Rating: 
Summary: it's a reminder
Review: Anyone practicing Xing Yi would know that the author of the book - master Sun Lu Tan was an unmatched practitioner of the style. With much clarity and precision he managed to reveal many important points to be mindful of while training. And the photos are great!
However, if you are not a Xing Yi practitioner, it's just another book on Chinese martial arts with a great deal of applied philosophy :-)
Rating: 
Summary: A must-read for any serious student of internal martial arts
Review: First of all, the title shown here is wrong; the book is "Xing Yi Quan Xue;" the "Nei Gong" refers to a book compiled and translated by Dan Miller and Tim Cartmell.Sun Lu Tang was the first known master of the three major internal Chinese schools: Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, and Baguazhang. This book was the first of its kind, a scholarly study on a Chinese martial art which catapaulted the study of Chinese martial arts to a new plateau, that of a "serious" and "intellectual" level, something that was not recognized until that point. Sun, also adept in certain Taoist practices, successfully integrated traditional Taoist thought structures and scientific philosophies into his explanation of Chinese martial arts. *Xingyiquan Xue* is a perfect example; Wuji and Taiji are perfectly coordinated into the practice and application of Xingyiquan. A note to potential readers; contrary to common belief, Xingyiquan is not a "soft" art but a "hard" one. Xingyiquan emphasizes attack, a "hard" philosophy, where "soft" arts emphasize reception of attack. Therefore, hard and soft refer to fighting philosophy and tactic; Xingyiquan is an "internal" art, one that uses body energy and coordination to generate power and movement, rather than overt muscular power (example, tae kwon do). Therefore, if you want a "soft" art, look for books on Yang style Taijiquan (Liang, Shou-Yu and Yang, Jwing-Ming have written some good ones) and on Aikido. This text also features Sun's photos and drawing delineating his style of Xingyiquan, which is the Five Elements/Twelve Animals style (versus the Six Harmonies/Ten Animal styles). Also featured is a section showing the famous two-man form, "An Shen Pao." While the transitional movements are not shown, practitioners of Xingyiquan should be able to immediately figure out what's going on. Baguazhang practioners, such as myself, take a little longer time. If you are a person with an express interest in furthering your internal martial arts education, this book is absolutely essential. Even though he died in the 1930's, Sun Lu Tang's classics show that his understanding of martial arts back then far surpasses that of 99% of the martial artists alive today. I am fortunate to be studying under someone of that 1%; perhaps this book can give you direction to find yourself as good a teacher as mine.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for any serious student of internal martial arts
Review: First of all, the title shown here is wrong; the book is "Xing Yi Quan Xue;" the "Nei Gong" refers to a book compiled and translated by Dan Miller and Tim Cartmell. Sun Lu Tang was the first known master of the three major internal Chinese schools: Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, and Baguazhang. This book was the first of its kind, a scholarly study on a Chinese martial art which catapaulted the study of Chinese martial arts to a new plateau, that of a "serious" and "intellectual" level, something that was not recognized until that point. Sun, also adept in certain Taoist practices, successfully integrated traditional Taoist thought structures and scientific philosophies into his explanation of Chinese martial arts. *Xingyiquan Xue* is a perfect example; Wuji and Taiji are perfectly coordinated into the practice and application of Xingyiquan. A note to potential readers; contrary to common belief, Xingyiquan is not a "soft" art but a "hard" one. Xingyiquan emphasizes attack, a "hard" philosophy, where "soft" arts emphasize reception of attack. Therefore, hard and soft refer to fighting philosophy and tactic; Xingyiquan is an "internal" art, one that uses body energy and coordination to generate power and movement, rather than overt muscular power (example, tae kwon do). Therefore, if you want a "soft" art, look for books on Yang style Taijiquan (Liang, Shou-Yu and Yang, Jwing-Ming have written some good ones) and on Aikido. This text also features Sun's photos and drawing delineating his style of Xingyiquan, which is the Five Elements/Twelve Animals style (versus the Six Harmonies/Ten Animal styles). Also featured is a section showing the famous two-man form, "An Shen Pao." While the transitional movements are not shown, practitioners of Xingyiquan should be able to immediately figure out what's going on. Baguazhang practioners, such as myself, take a little longer time. If you are a person with an express interest in furthering your internal martial arts education, this book is absolutely essential. Even though he died in the 1930's, Sun Lu Tang's classics show that his understanding of martial arts back then far surpasses that of 99% of the martial artists alive today. I am fortunate to be studying under someone of that 1%; perhaps this book can give you direction to find yourself as good a teacher as mine.
Rating:
Summary: i liked it ... i really really liked it
Review: good explanations of terms, postures, history & philosophies... good section on the life of Sun Lu Tang. Highly recomend for any level of internal art practioner... easy to read and well defined ...well worth the $$$
Rating: 
Summary: Only for Xing Yi Quan pratictioners
Review: I am not questioning the validity of this book to Xing Yi Quan pratictioners. Other reviewers, who are experts in the field, tell that it is excellent and I take their word for it. From the uninitiated's perspective this book is not very interesting in that it doesn't present techniques nor it talks about the ideas behind this art. It presents flash notes on specific techniques, and it shows photographs of cornerstone positions.
Rating:
Summary: philosophy but not practical manual
Review: I have been studying xing yi chuan for a few months so I was very interested to find this translation. The photographs are not detailed enough to guide practice of xing yi. However, the philosophy is interesting and hard to find in written form in english elsewhere. Robert W. Smith's book on hsing-i is a better technical reference that is useful in combination with qualified instruction. The sections on the creative and destructive relationship between the five elements and how it relates to the fists was extremely informative and valuable.
Rating:
Summary: philosophy but not practical manual
Review: I have been studying xing yi chuan for a few months so I was very interested to find this translation. The photographs are not detailed enough to guide practice of xing yi. However, the philosophy is interesting and hard to find in written form in english elsewhere. Robert W. Smith's book on hsing-i is a better technical reference that is useful in combination with qualified instruction. The sections on the creative and destructive relationship between the five elements and how it relates to the fists was extremely informative and valuable.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST Hsing I Book out there. Period.
Review: I have personally read this book 3 times. The Study of Mind-Form Boxing is a treasure to today's Hsing I practitioner. What I can say about it is this; The autobiographical stuff on Sun Lu Tang is incredible. The life and martial arts of a man who truely had a grasp of the Tao. This book was originally written by him - Sun Lu Tang - and adapted to today. He had originally written 5 books - one on Taiji; one on Bagua Zhang; one on Hsing I Spear, and one on Buagua Sword I believe. Anyway, the book starts with his biography, then moves into the basics of practice, and the physical details of attaining power and balance; as well as some forms. Although I don't think a person can just pick this book up and know how to properly teach themselves Hsing I, I do know think it is essential for those of us who practice it and want to know how the old masters practiced.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST Hsing I Book out there. Period.
Review: I have personally read this book 3 times. The Study of Mind-Form Boxing is a treasure to today's Hsing I practitioner. What I can say about it is this; The autobiographical stuff on Sun Lu Tang is incredible. The life and martial arts of a man who truely had a grasp of the Tao. This book was originally written by him - Sun Lu Tang - and adapted to today. He had originally written 5 books - one on Taiji; one on Bagua Zhang; one on Hsing I Spear, and one on Buagua Sword I believe. Anyway, the book starts with his biography, then moves into the basics of practice, and the physical details of attaining power and balance; as well as some forms. Although I don't think a person can just pick this book up and know how to properly teach themselves Hsing I, I do know think it is essential for those of us who practice it and want to know how the old masters practiced.
Rating:
Summary: Xing Yi Quan Xue
Review: If you are interested in this book and don't know who that old guy on the cover is, then you definitely need to buy this book. Sun Lu Tang is one of the legendary figures in Chinese martial arts because of his skill and his promotion of Xing Yi Quan. He is also the founder of the Sun style taiji (tai chi) quan (if you don't know what Sun style taiji is, get the book "A Study of Taijiquan" as well). This Xing Yi book contains poses of Sun performing basically the entire Xing Yi system. Although you can't learn from it, it is a good collectable. It's a piece of history! Show this book to your Chinese wushu friends and watch their reactions - but don't lend it to them!!
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