Customer Reviews

Tai Chi: Fitness & Health Fundamentals [VHS]

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

 

 

According to the type on the box, the instructors own the Boston Kung Fu Tai Chi Institute. The men are past Martial Arts award winners and the woman is an aerobics instructor. But it appears they have never practiced together. They are not all doing the same thing at the same time, or the same way. The instructions are not clear, especially when talking about proper form, and it is difficult to ascertain proper form by observation,as they are all wearing black. There are inexplicable sudden close-ups of the instructors which also obstruct observation of the movements. This video definitely would benefit from better set lighting and direction, as well as clearer instruction.

The video shows three instructors simultaneously, one for each level of difficulty. The workout is non-stop, they never take the time to explain anything. Tai Chi is not presented very well at all in this video; it is confusing and hard to follow.

There is no hype in this video, the content is plain, the instructors wear black and the music is soothing. All of which is great if you just want to learn a few basic moves while getting a great workout, without a lot of production getting in the way.

They start by showing you just the hand movements then just the foot movements and the last section is putting them both together so at the end of the video you have a few basic moves down. One of the best things about this is that it gives you an all over stretch/workout. There is a full warm up session and the exercises stretch your whole body.

The only negitive thing I would say is that it can be kind of confusing watching the mirror image of the instructors while trying to move with them. However if you stop and start the video the first few times you do it, you can catch on quite quickly due to the simplicity of the moves.

The video starts out alright, if a bit boring with just the hand motions. However, when the foot motions are added the view has to turn thier back to the TV. I found it impossible to follow without looking. If you don't learn movements quickly this is not the video for you.

Easy to follow until the leg motions are added in. May take some practice for that.