Saturday, February 27, 2016

Taichi Quan or Taijiquan book recommendation



The Dao of Taijiquan (click here will take you to amazon)

This is one of my favor books that author shared very rich insight of taichiquan, some historical view of origin of the art may still be debatable, but the book is one of its kind discussed some hidden relationship between philosophy and exercise. The historical stories about way of training provide readers very creative and practical methods to follow.


Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan (click here will take you to amazon)

For students who are learning Yang Style taijiquan, this book gives breakdown steps of each movement, from hand, eye, body, and step to integrate one form a time.  The translation of the book is very clear, it sets the model for translators in careful chosen words for western to understand without adding additional views.


Taichi Ch'uan Self-Cultivation  (click here will take you to amazon)

This book is not for absolute beginners, but you will find some topics are very helpful, since when you start, you don't know how deep this art actually goes. You still should have some basics in theory and practice. The form is understandable, the foot diagrams are strange in some cases. The hints by the translator are helpfull and theory becomes clear when read the third time.

From western writers:

Robert Chuckrow explained the art from western analytics view, it makes this book very unique for any level of students to think deeper about physical body training with eastern wisdom, and there are some very interesting stories about Master Cheng Man Ching who taught taichi art in New York are back to 70's 

Dr. Peter M. Wayne, a longtime Tai Chi teacher and a researcher at Harvard Medical School, developed and tested protocols similar to the simplified program he includes in this book, which is suited to people of all ages, and can be done in just a few minutes a day. This book includes:

   • The basic program, illustrated by more than 50 photographs
   • Practical tips for integrating Tai Chi into everyday activities
   • An introduction to the traditional principles of Tai Chi
   • Up-to-date summaries of the research literature on the health benefits of Tai Chi
   • How Tai Chi can enhance work productivity, creativity, and sports performance
   • And much more