TL;DR: The information on ergonomics is thought provoking, probably more so 12 years ago when the book was first published, and one should check oneself to ensure one does not inquire oneself.
The most interesting thing about this book would the emphasize on how techniques should be ergonomic, or rather, our movements in martial arts, in this case kung fu precisely, should not be in a position that is unnatural to our body. Coming from a kendo background, I can say that when you first start kendo, the stance, with the toes parallel and pointed to the front, turning in the wrist with holding the shinai, all of kendo movement is not ergonomic. At least not so in the beginning. After much practice, you can start to adapt a more natural stance in relation to yourself and physique. It all comes down to what is efficient and what if the motion will cause injuries or not.
Sifu Chin brings about this notion that 3 degree is the “perfect” angle to make a technique go from good to perfect. Makes me think of a video game with perfecting pixel timing for input, think electric uppercut in Tekken. The 3 degree angle looks like it can generate power in some technique from certain angles, but at other times, it look like it might not be the best way to strike. Nevertheless, Sifu Chin brings about the 3 degree angle as the key to having perfect ergonomic and technique.
Sifu was very proud that this ergonomic of kung fu was “discovered” by his style hundreds of years ago, every before modern science. A very boastful claim, which whether it was true or not, doesn’t really add to martial knowledge bank.
Beyond the ergonomics lecture, the rest of the book is about how Hung Gar can counter MMA, BJJ, a samurai sword, and Chou Li Fut. This part of the book was less insightful. MMA and BJJ are dwindled down to only one move, a poorly executed single leg takedown, from which Sifu Chin easily counters in the photos. The problem here for me is not that there’s a counter to a single leg takedown, there are counters to every technique, but only focusing on single leg takedown for what you want to recognize as two distinctly different martial arts can reveal a bit on ignorance on the author about these arts. The person using the samurai sword held it as a baseball bat. His grip did not have any tenouchi, and his stance mimicked that from a poor samurai film. Again, Sifu Chin easily counters with his long staff, and again it’s very boastful.
Being boastful, and creating a book to boost your ego is a red flag to me.
My Musha Shugyo - 私の武者修行 