The Tao of Yiquan: The Method of Awareness in the Martial Arts (Paperback)

~ Jan Diepersloot (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Based on the techniques and practices of various masters of Yiquan, this book focuses on the ability to defeat power and speed with the softness and stillness taught by this Chinese martial art. Yiquan, also known as I Ch'uan, is an ancient health and martial art system that has its roots in Buddhism and draws on Chinese meditative traditions. Central to Yiquan training methods is a practice of meditation that integrates mind and body to produce fa jin, a powerful and potentially lethal force. Yiquan also relies on skills of awareness and stillness to counter and control this deadly force.

About the Author

Jan Diepersloot has studied martial arts for nearly 25 years and is the author of Warriors of Stillness. He is the founder of the Contra Costa Center for Healing and the Arts, where he teaches. He lives in Walnut Creek, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Center For Healing & The Arts (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964997614
• ISBN-13: 978-0964997615
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #754,419 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masters guidebook to understanding the internal arts., September 27, 2000

By	Vincent J. Lasorso (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is definitely a must read for all persons who wish to learn the science of internal martial arts.

The book nicely explains how the internal Taoist practices evolved from the Indian martial and yogic arts. The text weaves together the history and practices of these arts like a novel, bringing us to the creation Xingyiquan. From there we are introduced to the masters of Xingyi and to the founder of Yiquan: Wang Xingzhai. Again, the text reads like a novel as we progress through the life and adventures of Wang Xingzhai. Using Wang's own writings, the author clearly describes how Wang reached his conclusions and developed his art. Mr. Diepersloot then take us through the chronology of how he and his teachers all arrived to the art of Yiquan. This gives the book its greatest power: creditability. We learn from the experiences of the author and five masters on how and why this art works.

There is a wealth of technical information in this book and many awareness/movement drills. Unfortunately, the material is over the head of anyone who has not experienced the sensations described by the author. However, this is exactly the type of material a person needs to read before doing this practice. It should then be forgotten until the practioneer feels it for themselves. In other words this material trains you subconsciously to obtain the desired objectives. Then all that is required is hours and hours of practice.

The book is very grounded in the physical practice of Yiquan. There is a small, but very good discussion about empty force, as it applies to interpersonal energetics. The author offers very good, seasoned insight into this controversial subject.

The book clearly illustrates how this practice changes personal perspective, physical body dynamics, energy and way of living. But there is a lot that the author leaves for personal discovery. In conclusion this is the best book I have ever seen on this subject. It will most likely become a classic that will be recommended to students for decades to come.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hidden Secrets of Internal Martial Arts - Revealed Now!, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This book captures the essence of Yi Quan (or "I Chuan"), translated as as "Intention Boxing". Yi Quan fighters use their mind to direct their Chi or internal power (instead of raw muscular power) into their fighting moves. It is not surprising why Yi Quan has gained prominence in various parts of the world.

This book is the second of Mr. Diepersloot's series that focuses on Yi Quan's stationary standing practices and internal power generation techniques to harness and direct the Chi into various parts of the body. As a means for improving one's health, Yi Quan provides an excellent and easy-to-perform set of exercises to pump healing energy into the channels and organs of the body. As a means for developing self-defense skills, Yi Quan offers a unique training methodology that develops power, speed, and technique through "movement in stillness" and "stillness in movement". Unfortunately, this is the only comprehensive book in the english language that captures the fine points of this exceptional martial art. Every martial artist's bookshelf is incomplete without this book.

Yi Quan or I Chuan is a fighting method developed by Master Wang Xiang Zhai, one of the top Hsing-I Chuan lineage disciples of the great Master Guo Yun-Shen. It is said that it is only Master Wang who learned all of the internal martial arts secrets known only to Master Guo. After years of further research, Master Wang formulated this unique fighting style. This book distills Master Wang's wealth of internal martial arts wisdom for the benefit of the earnest student. The topics on the standing exercises alone is worth ten times the price of this book.

For many years, Mr. Diepersloot has learned, practiced, and shared his knowledge about the internal secrets of the internal arts to his students. He is a hands-on expert in the field who speaks from experience. I highly recommend this book.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Better info in other places, February 10, 2002

By	"quinn_in_beijing" (Beijing, China) - See all my reviews

Sorry, a pretty bad book. Much of the information on Yiquan presented in this book is from second and third hand oral sources. Better information on Yiquan, its practice, its history and its founder can be found on various Yiquan websites. This is odd because Yiquan, and its theoretical and historical roots, is probably the best documented of any of the internal martial arts - at least in Chinese. In all the Chinese text, as well as among serious practitioners I have encountered, the meditative aspects are incidental to its effectiveness as a fighting art and discipline of efficient movement. Much of this gets distorted from the author's re-telling of his teachers' re-tellings of the art's origins and principles. The book concentrates far too much on the meditative tradition and the author's meditative journey to self-discovery over actual martial application and essence. After making the art such a central part of his life, the author should have at least ventured a short trip to China to see how Yiquan is actually practiced outside the Bay Area. Yiquan is widely practiced - and growing - in China and has always been billed as a scientifically objective study into what works, even today producing respectable free-fighting contenders. Given the poor quality of layout, graphics and prose, the book maybe should have scored a bit lower than the one star I gave it. The one good thing about the book is it is the only English-language "book" to introduce Yiquan. As said before, good translations of the masters, as well as much better and accurate information on Yiquan is available on the web.