Advanced Yang Style Tai Chi 1

The book arrived on time and like new. It was everything I expected and more. Covers Tai Chi Theory very well.

In his book, Dr. Yang Jwing Ming attempts to describe the concept of jing in a solid, physical, comprehensive manner. He also covers basic Qi Gong concepts, the symbolism of the ba-gua trigrams, and how they correlate to the concepts of Taiji Quan. All in all, this is a very solid source of information, with plenty of citations for further cross-referencing. The topic of jing is covered from every angle, along with advice on how to train it, emit it, and how it applies to the 13 postures. The only down side is that the diagrams are very often a page or 2 after the text explanation, but this was most likely done to save space rather than leave blank pages for photographs. The Taiji (yin yang) symbolism is also discussed in depth, along with it's application to the Taiji Quan movement and tactics. The ba-gua trigrams' correlation to technique and movement are also discussed, and a reasonable explanation provided. What further cements my positive opinion of this book, is the inclusion and translation of the Taiji Classics, which are the founding back bone of Taiji Quan practice. Without proper understanding of the Taiji Classics, the average practitioner can only hope for a superficial knowlege of the form, and blind coreography. If you are serious about your Taiji Quan training, and wish to improve it beyound simple dancing of the form, this book will help you progress in many areas that are crucial to Taiji Quan as a martial art.