The Inner Structure of Tai Chi: Tai Chi Chi Kung I

Rating:
Summary: The Inner Structure of Tai Chi: Tai Chi Chi Kung I
Review: Mantak Chia's books are all detailed and well-organized. Although this book didn't teach me much, it did confirm
a vast amount of information that my Tai Chi instructor
has been trying to pass onto me. It's nice to get a second opinion!

For those who took a Tai Chi class at the YMCA or community
college and aren't sure whether you got legitimate instruction
in traditional Tai Chi concepts or not, this is a great book to
find out with! For beginners looking for a good teacher, this

is a good guide. For experienced practitioners, it seems more a review, but I picked up a pearl or two, and as we all know, sometimes you can attend a weekend seminar for just one new insight!

Looking at it scientifically, Chia very effectively describes
what I have been taught is the proper way to practice Tai Chi.
How to hold the various parts of your body, where force/qi
should be exerted, how to think about your internal structure or
posture when practicing Tai Chi. From what I can tell, many people who study Tai Chi do not learn these fundamental concepts (do not confuse fundamental with easy-- these concepts are easy to read, but are difficult to practice).

Chia gives general principles first. Body structure, breathing, meditation/qi circulation practices. This is the best part of the book. He then describes several different ways to practice Tai Chi, focusing on different elements each time. This is so true! There is so much to perfect in Tai Chi, it's almost impossible to work on all of them at the same time! You pick one element, practice it until you get it better, then pick another... and on and on. Then Chia gives specifics for individual postures. However...

Chia gives a very short sequence-- a Tai Chi Qigong form that is quite simple, so that you can concentrate more on structure, qi meditation, and less on memorizing the sequence of postures. The form is essentially Yang family style in terms of the postures/movements presented. Unfortunately, this cuts out many postures you might find even in the Yang Short (24 movement) Form, so you don't get Chia's interpretation for structure for a lot of the classic, well-known postures found in the short form. That's unfortunate, because reading his description of the individual movements was quite helpful, and reading his decription for all the movements would make this a better, more comprehensive book. Based on his catalog, it seems Chia practices the Yang long form or a variant thereof. How about a book, Mr. Chia?

Overall, a nice book that I will re-read and refer to as I continue to progress in my practice. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Very nice overview of Tai Chi biomechanics and Qigong
Review: Mantak Chia's books are all detailed and well-organized. Although this book didn't teach me much, it did confirm
a vast amount of information that my Tai Chi instructor
has been trying to pass onto me. It's nice to get a second opinion!

For those who took a Tai Chi class at the YMCA or community
college and aren't sure whether you got legitimate instruction
in traditional Tai Chi concepts or not, this is a great book to
find out with! For beginners looking for a good teacher, this

is a good guide. For experienced practitioners, it seems more a review, but I picked up a pearl or two, and as we all know, sometimes you can attend a weekend seminar for just one new insight!

Looking at it scientifically, Chia very effectively describes
what I have been taught is the proper way to practice Tai Chi.
How to hold the various parts of your body, where force/qi
should be exerted, how to think about your internal structure or
posture when practicing Tai Chi. From what I can tell, many people who study Tai Chi do not learn these fundamental concepts (do not confuse fundamental with easy-- these concepts are easy to read, but are difficult to practice).

Chia gives general principles first. Body structure, breathing, meditation/qi circulation practices. This is the best part of the book. He then describes several different ways to practice Tai Chi, focusing on different elements each time. This is so true! There is so much to perfect in Tai Chi, it's almost impossible to work on all of them at the same time! You pick one element, practice it until you get it better, then pick another... and on and on. Then Chia gives specifics for individual postures. However...

Chia gives a very short sequence-- a Tai Chi Qigong form that is quite simple, so that you can concentrate more on structure, qi meditation, and less on memorizing the sequence of postures. The form is essentially Yang family style in terms of the postures/movements presented. Unfortunately, this cuts out many postures you might find even in the Yang Short (24 movement) Form, so you don't get Chia's interpretation for structure for a lot of the classic, well-known postures found in the short form. That's unfortunate, because reading his description of the individual movements was quite helpful, and reading his decription for all the movements would make this a better, more comprehensive book. Based on his catalog, it seems Chia practices the Yang long form or a variant thereof. How about a book, Mr. Chia?

Overall, a nice book that I will re-read and refer to as I continue to progress in my practice. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: A good reference for both Tai Chi and Qigong
Review: Mantak gives a great overview of Tai Chi and also includes quite a lot of useful information for Qigong. In fact, depending upon your Qigong background you might find you have actually been performing "Tai Chi" exercises instead of "pure" Qigong. I find that the combination of exercises contained in this book are the perfect balance between moving and stationary Qi exercises and will facilitate quick results for anyone interested in Qi movement.

I think Mantak did a great job with the illustrations and although they are simple line drawings they convey a lot of useful information. Mantak's experience in dealing with the Western mind is evident in both the style and manner of presentation - very clear compared to many of the books by other so-called masters.

Mantak also does not promote anything that could possibly cause problems; something that some of the other books in print these days should consider. There was a reason many exercises were not publicized and one should be careful performing exercises without some form of supervision from a master.

The bottom line: a great book for a beginner and an excellent reference (to be loaned to those just starting) for people who have been practicing for a while. Good value for your money.

Rating:
Summary: Good reference book beyond Tai chi styles
Review: The book is very well written and full of useful tips. The basis of Tai Chi (basis in this case doesn't mean "elementary" but, as in the title, "the inner structure") are very well approached and described. What I've really appreciated is that every explained concept has the related exercise, tips and correction. Although the reverse breathing is not explained in this book and all the exercise and techniques are performed by using the normal breathing, the back spine role, position and work are exhaustively described as well as for the waists, knees, arms, elbows and wrists. That's what really makes this book a worth to buy.

Rating:
Summary: Good reference book beyond Tai chi styles
Review: The book is very well written and full of useful tips. The basis of Tai Chi (basis in this case doesn't mean "elementary" but, as in the title, "the inner structure") are very well approached and described. What I've really appreciated is that every explained concept has the related exercise, tips and correction. Although the reverse breathing is not explained in this book and all the exercise and techniques are performed by using the normal breathing, the back spine role, position and work are exhaustively described as well as for the waists, knees, arms, elbows and wrists. That's what really makes this book a worth to buy.

Rating:
Summary: The Inner Structure of Tai Chi: Tai Chi Chi Kung I
Review: THE LISTED PRICES FOR USED COPIES OF THIS BOOK ARE RIDICULOUS -- FROM $149! IT CAN BE BOUGHT FOR $15.95 AT http://www.universal-tao.com.