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Rating: 
Summary: Book with enough substance to please the wanderer
Review: I don't like the conciseness and lack of information in this book. It's ok, but if you're looking for information in the martial arts arena, this book won't help.
Check out my list "Martial Arts" in my "about me area".
Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Book with enough substance to please the wanderer
Review: I don't like the conciseness and lack of information in this book. It's ok, but if you're looking for information in the martial arts arena, this book won't help.Others books are more helpful. Check out my list for bagua beginners in my "about me area". Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Clear, concise presentation of one entire Pa Kua form.
Review: I've read this book several times, trying to figure out exactly what in it appeals so readily to certain martial artists. In the end, the only thing I can think of is that the demonstration of the form is rather decent. Other than that, there are no applications shown, no good philosophy work shown, no integration of qigong shown, etc. Perhaps Mr. Smith is a good practioner of Baguazhang. However, his book has no real depth behind it. Still, it's better than nothing. Better reading can be found in *Emei Baguazhang*, that massive tome by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and Mr. Liang, Shou-Yu. The best Baguazhang books written in English are by Sifu Park Bok Nam and Dan Miller: "The Fundamentals of Pa Kua Zhang." There are two volumes. The first is a must-read, regardless of your Baguazhang background. If you can comprehend the content of the first volume, then second becomes a necessary addition to your library.
Rating: 
Summary: Only form of Bagua? No, thank you...
Review: Robert Smith, in 94 pages, introduces us to philosophy, lineage, concepts and the internal power of bagua masters. There are no martial applications described in the book but there is an excellent presentation of a standard intermediate bagua form set. This type of set is usually done after learning to walk the circle with the eight mother palms. This book recommends walking the circle using the basic dragon palms. This book is an easy, economical way to begin an exploration of Pagua without being ovewhelmed. It should be in everyone's Pakua library.
Rating: 
Summary: A good presentation of a complete Pakua system.
Review: Smith and Pittman have done a wonderful job in condensing vast knowledge in a short,concise and easy to refer book.Diligent practise of the presented forms answers many questions and insights which continue from where the text has left off,a natural way to learn and comprehend any Neijia system(from an eastern teaching point of veiw).It will not be helpful however to someone who is used to being "spoon-fed".Practise correctly and diligently and the system will reveal itself to you.
Rating:
Summary: Only form of Bagua? No, thank you...
Review: This book contains some history, 8 palm changes of Wang Shu Jin's Baguazhang (presented by Mr. Pittman) and a little discussion on philosophy of art. At first - this is not book for beginner who do not know the body mechanics of Bagua. At second - there is nothing written about Bagua fighting. There are no applications of palm changes, nor combat principles of Bagua. IMO, this is the great disadvantage of the book. But this book is not as bad as it seems for the firs view - it contains several training tips which could help you in understanding of Bagua. Finally - there are better books on this subject, but also worst. My advice is: do not buy this book unless you are very interested on Wang Shu Jin's form.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book on Pa-Kua
Review: This is a fantastic book on Ba-Gua. Robert W. Smith is legendary for his study with some of the great masters of Chinese internal arts and introducing many of them to the West. Allen Pittman is also the main student of another legendary Chinese boxer, Hung I-mien. Impressive credentials As to the essence of the book, as previously stated in other posts, it provides a clear way to learn an entire system of Ba-gua, with it's clear concise pictures. It also provides many other details that are neccesary for successful practice. Regarding comments on lack of qi, or applications: The traditional Chinese method is to learn the form first, not the applications. This book does mention the stages of chi development. These are relevent to the practice of Ba-gua, which begin from learning the form and training diligently. This is the traditional way of learning.
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