In Harris L. Kligman's release, The Shaolin Covenant, Raul “Luca” Mendroza is born to a prostitute in a place known as the City of the Dead. We go behind the scenes with the author to peel back the true story behind who Luca was modeled after.
According to Author Harris L. Kligman, "I arrived in Seoul, South Korea about ten years after the Korean War ended. During my approximately four and a half year residency, I immersed myself in learning the language, the customs and through my friendship with a Korean man, Mr. Y. K. Shin, I was introduced to Hapkido, a Korean martial arts discipline that employs both long range and close range fighting techniques.
During those four and a half years I trained religiously every morning with a class that was held in an old, one story "shack." I was the only American student in the class and trained with young Korean men and several young women. At the end of almost four years, I succeeded in obtaining a Black Belt and had the distinction of being the first and only American student at that training facility, and at that time, to have achieved this level of proficiency.
I modeled "Luca '' the principal character in my novel, "The Shaolin Covenant." after myself. I added additional challenges to Luca's training in an attempt to depict how difficult it is to achieve mastery over any martial arts discipline. It takes years of study and training, and is at times, highly dangerous. During practice, a punch, kick or throw, if not controlled or done in the proper way, can result in serious injury.
The name "Shaolin" was taken from the Shaolin Temple in China where myth or reality depicts that the Monks of this Temple were fighting Monks during the early years of the Qing Dynasty. A woman, a nun, Ng Mui, as legend states, was trained in the martial arts and was one of the famous "Five Monks" who spread the Shaolin martial arts fighting technique across Southern China during the early years of the Qing Dynasty. (Lasting from 1644 to 1912)"
"The Shaolin Covenant's" audio book is available for purchase through Audible, iTunes and Amazon or book form through Amazon, Walmart, and Books-A-Million.
Harris L. Kligman's next release will be Kill Alexis Markovic, scheduled for January 2021.
Additional titles available by Harris L. Kligman include "The Profession," "The Shaolin Covenant," "Her Father's Daughter," "Life Impossible,", "The Dark" and "The Original Alphabet Gang."
