Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

I want to buy a (new) book about Taijiquan Classics/Principles. I found some books that could be interesting to read.

Explanations of the Tai Chi Principles:
- Stalking Yang Lu-chan by Robin Johnson
- Anatomy of Yang Family Tai Chi by Steffan de Graffenried
Translations of the Tai Chi Classics:
- Drawing Silk: Masters' Secrets for Successful Tai Chi Practice by Paul Gallagher
- Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan (Gold Book) by Wu Kung Cho

Any comment or recommandation for these books? Thanks.

Oldyang,
I can only give you critiques on two of these books, as I've not read the others yet.
Understand that these are my opinions on the books and nothing more. Others will disagree entirely and that is normal and expected.

Stalking Yang Lu Chan:
As I read this book I kept hoping I'd run into something new or exciting, but those qualities proved elusive. For a beginner I would recommend it as it does give good, down to earth explanations of some of the basics of TCC but for anyone with a few years under their belt and a good teacher it's not going to be very helpful.

Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan (Gold Book):
Amazing book. Some of it is beyond my zone of knowledge at the present time, a quality I look for in Tai Chi books, but every time I read it more becomes clear.

Do you recommand me the book Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan (Gold Book)?

How good is in comparison to others Taiji Classics translations?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by oldyangtaijiquan:
<B>
- Anatomy of Yang Family Tai Chi by Steffan de Graffenried
</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was curious about this one, too. But it was disappointing when I got it. The book is thin with big type, and the content is thin, too--the "anatomy" was just a few remarks about knees. The editing was very sloppy, and that made me wonder about the quality of the information.

For "explanations" with an emphasis on body mechanics, I like John Loupos. Unfortunately, the interesting bits are scattered through his three books, so it's a big investment.

Next on my wish list is Robert Chuckrow's Tai Chi Dynamics. Anyone want to review it?

[This message has been edited by fol (edited 07-23-2008).]

Thanks for your review!
I am also interested for the review of the book Tai Chi Dynamics.

[This message has been edited by oldyangtaijiquan (edited 07-23-2008).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by oldyangtaijiquan:
I am also interested for the review of the book Tai Chi Dynamics.</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

For those of you curious about the book, here is the link to the YMAA publishing website describing the book and you can even view a PDF sample of several portions of the book to get a better idea of what you would be purchasing:

http://www.ymaa.com/publishing/books/in ... i_dynamics

(click on the books cover image to the left to open the PDF preview)



[This message has been edited by mlot (edited 01-20-2009).]

Oldyang,
I highly recommend the Gold Book to you and anyone else practicing any style of TCC.
Enjoy.

Mlot,
Kinesiology is a wonderful part of TCC theory and practice.
Studying TCC is the study of biomechanics. Your biomechanics, your opponents biomechanics, your shared biomechanics and how to use all of them to your advantage.

Bob