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Tai Chi - 6 Forms, 6 Easy Lessons

Tai Chi - 6 Forms, 6 Easy Lessons

List Price: $24.98
Your Price: $22.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Exellent for Starting Tai Chi
Review: I wanted to start learning Tai Chi but since my job involves much travel, I didn't have time to take lessons. I wouldn't expect any dvd to fill in as a replacement for a live instructor, but I found this dvd was an exellent way to get started. I am now able to practice all six forms outlined in this dvd. Dr Paul Lam is very easy to follow. The nice thing about dvd is that I can instantly pause or rewind to go back and repeat a move as many times as needed. I am able to replay the full demonstion at the end of the dvd on the easy-to-access menu as many times as I need in order to study a different part of forms. I have found it useful to break the forms down by watching the hand movements then go back and watch the feet and leg movements. I look forward to experiencing the 24 forms video!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Confused
Review: I'm confused how anyone could rate this DVD five stars??? Are Dr. Lam's friends writing in? This is by far the WORST instructional video I have ever seen. Talk about low budget...it looks like it was filmed in somebody's basement!

I've never written in a review before, but I feel compelled to warn people not to be deceived here. This video is truly awful. A complete waste of money. Nothing to be learned. Sorry, but there is just not one single redeeming quality about it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Frustrating and Disappointing
Review: I've been very excited to try Tai Chi for a while now, but found it frustrating and ultimately impossible to watch Dr. Lam's video. Four key reasons why this didn't work for me:

1) The pacing is all wrong. There is not enough time for me to emulate what the instructors are presenting before they move to something else. It also continually shifts from position to position, and I lose track of where I should be starting from and moving to.

2) There is no philosophy taught behind the movements. I wanted to know a bit about the reason for each of the movements and the philosophy of Tai Chi.

3) These are real-life people who have no stage training. Their talking is stilted and disjointed.

4) The production quality is low. The navigational elements are minimal, and the studio set looks like a junior-high production.

Ultimately, I'm now shopping for another DVD that I can actually watch and from which I can learn something.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: To be fair...
Review: It's tough to teach OR learn tai chi by video. It's true that the production quality is amateurish, the movements can be hard to follow for a beginner (which I am), and the way in which the 6 lessons are presented is annoyingly choppy. On the other hand, Dr. Lam provides valuable details on proper form and common mistakes - and the warm up, cool down and qigong exercises are good. I'm glad I bought the video - it met my expectations and I've learned from it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy to follow instructions
Review: Nicely paced, easy to follow, exercise is not difficult but certainly uses the muscles. Would recommend it to older folks also.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: It's okay...
Review: This DVD was a little hard for me to follow. The way it was filmed is kind of low budget too. I suppose that this DVD might be easier to follow if you're already familiar with Tai Chi but I would not recommend it for a complete beginner (like myself). The title says "6 Easy Lessons" but I had a hard time getting through the first "easy lesson."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent place to start Tai Chi
Review: This is an excellent DVD/tape for starting Tai Chi practice. Dr. Lam does an excellent job at breaking down 6 fundamental forms from the Yang 24 routine. This "mini-form" is easy to learn (after you get through the challenge of understanding the ' brush-knee/twist-step' - probably the hardest form on the DVD to grasp). The warm up and Qi-gong finish are very gentle and useful. I highly encourage you to get this title if you are new to the wonderful art of Tai Chi. The other title I recommend for beginners is Terry Dunne's "Yang Short Form" - which is more in-depth, and very well produced (which is a rare quality with most Tai Chi videos).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent for beginners!
Review: This is an excellent video for beginners. Dr. Lam gives six essential lessons in Yang style Tai Chi. The moves are presented by Dr. Lam in front and back angles, by his assistant with Dr. Lam commenting on the form and in group form. The moves are repeated several times and are relatively easy to follow for a beginner.

I recommend you get the DVD version if possible. It is so much easier to fast forward or rewind than with a VHS tape. I don't think this video is suitable for intermediate or advanced students and it does not show the complete Yang form, however it is a great introduction for somebody with little or no Tai Chi experience.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: made like an instruction manual
Review: This video breaks Tai Chi into pieces. The instructor of the film doesn't practice Tai Chi; one of his students stands by him (a mute white adult male) and moves through a given maneuver. He then holds it, and the instructor explains what he has done. After a short, uncomfortable silence between the two, the instructor nudges him to move forward, and the mime progresses to the next step.

If you like reading manuals and don't want to watch this more than say... once... then I reckon this is a great movie. He does go through the steps, he shows very well and throughly what it means to hold your hand upright, what a "straight" back means, etc. This kind of piece-mail approach is thus somewhat scientific, though I felt entirely mechanistic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Clear and concise
Review: This video is very well done. Excellent for beginners of tai chi. It is clear and easy to follow, with visual presentations from different angles. The moves are repeated, but not to death. I give this video the highest rating possible.


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