Steal My Art: The Life and Times of T'Ai Chi Master, T.T. Liang

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Summary: Excellent thoughts from a student to his master.....
Review: A wonderful and thoughtful book by the author on his master, T.T. Liang. Reminds me of my Shifu, Mr. Chiang, who also spent time studying with one of TT Liang's teachers, Hsiung Yang-Ho. I highly recommend this to all Taiji players out there, whether just starting out or a seasoned student/teacher.

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Summary: This book isn't meant for everyone
Review: I was very disappointed in this biography, it could have been so much better if it had been expanded and some actual insight into Mr. Liang's character and life had been included, instead of a collection of memories and stories loosely gathered and haphazardly put together. While I'm not trying to offend Mr. Olson with this review and I'm sure that he is a wonderful teacher and that his art is very good, I think that a ghost writer and more careful editing would have done wonders for this book about someone who was obviously a great man.

The book is confusing: it's poorly written and doesn't give sufficient detail on any of the topics that it touches on. To an extent, Mr. Olson seems to be talking to people who are already very familiar with Mr. Liang's life story - the book is written more like a summary of his life rather than a detailed biography. Frankly, almost everything that you'll discover in the book is written on the back cover. The only exception to that are the endless anecdotes included at the end of the book. These are included without context and while the author goes to great lengths to explain why they are included, it would have been much more natural for them to be written into the body of the work, rather than added as some sort of appendix.

Please ignore the reviewer who stated that this book is the one book on the internal arts that you should own. If you want to learn about Mr. Liang's theories on the internal arts, then I would suggest that you buy his book, not this one.

Unless you've got some personal connection to Mr. Liang or Mr. Olson, I'd recommend that you don't buy this book. And if you do, then maybe you can arrange for a proper biography to be written...

Rating:
Summary: Insightful and hartwarming
Review: Mr. Olsons book was very informative. He gives us a glimps into the private life of one of the modern masters of Tai Chi T.T. Liang. Liang was the personal assistant to Cheng Man Ching the man who brought the pearl of Chinese Culture (Taijichuan) to America. The tremendous respect and admiration Olson had for his instructior truely shines through in the pages of this book.

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Summary: Shoplifters of the World Unite and Take over!
Review: STEAL MY ART, the art form is hidden and not given away, the treasure lays buried. Can you find it? I love this book. Its unconventional. I was originally looking for good books on Taoism and found this gem (I don't do tai chi yet!). If you like Taoism/Chinese philosophy get this book. It shows you the real and humour-laden side of a Tai Chi master and that Liang is operating in a world of humor and pranks to reveal the inner stupidity of most people and situations. Most people are blindly following their own way and Liang provides the Kung Fu chop to their reality to try and wake them up (or not). There are some great moments in this book, especially when Liang gets tired of an annoying student and shuts him up and giving him a certificate and telling him he has nothing more to learn. This book is pure genius. You either get Liang or you don't. Sometimes humor is the only way to see out of the Matrix. Just be sure to take the red pill.

P.S. - If you by chance you love this book, go check out "The Importance of Living" by Yin Yutang, also available on amazon.com, the book provides excellent advice on how to aproach life, and the author has a chapter on "The Art of Loafing" as well as a section on "lolling about in armchairs" which reminds me of Liang. The author's approach to life seems to mirror that of Master Liang.

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Summary: Pa kua teacher
Review: The best internal arts book Ive ever read.no serious martial artist should be without this book.it will make you laugh cry and think. what more can you ask for in a martial art book.

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Summary: IF YOU KNEW THE REAL MAN
Review: This book seems to have started a few fires.
For those who believe a T'ai Chi teacher is a God or Icon and not a man at heart (yo' Smith) think again.
It's Great to read about Master T. T. Liang, a man who lived beyond what most could dream. A Great work, for those of us who loved T.T. first as a wonderful man then a great teacher here's the real deal, like it or not!
The author Stuart Olson lived with Master Liang for many years and was his closed door student. Thank You Stuart !

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Summary: This book is an incredible bargain!
Review: This is a fascinating book about the diverse life of T'ai Chi Chu'an Master T.T. Liang. Full of humor, a zest for life, and a deep devotion to this martial art, Master Liang epitomizes the term "Master." Very well written by Stuart Olson, who may well have been closer than anyone to his legendary teacher/father. Details of Master Liang's Tai Chi lineage are very interesting to students, as are his insights into the principles of Tai Chi.