Customer Reviews

Taiji Sword and Other Writings

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is a very interesting book and very worthwhile to have if you are interested in Tai Chi Sword. Other reviewers have pointed out the limitation of detail in movement descriptions and grainy pictures. However, much more important is that it is a glimpse into the deeper moral and spiritual value that these great practioners held for the sword and how closely they were connected to the inner meanings of Taoist philosophy. It won't be a great resource for learning the form, but reading the words of these dedicated practioners from the past has a great and lasting value for anyone trying to gleen the meaning and value of Tai Chi Sword.

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 also compares Taijiquan with other sports, and stories about Yang style masters are well documented here. This book is the best of its kind, and a must for serious practitioners.

This book is a very interesting account of the Yang Style Tai Chi sword form. It is a translation of a classical account from the 1920's, and includes pictures of each of the postures of the form. The text is clear, and an interesting account of the form by an old master. As with most classical Tai Chi writings, it is more useful as a source of ideas for someone who already practices the form than as a beginner's teaching text. The translation is scholarly, and Ms. Davis has added a lot to this book with her footnotes and commentary. A very enjoyable read.

I wish the pictures weren't so scratchy, but this is a facinating read for anyone studying Taichi sword.

I bought this book along with a video on T'ai Chi sword. I bought the book for some stories not for instruction. There are a few stories which were fun to read but there is no reason to own this book. The only redeeming quality of this book is the old time T'ai Chi pictures which are cool! But not worth spending any money on.