Customer Reviews

Taijiquan, Classical Yang Style: The Complete Form and Qigong

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

 

 

As a novice I have collected most of Dr. Yang's writings on Qigong and Taijiquan, as well as some tapes and dvd's. His background is well worth looking into, particularly the 25-page account in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (Michael A. DeMarco, interviewer, Vol 12, Number 2, 2003) currently available on the YMAA website.

In this book Dr. Yang recaps the high points of his earlier foundation books on Qigong (Chi Kung), so that this text can be considered complete by itself. However, while those books go into more detail and have more Qi training exercises, Dr. Yang adds new content here.

At a glance, pages 66 to 76 contain completely original material. He also cites "The Body Electric" by Robert O. Becker, the man who healed "hopeless" fractures with subtle electrical currents. The first 100 pages deal with background, historical surveys, and anecdotes.

Published literature has contention over what the real Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) is and should be. Whether a flowery dance, a health-giving exercise, or the ultimate form of moving meditation aimed at enlightenment.

The gist of Dr. Yang's argument is that authentic Taijiquan has both spiritual and martial roots. That proper theoretical perspective, combined with disciplined practice, leads to the deep levels of Taiji. Simply, he sees Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) as a sophisticated progression of Qi (Chi) exercises.

However, saying and doing are two separate things. Another 80 pages are devoted to fundamental stances and Taiji Qigong exercises, all illustrated with photographs and arrow lines showing movement. The final 120 pages go to the 113 posture long sequence itself. (These two sections contain 489 photographs of Dr. Yang demonstrating the movements.)

Three considerations. First, the numbering system and page layout of the photographs can be a pain, so be ready with a pencil. Second, the printing and binding of this book could be better, so think of it as a training manual and get on with your practice. Third, Dr. Yang's writing style reads as "thought in Chinese and diagrams, written in English." Sometimes it takes effort and time to reach the deeper meaning of his writing.

The companion DVD and book make an exceptional combination. While the printing and binding of the book rates slightly below standard, the production quality of the DVD gets superior marks.

Basically, if you don't already have Dr. Yang's previous books on qigong, you won't be bothered by the repetition of old material of which most of this book consists. Also, it contains a (the?) entire long form of yang style tai chi. However, I am puzzled as to what this form has to do or how it is connected to Yang Ban Hou, especially as this book is sold by suggesting that this is his form - he isn't even featured in the index, there is no information on him in the book, and I was under the impression that he performed a small frame of tai chi, unlike the form portrayed in this book. Lastly, there is no explicit mention of any fast movements (fajing), which is also one of the selling points on the corresponding website, nor does it have a step by step explanation of how fajing is to be performed. Overall, it is my impression that this book has been hastily put together and perhaps in a future edition, these deficits will be corrected.

My humble opinion,

Alex van Deelen

Dr. Yang clearly explains the principles of Qi Gong, mixing ancient believes with scientific evidence uncovered in recent years. His explanation of the Yang style Taijiquan in superb and the pictures are extremely clear.

If you practice Taijuquan seriously, this may help get a better understanding.

I have developed a deeper interest in martial arts, especially Taijiquan and Baguazhang, only recently. Dr. Yang's book answered many of my questions about the religious, philosophical, and spiritual roots of Taijiquan. I appreciate the time and effort spent in teaching this background information in the clear and understandible form in which it is presented. I recommend this book as excellent supplemental reading for Taijiquan history, philosophy, and understanding while studying the art itself.

The first 1/4 of the book is a history of Chinese martial arts, and an over view of Tai Chi Chaun. The history is very clear and concise, easy to read and understand. The explanations of Qi and how it works are some of the best I have ever read. Even if you don't believe in the mystic mumbo-jumbo about Qi, it's still a good thing to read.

After moving past the histories and over views, we come to the beginng of the Tai Chi instruction itself. It starts with a look at various movements and steps found in Yang Style Tai Chi Chaun, with brief yet very good descriptions, and pictures showing application.

Then we move into Stances and warm ups, showing each with the same attention to detail found in the previous section, and the warm up exercises can easily be carried over to other martial arts. Then finally, we find the forms themselves, with pictures, descriptions, and an occasional analysis of the forms to discuss practical application.

YMAA Publishing has not let me down yet with their books. Each is a treasure in its own right, full of valuable information and any martial arts library is incomplete without at least a couple of the titles Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming has written. I highly recommend this guide to Yang style Tai Chi Chaun to anyone interested in studying Tai Chi, and to any student of the martial arts.

At times the pictures may seem confusing, and there is a DVD I have not had a chance to review yet, but I can only imagine that it would aid the process of learning the Yang style Tai Chi Chaun. As always, I recommend finding a qualified instructor to learn any martial art, but if you can't for whatever reason, these are the books and dvds you should use to teach yourself.

I've just finished reading this book and it was brilliant. Anyone interested in the art of Taijiquan should read this book. For information and instruction regarding postures, forms and Quigong this book is an excellent source. I've read several different books on Taijiquan and this book truly stands apart for it's quality of content and it's well written, easy to follow format.
Thank you, Dr. Yang, for sharing your knowledge and experience with us.

A must have book if you are interested in Yang style Taijiquan, at any level (novice to advanced), and for whichever reason (health and/or martial art). Ideal if accompanied by the corresponding dvd by the same title. Not a substitute for person to person classes, but an excellent source of additional insight and reinforcement. I have personally noticed great improvement in my practice and so have my instructors and fellow classmates. I am advancing much quicker since I bought the book and dvd.

This book is a little too ambitious in trying to cover a lot of ground: history of Chinese martial arts and taijiquan, what is qigong, what is taijiquan, photographs of the Yang long form, a few applications, and more. Unfortunately it is rambling with a lot of digressions of the author's own opinions on how taijiquan is "spiritual" - a little bit too long winded to be of practical benefit. Several reviewers mentioned the book draws on some of the author's other books so perhaps that explains this effect. Good basic content, but better editing would have made the book more organized and easier to read and study. There are some good practical tips on actual practice spruced throughout but they can be hard to spot. Overall, a more concise book focused on these tips would be much more beneficial. There are also too many self-serving references to the author's other books, which I found a little annoying. It seems he is more interested in selling a lot of different books than in writing one really good one. However, the photographs are of very high quality and the pages and binding seemed fine to me.

The bottom line:
If you are BRAND NEW to the art and want to read a lot of context and commentary surrounding taijiquan, this book may be worthwhile for you. If you have been studying for a while and are looking mainly for practical tips on principles, this may not be the best book for you. There are other excellent books you should check out such as Fu Zhongwen's Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan.

Good content. What I can't understand is why this book has so low quality of materials. Pages are wrinkled and passing through them is a pain ... They should lower the price more if they start printing like this. Not like other books of Yang which have much better paper quality. Shame on publishers. Hope this is an exception. Yang writes well about Chinese martial arts. YMAA, what are you doing?