Customer Reviews

T'ai Chi For Health: Yang Long Form [VHS]

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

[....] There are a couple mistakes in regards to left-right positioning (which are quickly rectified through continual practice) and the whole ‘mirror-movement’ is challenging—-at first. But for someone serious about learning the basics of Tai Chi Ch’uan, you really cannot go wrong here. You just need three things: enough space to practice (10’ by ’10 is optimum), enthusiasm, and patience.

Tai Chi Ch’uan, translated as ‘supreme ultimate boxing’, is an ancient Chinese exercise designed to maintain flexibility, increase mental awareness, and cultivate ‘Chi’, i.e. lifeforce. Practice of this martial art strengthens the muscles of the entire body, limbers the joints, teaches one correct posture, balance and breathing, and gives the practitioner a calm ‘natural high’ far more subtle and rewarding than the usual methods (caffeine, sugar, alcohol). There are three ways to learn the art: through a certified instructor (the best), off a video such as this (also recommended), or from a book (not recommended at all). And among the video selection, Terry Dunn’s T’ai Chi for Health is among the very best.

The video begins with Terry practicing the Yang Long Form at dawn on a beach while a relaxed angle-American voice explains the basic concepts of Taoist philosophy and extols the benefits of long-term Tai Chi practice. Very classy. The meat of the video is in three sections: 1) the basic postures and warm-up stretches (30 minutes), 2) instruction of the 108 Yang Long Form movements (60 minutes), 3) additional exercises (15 minutes). A long conclusion showpiece has Terry practicing the entire form in a dimly lit studio.

The production and presentation of this video are top-notch. Terry Dunn is a calm and graceful teacher with a mellow, easy-on-the-ears voice; the atmospheric music by Vangelis compliments the forms very well. The philosophical concepts are presented in an understandable way for those not acquainted with Eastern thought. Though there are a few neglected areas, including the history of Tai Chi’s development (it originally begun as Dim-Mak, or ‘death-point striking’) and its sword forms, for those interested in increasing their health in a graceful, gentle way, I highly recommend this tape. I’ve been using it for five years and am _fully_ satisfied with the results.

If you already own the VHS, you may be wondering whether this is a new production, especially since the cover photo appears to be a 40-year-old Dunn. Wouldn't you like to see the results of some 20 years of practice? Imagine, too, all the ideas Dunn must have had over the years of what he could have done better on the video. Well, sorry, it's the same production as on the VHS tape, the same 20-year-old Dunn, the same soundtrack, including the same minor errors in verbal instruction.

There is, nevertheless, some advantage in the DVD format over the VHS, if you haven't learned the form yet. There is a menu, with the form broken down into about 50 short pieces, and it will cycle through a chosen short piece repeatedly until you select "next" -- or you can play straight through the entire form. If you're like me, you'll use that automatic repetition of short pieces quite a lot, on your way to learning the form.

I have seen quite a few Tai Chi DVD's and this one is probably one of the best. There are plenty of videos of the so-called "Yang" short form (I prefer not to call it Yang, but instead the "Beijing 24 form"), but not many good videos of the Yang Long Form. This one is worth buying. The production quality of the video is very good and the descriptions are clear. You can repeat individual sections, which is helpful. Even though the title of the DVD includes the words "Tai Chi for Health", this is good traditional Taijiquan with martial application; not just flowery new age movements.

About fifteen years ago, I bought a book on T'ai Chi at a Flea Market for $1.00 and threw it in with my collection ,promising myself that I would read it sooner or later. Five years ago I began,finally, to scan through it and I decided, for supplemental assistance, to purchase a T'ai Chi for Health video tape that demonstrated 20 forms which I practiced daily for about two years until I felt that I was ready to advance. I then began to read the book which showed 108 forms and I was forewarned that it would take a considerable amount of time to learn the movements. So, using visual imagery and practicing with focused determination, I was able to work up to #108 after months and months and months of studying the book. I am aware that one is advised to work with a trained instructor in order to derive the maximum benefits from T'ai Chi but I did not want to allow the lack of an instructor to deter my motivation. Recently,I purchased the video tape, T'ai Chi for Health: Yang Long Form (By Terence Dunn) and after sitting and watching it for two hours, I felt that I was there with him being instructed one-on-one. I felt that Mr. Dunn's demonstration of the forms was excellent and that his vocal instructions and explanations were direct, succinct, and informative. To my surprise, I found that I had been following correct procedure, for the most part, and that I had only to smooth out some edges in order to present a reasonable picture of appearing to know what I was doing. From my perspective, this VHS Tape fulfills much in the quest of many who seek to be rooted through the art of T'ai Chi Chuan; it is a tremendous tool for the neophyte.

I thought this was a very good video, but if you are interested in the long Yang form, this is the more modernized, wu shu version of it rather than the original Yang Chen Fu version, according to my instructor.

The video includes some tai chi warm-up excercises, and two presentations of the entire form. The first shows the moves step by step with the names and numbers of the move, with slight pauses in between. The second shows the entire form from beginning to end as one continuous, smooth performance.

One difference between this and the original Yang Cheng Fu form is the somewhat larger moves, or "large frame" aspect to the form. It follows almost the same sequence, though, except for some changes in several places in the form, especially at the beginning of the form, and in the middle of the second section, in the movements just before and after double wind to ears. Some of the moves are done a little differently, too, such as snake darts out tongue, wave hands like clouds, etc.

Also, Dunn does not keep the qua open (keeping the armpits open by one fist distance, or the arms away from the side of the body, which aids with balance through the waist and to the legs) which is an important internal principle. But overall Dunn has very nice, smooth, flowing form, exceptional balance (the ability to pause and hold the kicks), and I enjoyed his performance.

Overall I thought this was a well done video and found it useful in comparing what I do with some of the other Yang versions out there. I also have his short Yang form video and thought that was similarly well done.

This is the best Tai Chi video on the market. I've been studying martial arts for 16 years and this is the 1st Tai Chi video that i have seen that teaches the correct form move for move. Excellent video for learning this form.

I would have given this video 5 stars but I do think for an absolute beginner, it is difficult to follow and there are some basic instructions missing. I took Kung Fu for about a year and am used to learning a 30, 40, 50+ step form. What this video is missing is an explaination as to how you should approach your Tai Chi training. If you've taken a martial art, Tai Chi itself or even ball room dancing, this is a great video.

For those who have not take any martial art etc, here is some advise. When you start to learn the form, realize it is going to take A VERY LONG TIME for you to be able to learn the entire form correctly. To start, learn the first 5-8 steps and then turn off the video. Keep practicing until you can do the steps without thinking about them. Go back to the video and do the next 5-8 steps. Then turn off the video and do all the steps you know until you do ALL of them automatically. Keep this up until you learn the whole form. This will take weeks if not months to perfect. It is possible to learn the form in a few days and be automatic in it within a week or two, but you've got to dedicate some serious hours to Tai Chi training.

All in all, a wondeful video that is easy to follow. Just take your time and be patient. Once you learn the form by heart, you can concetrate on the relaxation power of the form and less on remembering the sequence of manuevers. Good Luck!!

This was about the third Tai Chi video that I had purchased and it was by far the superior of the three. Terrence Dunn's instruction is very graceful and artistic. The movements have been stylized to be more circular than the movements of other instructors that I had seen. After seeing the video I changed the way I was practicing the postures to more closely resemble the style on the video. By chance, I happened to meet a Chinese gentleman at work who had learned the Yang style long form in China and practiced it every morning. When I showed him a few of the postures that I had been practicing, he told me, "Your Tai Chi is perfect." Well, I suppose that he was just being polite, but I felt good that a serious practitioner did not immediately point out faults in what I was doing. I credit the video for any success I have had.

I purchased this, with much trepidation, based on one person's 5 star review BUT indeed this is a wonderful video. The music is very appropriate and peaceful, the instruction is clear enough for beginners but the instructor's expertise is clear and will provide learning for many, many hours to come, and the instructor is wonderful, no silly jokes that will get annoying, very to the point yet not dry, seems very genuine. I am very pleased.

Out of the three Tai-Chi instructional videos I own this one is my favorite! You can learn Tai-Chi with this video, but you have to invest some time and effort. Nothing worth learning comes easy. I believe this video has received some unfair reviews, so I am giving it five stars. The quality of this video is excellent and it includes all 108 movements of the Yang long form. I just don't understand some of the reviews I've read. This is the BEST Tai-Chi instructional video I've seen. Thank you Terry Dunn!