James Morgan Ayres - The Tao of survival: skills to keep you alive

THE TAO OF SURVIVAL

Skills To Keep You Alive

James Morgan Ayres

THE TAO OF SURVIVAL

Skills To Keep You Alive

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2013 James Morgan Ayres

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-3232-0

We all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and those who have supported us. I owe debts to many and offer my thanks to all of these people for helping to make this book possible: Katie, for the gift of life; Marylou Ayres, for patience and dedication, for traveling the long road with me, for love and a life worth living; Ashley Ayres, for pointing the way back to the path for a traveler lost in the deep forest; my family, for their support and for making it all worthwhile; Cheryl Carter-Runnels, for being the first to believe and for years of work and faith; Joseph Shields, for professional advice and direction, for constancy and loyalty, for friendship and faith beyond the call, for showing by example the meaning of the word brother; Beth Esculano Yken, for sunshine and sanctuary, for open-hearted friendship and a wonderful place to work; J, for dedicated reading of a first draft and perceptive and incisive comments; Ayse Dastanl, who by gentle persistence persuaded me to teach yet another class, and by doing so reminded me what students need most; Robin Munson, for continuing inspiration, great personal insights and encouragement; Art Munson, for professional support, friendship and for being there at a critical moment; Tom Negrino, for his continuing advice and for setting an example of grace under pressure; and Chris Wilton and Karen Fox, for creating a lovely refuge and inviting us to share it, for friendship, incisive comments, good conversation and wine.

I have studied and trained with too many teachers to list them all. Noteworthy for their pivotal teaching are: Kenny Wong, whose intervention in a street fight set me on a path that took me to a back room in a Chinese restaurant, to kwoons, temples, monasteries, rooftop and back-alley training centers, to Hong Kong, Taiwan and meetings with extraordinary men; Uncle Wong, who first showed me the true power of the Tao and Kung Fu, and that there were things under the sun I had never dreamed of; Lao Chung Li, who taught me the core of the Tao and was a good friend in a hard place; Guro Dan Inasanto, who accepted me into his private training, and taught me a unique perspective on martial arts and skills that has served me well; Guro Emilano Vasquez, who stood with me back to back; and Sifu Andre Salvage, for his teaching in San Soo.

Special thanks for healing and helping to put my body back together to Sifu and Doctor Kam Yuen; and for healing and meditations to Sifu Carl Totten.

This is a better book due to the work of the people at Gibbs Smith: Bob Cooper, an editor whose perception, engagement and professionalism are all that any writer could hope for; Andrew Broyzna, for insightful and creative design work; Suzanne Taylor, whose creative decisions were critical to making this the book it is; and Mr. Gibbs Smith, an old-school gentleman, all too rare in todays world, whose vision and wisdom I admire.

Last, but never least, to Paul Levine, for counsel and patience with an impatient writer.