T'ai Chi: The "Supreme Ultimate" Exercise for Health, Sport, and Self-Defense [Paperback]

Cheng Man-Ch'ing (Author), Robert W. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2004

The Chinese secret for youthfulness, health and long life lies at least partly in T'ai Chi, the ballet-like calisthenics they've practiced for centuries. This rhythmical art stresses slow breathing, balanced and relaxed postures and absolute calmness of mind. The practice itself need take no more than ten minutes a day. This book is a complete step-by-step manual for the beginner that will enable anyone to master the sequence of thirty-seven postures that make up the T'ai Chi solo exercise.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late Cheng Man-ch'ing was an international authority on T'ai Chi and wrote two earlier books on the topic.

Robert W. Smith is also the author of The Secrets of Shaolin Temple Boxing and A Complete Guide to Judo. He lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; 2 edition (December 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804835934
• ISBN-13: 978-0804835930
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Tai Chi & Qi Gong

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic work, November 10, 2005

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: T'ai Chi: The "Supreme Ultimate" Exercise for Health, Sport, and Self-Defense (Paperback)

This might have been the first work in English on tai chi, and Smith was Cheng Man Ching's first western or American student. It's still one of the best introductory tai chi books out there. The photos of Cheng's form are worth the price of the book by themselves, his form being impeccable as usual and a high benchmark we should all strive to attain.

One caution, which is that the photos of Cheng are from two other previous books and some are reversed from what they are in the actual form; for example, single whip is shown on the left side when it is actually done on the right side. You can tell they're from different books since some photos show Cheng in a white jacket, and others show him in a dark jacket.

Smith includes the best brief, several-page summary of tai chi history and its origins I've seen, giving you essential details and facts without getting into an overly meticulous recounting of its origins, the lineage, and other controversial issues, which are still unresolved, anyway. But if you become more of an advanced student you'll want to learn all about that later. For an introductory text this is enough information for now.

A nice chapter on the martial arts applications is also included, something neglected too often in present day tai chi texts. Also, some good information and instruction on pushing hands techniques. By the way, pushing hands was a skill added to tai chi much later, it being originally a dim mak or point striking art, which most practitioners aren't aware of.

One minor quip. The pictures for the photo sequences of Cheng's form are a little small and sometimes a bit dark by present reproduction standards, but one has to remember these plates are now almost 40 years old. However, they're still good enough so you can see the postures and techniques okay. Overall still a fine book and at this point a true classic and landmark in the history of martial arts books about the more obscure Chinese arts. Smith's books on hsing i and ba gua were also important early efforts and excellent books also, and if you are interested in further information on the two other Wu Dang internal arts those are working getting too.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very helpful, July 25, 2007

By 

David Wade Smith "laughingdragon" (Great Barrington, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: T'ai Chi: The "Supreme Ultimate" Exercise for Health, Sport, and Self-Defense (Paperback)

As a student at Cheng-Man-ch'ing's school, starting the year before his death, I've never found this book particularly representative of Professor Cheng, though many people are fond of it. There are several other books that are much more helpful, including Professor's own "Master Cheng's New Method of Taichi Ch'uan Self-Cultivation" and "Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan." In response to one other comment, I was never under the impression that he held anything back. Like any other good teacher, he was aware of what his students were prepared to absorb, and imparted information accordingly. Remember that he departed this world in 1975, a time when T'ai Chi was still relatively unknown in the West, and much of what he said and wrote went right over the heads of most of his students at that time. The thing that most of us tried to do was emulate his example of what could be attained through dedication, perseverance, and a joyful attitude.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on taijiquan, December 27, 2010

By 

Justin Z. Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: T'ai Chi: The "Supreme Ultimate" Exercise for Health, Sport, and Self-Defense (Paperback)

This book, like Zheng's 37 posture form itself, is accurate, concise, and filled with qi (ch'i).

It was one of the first good English language books on taijiquan (t'ai chi ch'uan) and contains history, philosophy, the form, and sensing hands applications. It also has an interesting 'mirror image' format to the pictures, and a diagram of the locations of each posture in the form.

It is well known that anything Robert W. Smith writes on martial arts is gold. When combined with Zheng's taijiquan, that gold turns to diamond!