Customer Reviews

The T'Ai-Chi Ch'Uan Experience: Reflections and Perceptions on Body-Mind Harmony

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A must for anyone interested in Tai-Chi Chuan. It's for those who seek good health, peace of mind, and an aesthetic sense of movement. Sophia is a highly articulate spokeswoman. This brilliant book is filled with perceptive and thoroughly apt observations on Ta-Chi Chuan. Sophia Delza was a pioneer of Tai-Chi Chuan in the West and was able to connect the exercise with a philosophy for daily living. Her focus was on Tai-Chi Chuan as an exercise, and it seems she was on the right track as most practice it as such.

This book is not a how-to book. It, instead, is about the mind-body connection, the spiritual and philosophical aspects of T'ai Chi, and relating T'ai Chi to the rest of life. It is a treasure.

Sophia Delza is one of the early US T'ai Chi pioneers - long before T'ai Chi became "popular". She writes from the heart.

Excellent for those who want to delve deeper into this wonderful art

This is not a book for everyone and certainly not recommended for any beginning student of taijiquan. Sophia Delza learned under the famous Ma Yueh-liang in China and yet she seems to have gone off on her own in many ways. She was trained as a dancer and she interpreted taijiquan as an exercise for health. Many people practice it this way. She has also written some unique poetry about taijiquan, some of which is actually quite profound. Somehow she completely missed the boat on the fact that taijiquan is a true martial art--if one has learned the complete art and mastered it. Sadly, very few people including so-called "masters" can demonstrate this. I would probably only recommend this book to a Wu stylist who already has many years of experience and many other, better books on taijiquan. This is more of a curiosity to glance at every once in while, certainly not essential.

The author of this book knows nothing of taijiquan or chinese martial arts in general. Sophia Delza claims that taijiquan is NOT a fighting art. I've never heard anyone take that ridiculous position before, and I've read books by all of the leading taijiquan experts in the world. It's remarkable that Sophia Delza has learned nothing of taijiquan despite her years of training.