As Confucius said, "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

The downside of this book is that the same tactics can be learned by unscrupulous individuals bent on harming someone. If you are involved in a physical confrontation, you should be aware to guard your seven target areas. As the author admonishes in Chapter Three, Recognizing Joint Posture Vulnerability: "If you learn nothing else from this study, remember that your knees are primary targets in personal combat- keep yours protected (p.45)." This warning obviously applies to other body parts