Total Tai Chi: The Step-by-Step Guide to T'ai Chi at Home for Everybody (Total Series) [Paperback]

Ronnie Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2006 | Series: Total Series

Total Tai Chi is a step-by-step guide to this perennially popular practice, which is accessible to all ages and levels of fitness. The book begins with the history and philosophy of tai chi, explaining key principles and modern interpretations of the ancient art. The core of the book consists of over 200 simple moves, each with a specially commissioned photograph, to guide readers through the popular Short Yang Form in its entirety. Author Ronnie Robinson also described the proper breathing and mental focus required to keep chi (internal energy) moving smoothly through the body.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Duncan Baird (July 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844832627
• ISBN-13: 978-1844832620
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,551,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Photos of stiffly-posed models instead of experienced Tai Chi practitioners, August 12, 2009

By 

Mothra "M" (Tokyo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Total Tai Chi: The Step-by-Step Guide to Tai Chi at Home for Everybody (Paperback)

The models attempting to "demonstrate" the Tai Chi postures in Ronnie Robinson's book are clearly *posed*. Cartoon thought-bubbles saying, "Er...is this right?", or "Geez, how *long* did you say I have to hold this pose?" are missing, but there's a feeling that the author has only just darted out of the scene after having positioned his models.

This trivializes Tai Chi.

Instead of employees from a modeling agency in externally-imposed postures, author Robinson would have done better to have used longtime Tai Chi practitioners in his photos, the way B.K.S. Iyengar used photos of himself in the yoga poses described in Iyengar's _Light on Yoga_. In contrast to Robinson's artificially-positioned models, Iyengar's focus, visible in _Light on Yoga's_ photographs, is clearly *habitual* and *internal*. A longtime practitioner of yoga, Iyengar's physique, posture, and very being have been modified through continual practice of the mental and physical discipline of yoga. In assuming the postures, Iyengar *embodies* yoga.

Contrastingly, Ronnie Robinson's models look so self-conscious that it distracts from the book's rather cliche text. They seem more conscious of the camera than of their root.

In his book, _The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan_, Yang Chengfu (1883-1936), the best-known Tai Chi teacher, emphasized the importance of "stand(ing) in stillness", the position assumed prior to beginning the Tai Chi form, saying, "People all too easily neglect this posture, and really do not know the method of its practice or its application. It is all right here." He explained the primary benefits of this pose which, to the casual observer, looks simply like standing, arms at one's sides!

Tai Chi looks deceptively simple. Its subtleties cannot be overstated. It is an art form best conveyed via long-term, regular, one-on-one study with an experienced instructor. Barring that, we readers deserve, at the very least, photographs depicting such experienced instructors in the postures--photographs capturing each posture's subtleties.

There are several Tai Chi books available that will very likely do a better job, and which I hope to investigate. If I find a really good one, I'll post a reference here.

UPDATE: I like Jesse Tsao's _Compact Tai Chi_ (2000 paperback, ISBN 1-57863-126-2). It has a lot of genuinely helpful tips.

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended to beginners (like me), December 24, 2010

By 

Lyman (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Total Tai Chi: The Step-by-Step Guide to Tai Chi at Home for Everybody (Paperback)

This book has worked very well for me. I recommend it to beginners interested in learning basic chi kung exercises and tai chi forms on their own.
The instructions, foot diagrams, and pictures have been very helpful; though I'm not particularly graceful, I have been able to do the execises and postures. Some of the work has been challenging (so please be kind to yourself if you do it), but overall, learning tai chi with this book has been fun.

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Decent Intro in Tai Chi, August 8, 2010

By 

L. A. Gomez "Reader" (San Antonio, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Total Tai Chi: The Step-by-Step Guide to Tai Chi at Home for Everybody (Paperback)

Used the book for a report and found it was a good introduction to Tai Chi. I'd get other books with it too though, they're cheap enough.