Customer Reviews

T'ai Chi Exercise for Lifelong Health and Well-Being

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

 

 

I have tried many DVDs as learning companions for Tai Chi instruction, and I have found this one to be the easiest to follow. Showingthe exercises from behind with the mirrors in the front keeps me from getting reversed while practicing. Also breaking the form down into smaller section makes the overall task of learning and practicing the form seem less daunting.

I had been practicing the Yang short form from Tricia Yu's video for the last 6 months. I'm very excited to have it on DVD format because I can jump to the exact section I want to work on. It's easy to follow and the scenery is so beautiful that it's hard not to be inspired. Also, the music is lovely and Tricia's voice is very calming and encouraging.

Very nice teaching tool to supplement in person learning. Tricia Yu provides various angles when teaching the posture and does a nice job demonstrating each section. My husband and I are viewing it regularly as a part of our Tai Chi practice.

I took tai chi from a wonderful instructor a few years back, and have also had instruction in kung fu and chi kung, and I've been looking for a good reference DVD to get me back into tai chi. I've rented a number of DVDs from the library, including this one and one from Terence Dunn and Dr. Paul Lam, and this one had the clearest, most instructive set up I've seen.

As other reviewers have mentioned, Tricia Yu goes through the instruction with her back facing you while facing three mirrors in front (one directly in front and the other two angled at the sides). This made it intuitive to follow since you could mimic what she was doing (either by following her from behind or following her mirror image). Also, there was no cheesy music during the instruction, so you could focus on the form and not on how to get the stupid music out of your head.

That being said, I think this DVD is only good as an overview since she goes through the entire form in 5 or 6 lessons while most tai chi instructors will take several months to teach it. That makes the DVD a good value for the money, but it also shows that there's a limitation on the level of detail that can be expressed in these lessons. If she performed the moves just a tad slower or gave some more detailed desciptions of the footwork, it would have improved an already good video instruction.

The problem with a lot of tai chi tapes is that as the movement is 3D, it is hard for a beginner to follow. This tape is great in that there are mirrors behind the instructor, showing what is happening behind her, and she repeats the each sequence from behind so you truly see all the body movements. It is the only DVD you'll need to learn the yang short form.

This is the DVD if you are learning or have learned Yang short form, Cheng Man Ching lineage and want help practicing at home. It is not the one for learning the form. Pricey,but for the help I get, it's been worth it.

The DVD was not what I expected. I was disappointed because the explanations of movements were very vague and the demonstrations did not help.