Customer Reviews

Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong: A Miracle Health System for Developing Chi

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of the Qigong books I have looked at or read (about 15), I feel this is the most clear for those without the benefit of having a teacher. Combining it with the DVD series would be wise, for reasons mentioned by the other reviewer, Robert Hughes. However, I wouldn't say the DVDs were absolutely necessary for everyone, particularly for those who have some degree of coordination in hand and foot movements from studying other types of Qigong or the martial arts. For those people, supplementing this book with the Youtube videos might be all they'd need to get decent gain. To paraphrase the author, "the beauty of Dragon & Tiger is that even an approximation of the movements will give the practitioner benefits".

Also, like the aforementioned reviewer, I wouldn't say learning it well is "easy". However, it's certainly far easier than some of the other styles of Qigong and not difficult for those with the patience and willingness to follow a slow and methodical step by step process, especially with a full height mirror to watch.

Now for my gripe. I would have gladly given this book 5 stars had all the moves been presented together in the back. Instead, Energy Arts wants you to buy that for $14.95 additional in the form of a poster. While the poster would be much more convenient than flipping through a few pages, I believe the complete set of moves should have been part of the book. The poster could have still been sold separately for its convenience.

In summary, other than the above gripe, this is a great detailed step by step book with no language related barriers.

I've been studying this material for about 3 or 4 months.
Both this book and the DVDs are necessary to get the most out of the awesome Dragon and Tiger form.
But make no mistake about it, although it's a short 7-movement form, it's not easy to perform correctly.
The most important feature of this book is the sections for each movement that show how to "Coordinate Breathing with the Movements" and the "Integration and Practice." These sections include a graphic showing when to begin inhaling, when to finish inhaling, when to begin exhaling and when to finish exhaling.
Detail?
For example, take Movement 4 (Tiger Separates Her Cubs): In Step 3 (Coordinate Breathing with the Movements) we see that you should inhale during 80% of your outgoing arm movement and then exhale during the last 20% as you extend your palm out.
So what?
This detail is crucial to its detoxifying effect on your heart--or as Bruce puts it, "bringing peace, compassion and balance into your heart."
And when you coordinate such "flicks" with the folding and unfolding of the groin (kwa) as in Movement-2, it becomes even more powerful.
These details then can be applied to all movements of any style of Tai Chi Quan.
This book is a treasure for the highly dedicated practitioner of Qigong.

Bruce Jumar Frantiz, as a practicing Taoist and as a lineage master, is always on target in whatever he writes, and it's so nice that his first language is English. On the basic level, Dragon and Tiger is straight forward and clear. It's a good, interesting book with good, solid information. That said, it's a part of a larger work, so it doesn't stand alone. He also has a 2 volume DVD set that belongs with the book. Both the book and the DVD set are outstanding works on the ancient Taoist Water Method of Qigong. We're quite fortunate to have a work like this released.
It's quite exciting!

As usual Bruce Kumar Frantzis presents a very serious exposure, very well explained and detailed. I really reccomend this book.