T'Ai CHI for Dummies

If you compiled a dictionary of words used to describe the Eastern martial arts, you would never find the word "consensus". Nobody agrees with anyone on anything, and this ranges from subjects that are the domain of the martial arts scholar, like jing energy and fighting, to the most mundane, like how to spell the names of the arts!! So, let's say you are faced with the task of writing an introductory text to a subject that is certainly among the most controversial of all of the Eastern arts (even to the point of violent (!) disagreement as to whether this is a martial art or not). What are you going to do?? I think that the authors of this book have done a good job of this. There is a lot of info in this book about a very complicated subject. None of it is in a great deal of depth, but that is not the function of this book. The idea is to show readers the vibrancy of the world of Tai Chi Chuan, the wealth of possibility, and the sheer joy of practicing the art. This has to be done without scaring anyone off! The authors worked hard to pull this off, and they did so. Other introductory books are so dry and stuffy as to be unreadable - don't the authors have any fun at all??? The authors of this book do. They enjoy what they do, and they hope you do too. Can you learn Tai Chi from this book? The authors don't think so and ask you to find an instructor. Can you learn a great deal about the world of Tai Chi from this book? Yes - none of it is in great depth but once again, if you are curious to learn more, then for heaven's sake go further than a Dummies book. I gave it four stars because there are some things I don't understand and don't agree with (see the beginning of this review!), but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and appreciate the effort involved.

What a helpful book! My chiropractor suggested T'ai Chi to help my muscle tone, balance and strength, but I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. This book helped me understand T'ai Chi basics so I wasn't a total goof in my first class. (And it helped decide whether to even go to that first class.)

Contrary to the contributer who felt qualified to submit a review despite knowing nothing about T'ai Chi, this book is most useful. I've read everything in English I can get my hands on about T'ai Chi, and was delighted to find this. Please, all you T'ai chi teachers out there, share this with your students. Despite the cute and off-putting title, it is an excellent and worthy work. The author did her research and knows her stuff. I've studied T'ai Chi a long time, traveled to China to check it out, and find that the author has most successfully translated the elusive art to Westerners. Congratulations to you if you can get your hands on this! Buy the book, keep it, study it, then move on to The Tao of tai-chi chuan: by Tsung Hwa Jou. Now there is some challenging reading, worth reading over and over!

Lots of books on Tai Chi and Qi Gong out there, this is the best one for the beginner. Good explanations of the 24 form Yang Style set, with a sense of humor and a love of the form and its history. Does emphasize correctly the energy aspect of the exercise.Added bonus: The Eight Pieces of Brocade, a classic Qi Gong system.So what's the caution. It is really impossible to learn Tai Chi from a book or video. You need correction, correction and more correction. You need the insights only a teacher can give you. This book is great as a text to go along with what you are being taught.For that reason, I recommend it highly.