A longtime student of the taiji grand master Yang Cheng-Fu, Chen Wei-Ming became famous himself as a scholar, martial artist, and proponent of the Yang style of t'ai chi. In the 1920s, he wrote a number of influential books on taiji, among them Taiji Sword (1927), which detailed a rare method of fencing. Translated here for the first time, this book serves as both a historical document and a training manual for an increasingly popular sport.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Translator Barbara Davis holds a master's degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Minnesota. She is the editor of Taijiquan Journal and is director of Great River T'ai Chi Ch'uan in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"The Taiji Sword form never fails to delight audiences. Its dramatic leaps and turns, its shining blade sweeping through the air, and swirling red tassel capture the attention of young and old alike. Taiji Sword, a subset of Taijiquan, is based on the principles of relaxation, yielding, and use of softness to overcome force. Taijiqua practitioners cherish the Taiji Sword for its unique exploration of body-mind focus and powerful lessons for Taijiquan practice."
-Translator's Introduction
-Translator's Introduction
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Description for Yang style Taiji Swordsmanship,
By A Customer
This review is from: Taiji Sword and Other Writings (Paperback)
Being the first batch student of The Eminent Yang Chengfu, Chen Weiming had his master's skill in sword clearly defined. This book also shows a good work of the translator, Barbara Davis, although not as clear as the original text. And this book contains a description of the 'rarely seen' Yang style Taiji Long Fist (Taiji Changquan), an advanced set of Yang Chengfu Taijiquan. This book is the best of its kind, and a must for serious practitioners.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Taiji Sword,
By Musashi "musashi" (Satori, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Taiji Sword and Other Writings (Paperback)
The beginning prefaces are informative. The stories of great Taijiquan masters are fascinating. The descriptions of the various postures are fairly clear. Unfortunately, the black and white photos accompanying the descriptions are faded and grainy. The hands, sword and body often disappear into the background leaving one guessing as to the correct form of the posture.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tai Ji Sword in Cheng Wei Ming's rendition...,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Taiji Sword and Other Writings (Paperback)
Im giving this book 3 stars based on a technicality - if one takes away the pictures of Mr. Ming doing the form, all that's left is the transmission myths from the Yang family.
If one attempts to learn the sword form based only on the photos and the description below them - that may prove a hard task, since there is no connective tissue between the postures. Furthermore, the order in which postures flow may be different depending on the school. However, the photos themselves are very descriptive of this high level practitioner and scholar, Yang Cheng Fu's left hand man (right hand man perhaps being Cheng Man Ching). Which is fine, as a testament of tradition and Yang family transmission. Other than what i ve descrived above, the book is a wonderful evidence of how the anicent art lives, and constantly revitalizes through the priceless efforts of today's Western as well as Eastern players.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
Illustration A: "True Transmission of Wudang Mountain, by Old Feng Xu at eighty-three." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
zhan chi, bao tou, hand feigns, upright blade, sword form, sword tip Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Yang Luchan, Yang Banhou, Tiger Holds Its Head, Yang Chengfu, Yang Jianhou, Lion Shakes Its Head, The Compass, Agile Cat Catches the Rat, Chen Changxing, Clasping the Moon, Dragon Gate, Hebei Province, Three Rings Circle the Moon, Black Dragon Twines, Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Inner Boxing, Master Yan, Push Hands, Rhinoceros Gazes, Shaking the Duster, Zhang Sanfeng New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Illustration A: "True Transmission of Wudang Mountain, by Old Feng Xu at eighty-three." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
zhan chi, bao tou, hand feigns, upright blade, sword form, sword tip Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Yang Luchan, Yang Banhou, Tiger Holds Its Head, Yang Chengfu, Yang Jianhou, Lion Shakes Its Head, The Compass, Agile Cat Catches the Rat, Chen Changxing, Clasping the Moon, Dragon Gate, Hebei Province, Three Rings Circle the Moon, Black Dragon Twines, Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Inner Boxing, Master Yan, Push Hands, Rhinoceros Gazes, Shaking the Duster, Zhang Sanfeng New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 14
books:
See all 14 books this book cites
4
books
cite this book:
- Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu by Chuang Tzu in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A History of Chinese Medicine by Dominique Hoizey in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Asian Fighting Arts by Donn Draeger in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Chinese Mythology: An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend (World Mythology) by Derek Walters in Back Matter
- The Art of War (Penguin Great Ideas) by Sun-tzu in Back Matter
See all 14 books this book cites
- The Taijiquan Classics: An Annotated Translation by Barbara Davis in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Kung Fu Elements: Wushu Training and Martial Arts Application Manual by Shou-Yu Liang on page 379, and page 442
- Chinese Swordsmanship: The Yang Family Taiji Jian Tradition by Scott M. Rodell in Back Matter
- Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey by Brian Kennedy on page 277
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
