T'ai Chi for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: Not very well done
Review: First off, I'm not an expert on T'ai Chi, so I'm not qualified to tell you whether this book presents an accurate portrait of T'ai Chi or not. I'm just a beginner, and I was looking for a suitable book for beginners. I have found many dummies books to be of extremely high quality, written by experts who are able to distill their knowledge effectively to teach people who don't know anything about the subject. However, I found this book disappointing. The author seems to have practiced for only a few years, and doesn't seem to have the broad base of knowledge of an expert. As such, I would feel uncomfortable relying on this book for information. It's not a bad introduction to the topic, and if all you're interested in is learning some basic moves to add to your exercise routine, this book will help you get started. But if you really want to understand T'ai Chi, I wouldn't trust this book to teach it to you.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book With a caution
Review: 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.