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Rating: 
Summary: You too can be a grand master in 30 minutes
Review: I teach the Yang style Tai chi and use this book as the foundation to my class. It is exactly the form we teach and people really like it to suppliment our form. I would highly recommend it. We have been using it for 5 years now.
Rating: 
Summary: Required text for all my classes.
Review: Ideal text for the beginner. Easy to read. Extensive pictoral presentations in the book with dialog instructions and again at the end of the text to demonstrate the flow of the exercise from beginning to end. Students can check their positions before a 90 degree move and then after the move. If you want to get a feel for Tai Chi, this is a good, quick starter book.
Rating:
Summary: You too can be a grand master in 30 minutes
Review: Those who are looking for moving meditation, and seek only to relax and quiet the mind for a few minutes a day may find this book just the ticket, as the form is extremely easy to master and requires nothing more than memorizing the choreography. On the other hand, as a book on Tai Chi, this is a very disapointing book. Given the shallow, spiritless, postures displayed it's no wonder Kauz is not really sure if Tai Chi is a martial art or not in his introduction. You need only look at the cover of this book and compare it to The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan by Wong Kiew Kit (good general overview and historical reference) to understand the vastly different levels of understanding. While the styles are different (Yang vs. Chen or Wu) Wong's model on the cover is alive, vibrant, filled with intention and awareness while on the cover of Kauz's book he demonstrates an empty, limp wristed (literally) shadow of a posture from an art form Kauz did not know at the publishing of this book. Students of Tai Chi are better off with books from Wong Kiew Kit or Jwing-Ming Yang (most books are very subject specific) and others who are able to share the full scope of Tai Chi with their readers.
Rating:
Summary: The poor body structure in this book is dangerous
Review: When I first started learning Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan), this was one of the few books available. As such, it has some historical interest and some sentimental value for me. However, as a Taijiquan teacher, I am strongly opposed to this book as a learning text. Quite simply, the body structure demonstrated in the postures in this book is potentially damaging to your body, especially your knees. There are numerous examples, but an extreme example is the photo of Squatting Single Whip. Compare this photo to any photo of Cheng Man-ching, the author's teacher, available in numerous books performing the same movement. You will see that the author has misaligned his knee and collapsed his ankle, as well as arching his back, into an unnatural and potentially dangerous position. If you are interested in the style of Taiji shown in this book, you are much better off with one of the books by this author's teacher, such as _Master Cheng's New Method of T'ai Chi Self-Cultivation_.
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