Customer Reviews

Power Taiji

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best book on Yang Cheng Fu form I've ever seen. Includes detailed pictures and excellent descriptions of the postures and transitions from one posture to another. The martial applications of the form are included in Michael Babins chapter.
You can actually learn the form from this book!!!
Oh... One more thing...The editorial review about fast and explosive forms that you'll learn... Not in this book.

I definately recommend this book to both TaiChi and ChiGung pratictioners. It is packed with smart and useful information. The forms are well explained. The relations between the forms and healing as well as martial application are clear and concise. The pictures, although not worth publication in National Geographics, are explanatory.

Must more in depth then most books. Describes health benefits of each posture as well as detailed descriptions. Reenforces the importance of standing meditation.

Something forgotten, or unknown, by many people is that Taiji is a martial art. It has been watered down over the years, in most cases to the point that it is not usable in a martial way, but still the roots are there.

What Erle Montaigue shows in this book is the unwatered version of the health form of Taiji, as taught by Yang Cheng Fu [YCF], the grandson of the founder of Yang Taiji. This is an early version of the YCF form, perhaps the first version he taught, and as such is closer in flavour to the martial version taught by his grandfather and other family members. It should be noted that Yang Cheng Fu also taught Taiji combat to a lot of students, using this form.

Erle Montaigue also teaches Taiji from a martial point of view, even the YCF form. His contention is that you cannot learn 'health' Taiji without learning 'martial' Taiji. They are two halves of the same skill - which of course ties in with the Yin and Yang ideas underlying Taiji. Because of this his book has a decidedly martial feel to it.

The first half to two thirds of the book deals with the form itself, which is taught in enough detail that you can learn it from this book alone, although you would need an instructor or at least DVDs to learn more about how to move correctly. Later sections of the book deal with Push Hands and other aspects of the art.

I use it extensively myself as a ready reference for form movements and other issues. I also recommend it to my students as the most comprehensive and clearly written primer on a Taiji long form that I have found in seventeen years of learning and teaching Taiji. I highly recommend it to anyone reading this.

This is the best book on Yang Cheng Fu form I've ever seen. Includes detailed pictures and excellent descriptions of the postures and transitions from one posture to another. The martial applications of the form are included in Michael Babins chapter.
You can actually learn the form from this book!!!
O... a note from the publisher about fast and explosive forms that you'll learn... Not in this book.

Power Taiji should be purchased and used by every person who has a sincere interest in taiji and qigong. The book teaches the Yang Cheng Fu Form with detailed instructions good enough to learn the form right from this book. It also gives important insights into qigong exercises that can be used right from the get go. As is always the case with Erle Montaigue's books, tapes and DVDs it is an A+. Buy it ad Try it.

I wish I'd had this book seventeen years ago, when I started studying taiji. The section on qi gong is worth the price of the book. As for the hand form, it's covered in detail, including weight-shifting, which part moves first, breathing, etc. The photos are clear. It's all but impossible to learn taiji from a book alone, however, so I highly recommend Erle Montaigue's DVDs, which are superb. Whether one is studying with a teacher or alone, the DVD plus the book are tools that will deepen your knowledge and speed your learning. By the way, I've read reviews of some of Erle's other books that say he is a controversial figure in martial arts. I don't know the root of the controversy, but to paraphrase the great taiji teacher William Chen, the only issue is results. Does what you're doing produce the result you want? If so, skip the controversy and keep at it. I've found that Erle's books and DVDs--including the present title--deliver the goods, fast.

Good written instructions and lousy photos combine to limit the usefulness of this book. I think a personal instructor or at the minimum is necessary to impart this knowledge. This might be useful as a resource to use to help recall things already learned in some other manner.