The Brooklyn Monk

Antonio Graceffo is an American travel author and adventurer, living in Asia. Antonio immerses himself in the culture of the countries and people he writes about. Antonio speaks Chinese, Khmer, Spanish, Italian, German, French, and some Thai. Now he is learning Korean. He spends his time living with tribes, learning martial arts, fighting, making movies, climbing mountains, learning languages and doing adventure sports. He is also a frequent guest on radio and TV talk shows. As a professional speaker, in 2006, Antonio reached the semi-finals of the World Championships of Public Speaking.

Antonio’s writing has appeared in hundreds of magazines and websites around the world. He has four books available on Amazon.com

Find out more about Antonio, listen to radio interviews or speeches at his website: Speaking Adventure with Antonio Graceffo

Book release: Adventures in Formosa By Antonio Graceffo

The aboriginal priest lead me through a traditional long house, eventually depositing me in a private room with shower. ”This a good room.” said Father Steven. “The old priest lived in here for thirty three years.” “Why did he give it up?” I asked. “He died, in that bed.” Said Father Steven, pointing. “Great!” With […]

Training for the Fight

For the martial artist, it is important in each evolution of training to know what you are doing, and why. You should change your training routine to match the specific challenge that lies ahead. When planning to enter a sparring competition, full contact fighting, or san da / san shou (Chinese kickboxing), you must train […]

Taiwan, Foreigners Preserve and Update the Martial Arts

In a country with no NASCAR racing and tight gun control laws, how do men bond? The answer is simple. They get together every Wednesday night and pound the daylights out of each other. While training in Taiwan, I attended the inauguration of Fight Club Kaohsiung, which is sponsored by Mindful Phoenix Arts Group. The […]

No Gloves Means New Rules

Copyright Antonio Graceffo 2004 Each martial art has a certain, unique rhythm, which derives from the style and the rules of competition. A boxing match sounds like pity-pat, pity-pat, pity-pat, as the fighters circle, and throw jabs, feeling each other out. A Tae Kwan Do match would sound more like a machine gun, rata-tat-tat, rata-tat-tat, […]

Thailand's Last Muay Thai Temple

Antonio's training and pro-boxing in Thailand are some of the adventures featured in his new book, Bikes, Boats, and Boxing Gloves: Adventure Writer in the Kingdom of Siam. On the night that I heard about Thailand's last Muay Thai Temple, The Golden Horse Monastery (Wat Acha Tong), near Chiangrai, I was pre-occupied with packing. In […]