Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan

Rating:
Summary: A welcome addition to any TaiJi player's library!!!
Review: Although this book deals with Chen,QingZhou's version of the Lao Jia YiLu I must say that it is indeed a well written account of the basics of TaiJi.
This is not to say that he is not an advanced practitioner of Chen's TaiJiQuan. Au contraire! I have heard many fine things about Mr.Chen's (Mark's)skills as well as his teaching abilities.
Having attended two of Grandmaster Chen,QingZhou's seminars to study the TaiJi Ball and TaiJi Bang (pronounced,"Bong"),as well as having "felt" his skills in "touching hands" with him and having several of his videos, I've eagerly awaited the release of a book detailing the performance of his routine.
I especially like the way he explains the reason why some of the postures are done differently than some of the other Chen masters; also in defining the energy of "Kao". Practitioners of Chen Style know that Kao actually means "leaning", or "bumping" and can be done with any part of the body and is not limited to just a "shoulder strike" as some other styles of TaiJiQuan are wont to do. He also provides some excellent examples of several Chin Na techniques from the pushing hands.
His approach is simple and direct. Especially when it comes to "telling it like it is", when it comes to the truth about gaining proficiency in TaiJi, and anything else you want to be good at. All it takes is alot of sweat and hard work. I thought that the first 39 pages alone were worth the "price of admission".
And remember, although there are many photos and instructions to help one learn this particular style of Chen's TJQ, this is still no substitute for a good teacher.
Many kudos to you, Mark Chen for providing us with an excellent opus. I hope that someday you can produce a book on the TaiJi Iron Ball.

Rating:
Summary: Unusually insightful, well-presented, excellent text
Review: This book is truly outstanding. It is much more than a superb Tai Chi guide, although it is that as well; deep principles are revealed in a straight-forward (i.e., non-jargon, unesoteric language) manner. Mark Chen (I see no translator credit) is an admirable writer. His english is excellent, which extends to a witty, dry sense of humor. Dialog is crisp and precise.

I am not a Tai Chi expert so cannot comment on the technical merits of the book. Being a non-authority, however, did not prevent me from having many "ah hah!" moments whilst reading the text. After many years of practice, under more than a few teachers and styles, Mark Chen answered questions which had plagued me --- and left unaswered until now --- throughout my martial arts lifetime. A single insight would have justified the cost of the book, and there have been many (for myself).

This book is certain to irritate some readers because Mark Chen attacks some "sacred cows". For example, any mention of Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do will inevitably invite criticism from Bruce's many supporters. Mark's definitions of martial art vs sport will aggravate an even larger audience.

If I could offer any criticism it would be a desire to have more detail in some of the sections. But, I suspect that may have defeated the intent of the author. In any case, the book is a classic as it is.

To compare Mark Chen's writing to another author might be instructive. Although I have the greatest respect for author Yang Jwing-Ming, I find his books a perplexing admixture of esoteric, technical and spiritual themes. The material is present but much harder (for me), than Mark Chen, to get to and assimilate the material.

In summary, in my opinion, a valuable contribution to the martial arts literature for all practitioners.

Rating:
Summary: Unusually insightful, well-presented, excellent text
Review: Wow! I was really surprised when I read this book. The broad offerings and nice details offered by this terrific book were unexpected.

Mark Chen's strikingly comprehensive Chen Taiji manual offers quality photos with direction arrows, a nice breakdown of push hands training, solid attempts at explaining the basics - including 'Fajing' and "Issuing", very interesting commentary on weapons training, and offers a very nice sample of applications that manage to capture the unique neutralization and joint locking skills of which Chen Taiji is famed.

And as a long-time practitoner and researcher on Chen Taiji, I really appreciated his sourcing, excellent endnotes, and beautifully distilled statements that really capture what Chen Taiji is about. He accomplishes this in a way that is both 'traditional' in tone, yet highly practical in explanation.

He makes interesting assertions, most of which I agree with, a few I don't. But the overall statement he makes throughout the book will be quite revealing for those new to Chen Taiji and for adherents of any Taijiquan style looking to deepen their appreciation and understanding of this martial art. This work is a quality contribution to Chen Taiji literature in English.

Rating:
Summary: With Chen Taiji books on the rise - this one's a keeper
Review: Wow! I was really surprised when I read this book. The broad offerings and nice details offered by this terrific book were unexpected.

Mark Chen's strikingly comprehensive Chen Taiji manual offers quality photos with direction arrows, a nice breakdown of push hands training, solid attempts at explaining the basics - including 'Fajing' and "Issuing", very interesting commentary on weapons training, and offers a very nice sample of applications that manage to capture the unique neutralization and joint locking skills of which Chen Taiji is famed.

And as a long-time practitoner and researcher on Chen Taiji, I really appreciated his sourcing, excellent endnotes, and beautifully distilled statements that really capture what Chen Taiji is about. He accomplishes this in a way that is both 'traditional' in tone, yet highly practical in explanation.

He makes interesting assertions, most of which I agree with, a few I don't. But the overall statement he makes throughout the book will be quite revealing for those new to Chen Taiji and for adherents of any Taijiquan style looking to deepen their appreciation and understanding of this martial art. This work is a quality contribution to Chen Taiji literature in English. Wonderful job. Highly recommended!