Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11690 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-28
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
"A comprehensive introduction to the essential fighting techniques of Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xingyiquan, presenting authentic training material that has survived the cultural revolution"--Provided by publisher.

Customer Reviews

Misconceptions
This is a heavy book, full of descriptions, photographs. It say a lot but all it says bears no relationship to real nei jia quan-internal arts. The internal arts are almost lost in China,this depicts wai jia quan-external martial arts.

Fantastic
Really, nothing can sum up this book better than the word fantastic. It has something for every martial artist, regardless of style.

This book should be on the shelf of every serious martial artist.

A rare gem of a book
I am a student of Tai Chi and I brought this book out of curiosity. I thought it would be a good idea to compare and contrast the other internal arts, namely XingYi and BaGua. We I received the book, I was surprised at how thick it is and not unlike college textbooks. The depth and scope of the author is amazing and unlike many who write martial arts manuals, he has substance and years of practice to show for. What I didn't find helpful was that the translation was at time rather poor, where the wrong term was used. It was like the one of the translators didn't have much understanding of Chinese culture. Another minor gripe was that the author seemed like he rarely stepped outside Beijing and that Beijing was the home of internal martial arts. The author's account of the history of internal martial arts is not quite correct, but this is one person's view and we must accept that. The chapters on applications is somewhat advanced, but the chapters on the theories on and basic training of internal martial arts is very good. The author talks about the methods and direction of each of the martial arts, how they differ and what they have in common. Instructors don't always teach you everything and this book explains the theory and structure of stances, breathing and even the kinds of fists very well. It is also good to read what other masters know. One of the things in studying Tai Chi is to have a broad outlook and this book is great if you can cope with all that information. This is not a book you'll read once and put away, but one you will refer to time and time again.