Tai Chi Chuan: A Simplified Method of Calisthenics for Health

Rating:
Summary: A Remote work.
Review: I know I might be offending a sacred cow here but I actually find this work to be the most useless and inaccessable of all the books I have on Taijiquan. It may well be a classic but I found it crude, obvious, rather rudimentary, hard to use in any practicle way and it only serves as a mild curiosity in terms of it's intrinsic value

The pictures don't do nearly enough to guide a person learning the form and I already know the form! The written text is by far the most interesting thing about this book and the philosophy of CMC is as always a pleasure to read. This work does in no real way reflect my views of the man himself but rather I feel it was a poorly planned work which requires far more detail in order to bring alive as a living work to students the complexity and subtleties of Taijiquan.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone in good conscience unless they are a CMC fanatic and have to have everything by him. The pictures could go as pin ups on a locker or something but apart from that I'm sorry to say CMC needed to have his thinking cap on well before this book went to press.

Rating:
Summary: Why as Opposed to How
Review: This book is not meant to "teach" Tai Chi Chuan, but meant to expound upon its meaning to the earnest practitioner; to offer the layperson a glimpse into this ancient art; and to communicate the author's unique perceptions and experiences that only a lifetime of practice can cultivate.

Taken in this context, this is a most valuable book.

Rating:
Summary: Why as Opposed to How
Review: This book is not meant to "teach" Tai Chi Chuan, but meant to expound upon its meaning to the earnest practitioner; to offer the layperson a glimpse into this ancient art; and to communicate the author's unique perceptions and experiences that only a lifetime of practice can cultivate.

Taken in this context, this is a most valuable book.

Rating:
Summary: This is the original classic on the most popular Tai Chi
Review: This is the original classic about the Short Form the most popular and widespread form of Tai Chi in the West, it is a must read for every serious Tai Chi student.