Customer Reviews

The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan: Wisdom from Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Other Great Thinkers

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For all taijiquan enthusiasts who have read the taiji classics and wished to know more about the vast background of Chinese philosophy which lies behind them, this book is for you! It consists of carefully-chosen excerpts from those works of Chinese philosophy which have the most direct bearing on the development of taijiquan. The authors have done a great job of selecting, translating, and commenting on these passages, giving in effect a brief history of Chinese philosophy in less than 100 pages. Those of us without the background or time to investigate the immense body of material represented here can be thankful that the authors have done the work for us. Highly recommended for any taijiquan student who is interested in the ways of thinking that led to this great art.

It has been a real pleasure to read this book. If one wants to do more than copy a lot of movements without any meaning one needs to know "the reason behind". This means not only the more or less hidden applications, but the philosophy that supports them, the core ideas that provide the strategy of Tai Chi and allow the practitioner to know what is right and what is wrong. In this field it is very easy to get lost. A lot of big words and flurry concepts: dao, de, full and empty .... Why not skip all this and concentrate in the practice? A big mistake! Theory without practice is not going to improve our health or our martial ability. But practice without theory is blind. We need to know that some Chinese philosophers believed that the weak overcomes the strong, and that this principle is embodied in Tai Chi. Chinese strategists thought about the art of deception. So if the enemy is strong we must evade him, but if he is holding back, we must look arrogant. And we could continue ... I had a Tai Chi Master who used to say that Tai Chi was created by intelligent people who were getting older and could not trust any longer in brute force. So, from the beginning the tai chi practitioner (and especially complete beginners) must know what they are doing, the specific quality of what they are doing. This is what they can learn in this book, some quite easy to understand Chinese texts that present "abstract concepts"; but (and this is the magic of Tai Chi) concepts that can be felt, can be embodied in movements of the solo form or in the interaction with a partner. In this sense I would recommend strongly the reading of this book, and then ...to put it into practice. A wonderful Tai chi journey is waiting for all of us.

Registered Instructor - Tai Chi Union of Great Britain (TCUGB)
Instructor - Northern Wu Taiji Quan Global Alliance

I really liked the authors' idea of offering "a direct connection with the concepts that form the foundation of Tai Chi, inspiring a deeper understanding of the art and its applications".

The "Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan" (PTCC) covers twelve texts beginning with the I Ching. Also featured are Taoist (Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi, Lie Zi, Nei Ye & Huainanzi), Confucian (Analects, Da Xue & Zhong Yong) and Military works (Sun Zi, Wu Zi & Sun Bin).

A notable omission, given its influence on Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) and the art's own Classics, is the Tai Chi Diagram Explanation of Zhou Dun Yi.

The authors give their view about the influence of each text on the practice of TCC. The influences cited are typically general in nature, explanations are brief, and there is little specific application.

Classical Chinese philosophical works are not easy to understand. Commentaries are often provided to minimise misunderstandings as, per the TCC classics, "being off by a hair's breadth is to miss by a thousand miles". PTCC has no commentaries. Readers must make their own connections, as best they can, between TCC and the excerpts.

I admire the German authors for translating from Chinese into English. I hope that their book stimulates some positive discussions. Some chapters/things that caught my eye:

Zhuang Zi. The authors describe "non-acting (wuwei)" as an important concept that means "neither too much nor too little action". This changes to "not to interfere with or act against naturalness" in the glossary.

Other commentators place most emphasis on the nature, rather than the amount, of action e.g. "going with the flow". In martial terms others have expressed wuwei as "rolling with the punches". Blending with, rather than resisting, an opponent's action is wuwei.

Wu Zi. The authors say that "those who learn TCC practice an old Chinese martial art. Nevertheless, most students of TCC view the use of violence skeptically. This skepticism can also be found in the texts of the strategists of old China".

My dictionary defines scepticism as "an attitude of doubt especially associated with implied criticism." I do wonder if "pragmatic" is perhaps a more appropriate description for the attitude of the strategists towards violence.

Given that TCC is a martial art it's no surprise that there are many accounts of famous TCC masters visiting varying degrees of violence upon challengers, assailants, would be assassins, assorted lowlifes & even their own students. Some even seemed to enjoy it and didn't need too much prompting either.

We (civilian, emotionally mature) TCC students understand the limitations of violence in conflict resolution. We aim to avoid using it. But we recognise when violence is necessary. At which point our training allows us (hopefully!) to apply a proportionate and lawful level of violence effectively. This is nothing to be doubtful or critical about.

Da Xue. The authors write that "one can imagine that many masters of TCC saw their art not only as a collection of self-defence techniques or health exercises but also as a form of self-cultivation. This also explains the great importance of the solo forms, which many students of TCC consider to be the substance of their art".
It's probably a lost-in-translation moment, but given the sophisticated, coherent, strategies and tactics described in TCC literature I doubt that any TCC Masters viewed their martial art as a "collection of self-defence techniques".

That many people who practice solo forms consider them to be "the substance of their art" is, however, well known. There are many forms: some fast; some slow; some overtly martial; some less so. We can practice the same form in many different ways too. Many people have fun and get many benefits from practicing form and only form. But can we really say that we're practicing the martial art of TCC if the solo form is "the" substance of our art?

The authors noted that the I Ching structured the world in pairs of opposites and that this has a fundamental influence on TCC. Civilian and Military are such a pair. TCC Master Tung Ying Chieh used these terms to describe the practice of TCC as follows:

"The civil aspect of Taijiquan is the Body (the Form). The military aspect is the Application. Training in the civil aspect is learning about yourself. The military aspect is needed for confrontation. If one learns the civil aspect and ignores the military aspect, it is the body with no function. If the military aspect is not based on the civil aspect, it is a tree with no root."

The authors stated that the Da Xue addresses "peaceful and respectful dealings with each other". The partner work (military) aspect of TCC allow us to develop such dealings very directly. And it complements the hand form/solo exercises to give a more complete art.

In conclusion I found this book to be an interesting read and a recommended buy. The basic premise was a nice idea but it needs to be explored in more detail to make this a great book. I would welcome the authors revisiting this subject in the future and fleshing out the relationships between the classic texts and TCC.

G'Day,
I feel this is good reading for most but it be better for a person that has been in the art form for a while.

Cheers Joseph

Freya and Martin Boedicker have brought together an important set of Chinese philosophcal readings for the "mature" taiji player and, in general, for all practitioners of traditional Chinese martial arts.

What I mean by "mature" is that practitioner who has "eaten the bitter", liked the taste, and desires to pierce the veil of the Chinese mindset of the art he or she practices. This is not for a beginner and this has nothing to do with the depth or content of the translations. Beginners often become side-tracked by the philosophical, new age potential of taijiquan and philosophical excursions, at this stage, obscures the need for hard, repetitive, basic training. Furthermore, these are serious translations and are not of the new age variety. They help bring about a deep understanding of the world view that gave rise to the art of taijiquan and other Chinese systems.

There is wonderful model, McCormick and Chapman, explaining how executives adjust to being relocated in a new culture and identifies several stages: 1) Unreality, 2)Fantasia, 3)Interest, 4)Acceptance of Reality, 5) Experimentation, 6) Search, and 7) Integration. In many ways the journey into taijiquan follows a simialar path. The Boedicker translations are for those who have reached the 7th and 8th stages.

I hope the authors continue to offer more translations in the future. For sure I will be in line for the next purchase of their material.

For the first time, as far as I know, English readers have a comprehensive book on the main lane philosophers who have influenced this ancient martial art. This is a wonderful book, either for the newcomer or the seasoned Tai Chi Chuan practitioner.
For the newcomer, because it helps to situate and understand the philosophy that is embedded in this art he, or she, is becoming acquainted to. For the seasoned practitioner, it fulfills a gap in the study, helping the understanding of many important aspects of the art through the connection of the long practice to the original roots of the philosophy underneath.
Very well organized in chapters named after the main philosophers it includes also a Glossary for the main Chinese concepts covered.
But, most of all, since the translation was focused on the Tai Chi Chuan practitioner, by a couple who have themselves being practicing Tai Chi Chuan for so many years, and have drank its knowledge through one of the main families in this magnificent art, The Wu Family, the result for the readers is one of those books we must read and keep for consultation every once in a while.

Everybody knows that taichichuan has its roots in the ancient Chinese philosophy. But what of this philosophy has really influenced on taichichuan? I'm very pleased to find a book at last that connects both in a clear, concise and coherent way. In this book you can find interesting translations from works such as the Tao Te Ching, the Art of War, the I Ching as well as, different important philosophers as Confucious, Zhuangzi, Wuzi and so on. But always in a practical way to connect and explain these philosophy principles into the principles and strategies in taichichuan. I have enjoyed especially the short histories of each philosopher and the glossary of Chinese terms. In short, it was a pleasure to read this book, and I recommend it to every taichichuan practitioner who wants to understand the roots of this Art.

This book is you the one you have tor read when you think (like I thought before I read the book) that Tai Chi is only based on the Taoistic tradition. A well chosen selection of texts convinces the reader of the coherence between the different Chinese thinking systems. Tai Chi Chuan has a broad heritage, an inspiring idea.