Form and Will Boxing: Xingyiquan : One of the Big Three Internal Chinese Body Boxing Styles

Rating:
Summary: Solid Content, Poor Production Quality
Review: It's a shame that this book couldn't have been cleaned up a bit. The translation is awkward, and the pictures are too light. Having said that, I must admit that I really like this book. Books on Hsing-i are not as hard to find as they used to be, but most today choose to cover the same old material. The five fists are included here, as well as the twelve animals, but the author goes on to further cover a couple of forms not available in other English language books. The photos are excellent in CONTENT, but as I said before, they're too light. Still one may overlook the shortcomings of the book and concentrate on the positives. This book would be best read after reading Robert W. Smith's book on the same topic (preferably the original version, if you can find it).

Rating:
Summary: Solid Content, Poor Production Quality
Review: It's a shame that this book couldn't have been cleaned up a bit. The translation is awkward, and the pictures are too light. Having said that, I must admit that I really like this book. Books on Hsing-i are not as hard to find as they used to be, but most today choose to cover the same old material. The five fists are included here, as well as the twelve animals, but the author goes on to further cover a couple of forms not available in other English language books. The photos are excellent in CONTENT, but as I said before, they're too light. Still one may overlook the shortcomings of the book and concentrate on the positives. This book would be best read after reading Robert W. Smith's book on the same topic (preferably the original version, if you can find it).

Rating:
Summary: Silly translation but lots of easy to understand pictures.
Review: The translation into English is worded somewhat silly at times, but if you're looking for picture-by-picture explanations of xing yi's forms, it's the most thorough one out there. The five fists and animal styles are all broken down in many transitional pictures that show the each movement precisely, there is no guesswork as to what the author is trying to get across with each explanation.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Hsing Yi book
Review: This book and "Hsing Yi Chuan" by Master Liang Shou-Yu and Dr. Yang Jwing Ming are probably the best English books on Hsing Yi.

Rating:
Summary: Great for Hebei stylists
Review: This book isn't perfect, but it shows Xingiquan as really practiced. Sun Lu Tang's book is a classic and deals with some of the more esoteric elements. Shou and Yang's book is heavy on song of..., the 5 thises, the 6 thats, etc. and is missing some of the basics. For Hebei style, this book is great and should be in every practitioner's library.

Rating:
Summary: Great for Hebei stylists
Review: This book isn't perfect, but it shows Xingiquan as really practiced. Sun Lu Tang's book is a classic and deals with some of the more esoteric elements. Shou and Yang's book is heavy on song of..., the 5 thises, the 6 thats, etc. and is missing some of the basics. For Hebei style, this book is great and should be in every practitioner's library.

Rating:
Summary: Book could easily be improved
Review: This is on Ok book. It lacks in two things: 1. Proper editing. I don't believe words are mistranslated- they are misspelled. This is the editors fault. 2. Better pictures- The pictures on the outside cover of the book are great- but the insided pictures leave a lot to be desired. They are grainy black and white photos that look like old newspaper photos. They allow you to get the general idea of a posture or stance but details of a particular technique are lost.

Rating:
Summary: Book could easily be improved
Review: This is on Ok book. It lacks in two things: 1. Proper editing. I don't believe words are mistranslated- they are misspelled. This is the editors fault. 2. Better pictures- The pictures on the outside cover of the book are great- but the insided pictures leave a lot to be desired. They are grainy black and white photos that look like old newspaper photos. They allow you to get the general idea of a posture or stance but details of a particular technique are lost.