Taguo Course Manual?

[shaolinarab]

just wondering if anyone has purchased this and if they can comment on its usefulness to a student of any CMA style (or just following the temple curriculum) as a supplementary tool, or is it more of 'reading' material for one's martial arts library?

http://store.yahoo.com/martialartsmart/bslx115.html

also, gene, is it 289 pages per volume or total? are there good pictures? thanks.

[norther practitioner]

I've always heard it is a good reference for Songshan Shaolin students.

[GeneChing]

...about 500 pages per book.
For Songshan Shaolin, it's indispensible. I can't really speak for others. Some general CMA types will find it useful, but as a teaching tool, or a casual read, it's hard going. It is a text book of forms, so if your learning these forms, it's very useful. As for the pictures, it's mostly line drawings. The last books have nicer drawings. The first three are a bit less refined.

[dimmakseminar]

Dear Mr. GeneChing:

Do the books offered herein for sale also include any application of specific martial techniques taught at Tagou, or are they simply the "forms" books.

Thank you in advance and Top O' the Holidays to you and yours!

Regards,

dimmakseminar

[Vash]

Are the forms the traditional, or modern?

[Songshan]

I spoke to a few people who have them and I was told it was mainly a good reference manual for Songshan Shaolin. You can only learn so much from a book I guess. I have been seriously thinking about buying a set.

[GeneChing]

These are really only forms books without applications. There is some scant discussion of applications and philosophy, as well as some sparring sets and qinna material that show some of it, but I wouldn't invest in these boosk if that's all that your looking for out of them. The last one is a medical book - qigong and acupuncture material. These are traditional forms and cover the bulk of what is currently practiced at Shaolin temple as part of it's traditional curriculum.

[ngokfei]

Great Reference Book, (although not as good as the old "Da Chen?? 4 volume set fromthe 80's) much better drawings and alot more forms shown).

As a training manual it lacks the modern usage of solid and dotted lines to show the angle and path of a technique.

Really only useful for those studying the Shaolin Temple format.

also its alot cheaper then when I bought it from wing lam 2 years ago.

Better to pick up the VCD's now being offered by many shaolin temple teachers and coaches. Alot better seing someone dowing the the sets then trying to picture them in your mind from the pretty bad directions.

[GeneChing]

... for the proliferation of the Taguo books in the U.S. I originally met Liu Haichao in '95 - we were introduced by my friend Matt Polly (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=26966). Matt actually helped proofread the books, but then they didn't take most of his suggestions or credit him. Still, he's listed in the tournament results. Anyway, Liu signed a chopped some of the books for me - the first three. I started importing them through Wing Lam when I worked there, and then I brought it to www.martialartsmart.com. FWIW, we just reordered some from Shaolin and the price went up a little. They said that they were running out of the current printing and they weren't sure if it was going into reprint. Now I can't tell if that's lip service to justify raising the price on us or what, but I thought I'd pass that along. Anyone who collects Chinese books knows how quickly they can go out of print or how hard it can be to get them later - Deqian's aforementioned volumes are a classic example.

[ngokfei]

your so right gene.

Seems they only print a certain number and out of those only a few are for the purchasing market. Alot are given away as gifts, etc.

Couldn't count the number of books I didn't get which I now regret.

Have solved some of the problem as a bunch of my friends and quite a few I hven't met make xerox or scans of books for each other ($$ is still expected) Though not legal it sure helps to preserve and share the info).

The Deqian books are such an example. Originally could get them in NY china town for 200, then 300 now not at all. I paid 350 form my set and have been offered almost $500 for the series.
Same goes for the Wong Hon Fun Mantis books. The go for as much as 15 a volume.

Hey gene, Have a good holiday the new year is going to be interesting just look at what zodiac animal is coming.

later

:eek:

[blooming lotus]

Exactly and martialartsart has so many good rescouces...but am I really going to get them. I don't mind paying as much as it costs but I'm in another country and always planning my nxt trip..I've gotta tell ya..overseas shipping isn't fabulous ...I'm still waiting on my nov/dec issue of kfm, and have bought two elsewhere since. It holds me back from purchases I would love to make:(

[GeneChing]

You know, I'm doing some spring cleaning and found huge caches of books - so many weird ma books - stuff I got from China - treasures all. Also my weapons rack was in horrible shape - it's going to take a lot of cleaning. CMA publishing is really bizarre, very impermant since it's mostly small press and very specialty, so you got to grab them when you can.

And as for next year - The Wood Monkey (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/info/horoscope/index.php)

[norther practitioner]

I'm doing some spring cleaning and found huge caches of books

I love when that happens...:D


I found an old book the other day that I had forgotten about. Re-read it, good stuff.:)

[GeneChing]

Mostly it was books that I have to get rid of. Need to reorganise that library. The only thing that I reread was some of my old articles and they were embarrassingly bad...:rolleyes:

[norther practitioner]

Any books worth you putting up for sale?:D

[GeneChing]

I'm keeping the good stuff, of course. The crummy stuff - and I have alot since I get a lot of reader's copys, plus my wife used to work as a book buyer so I used to go to book shows and get fre samples - well, the crummy stuff I don't think anyone would want.

[norther practitioner]

Cool thanks though...

reader's copy... um... aren't they all reader's copies?

[MasterKiller]

He probably means advance copies? Publishers send out advance copies of books to "experts" and critics to get feedback before it goes public. Those advance copies come straight out of the author's checks, too. :mad:

[GeneChing]

MK is right, readers copies are typically comps to reviewers - I get un-proofed advances and such, in hopes to get favorable reviews for their advertising campaign. I generally only do this for friends - fellow researchers that I respect in the field - because it usurps a lot of my personal time. In fact, I have an advance of Scott Rodell's book that I've been meaning to review for months, but I've been so busy lately I haven't had the chance to get to it.

Additionally we also get comp review copies where the publisher hopes we will review the book in the magazine, like a free ad, assuming it's favorable. I think I may have been one of the only people in the industry to give a negative review in such a case. We don't do product reviews at this time. Lastly, we also receive sample books and other products, in hopes that we will carry them at www.MartialArtsMart.com. To give you some idea, I requisitioned a bookcase last year, just to hold the varios comp copies of books and videos we get. That case is now filled, double deep on some shelves, and there are more on my desk.

In some ways, it's like a kid in a candy shop - this job has great perks - but it's also overwhleming. A lot of this stuff I'll never get to.

[ngokfei]

Shaolin KF Ta Guo School

vol 1

1. Hands formations
2. Hand Movements
3. Stances
4. Leg Movements
5. Forms:
a. 5 stance form
b. connecting form
c. Small Vast/Red form
d. great straight line arms form
e. yin shou cudgel
f. sunny form
g. big vast/red form 1st section
h. 2nd setion
i. 3rd section
j. small straight line arms form
k. Great power
l. yingyang cudgel
m. shaolin broadsword
n. plum blossom form
o. plough mantis form


vol 2

1. shaolin combat skill discussion
2. forms:
a. 16 types in 5 stances
b. short cudgel
c. tan tui 10 road
d. 13 spear
e. winter sweet broadsword
f. small martial monk
g. damo sword
h. dragon form
i. 6 harmony staff partner
j. always keep ing the will form
k. 6 harmony spear partner
l. wintersweet mantis form
m. tai zu long fist form
n. 6 harmony partner form

vol 3

1, shaolin combat skill 2
2. forms
a. plough form
b. eyebrow height cudgel
c. saber vs spear
d. small power form
e. spring autumn kwando
f. guandong form
g. refined martial monk form
h. Pu dao vs spear
i. connecting spear
j. damo cane
k. great martial monk form
l. double saber
m. t-cane/crutch
n. crutch vs spear

vol 4

1. discussions: honesty, composure, flexibility, speed, a due order of priority, uniqueness
2. 75 sets of sequential pugilistic movements (partner)
3. cudgel vs cudgel
4. long 2 sectional staff vs spear
5. saber vs saber
6. spear vs spear
7. kwando vs spear
8. 6 harmony partner set 2
9. mace/rod vs spear
10. 3 section staff vs spear
11. 2 crutches/tonfa vs spear
12. trident vs spear

vol 5.

1. discussions on practicing chinese martial arts: ex: mind set, rules of morality and to get good, buddhism tenets and shaolin kf.
2. invigorating pysique.: conditioning, qi gong theory
3. accupuncture and chinese medicine
4. massage
5. qi gong theory and practice
6. 8 piece brocade, and many other sets such as youth qi gong, external and internal

[Vash]

Is it possible, or will it be soon, to get the different volumes of the Taguo Manual separately?

[GeneChing]

That's unlikely. They sell them as a set only, so we sell them as a set only.

In fact, I have it on good authority that they are nearing the end of their current print run, which means they will either go out of print, or more likely, come out with new editions. In China, that usually means a new cover, a higher price and maybe a revision or two...

[ngokfei]

better get them now. Gene said it, when there gone they are gone. Much cheaper now then when I 1st bought it.

They might separate it into small books.

They did that with the old 4 volume book series. But now they seem to be gone as well.

I think he www.alma.com site offerrs form by form of the shaolin sets. Those pics come from the older series though but no english.

[GeneChing]

... I really don't know how it will go with the Taguo books. My suspicion is that they will always be available as long as Taguo is open (although Taguo is in transition now.) Of course, Deqian's school is still open and you can't find his encyclopedia anymore, so it's really hard to tell. Chinese book publishing is so weird.

[johngreenhow]

Go to Shaolin, there's a little shop with stacks of those Tagou manuals lying around. Just take the ones you want, but don't forget to haggle!