In 1991, I was asked by Curtis F. Wong - owner of "Inside Kung Fu" magazine - to make a video series on JKD Concepts, which proved very successful. Since I had a writing background, I told Curtis that I was interested in having a column for the magazine. He said that it would be up to the editor of the publication, but he would introduce me.

The editor agreed to read what I had written. It was piece on the art of Indonesian Silat. He called a few days later and said, "If you keep writing like this, you'll have a place here for a long time." When the first piece was published, the heading above the title read "Burt Offerings". The magazine editor had come up with that, and I proceeded to write the "Burt Offerings" monthly column for the next decade.

Here you have a collection of many of those columns, along with some selected articles from other magazines and two interviews. As I reread each piece that made it into this work, I had a many precious memories flow back into my consciousness along with many flashbacks of pivotal moments in my Martial Arts development. To each of you reading this book, I trust that you will enjoy the stories and I sincerely hope that many of the lessons I learned, often the hard way, will help you to better your own training and life.