Can someone recommend a book on tai chi?

[AndyC]

Hi i was wondering if anyone could recommend me a book on tai chi. It's meant as a present for a friend. He has a basic understanding of tai chi and has taken some classes before. So i'm really looking for something with a bit of 'meat' in it.
Recommendations appreciated, thanks.

[gwa sow]

yang,jwing ming(spelling?) has a few books. Yang style tai chi. seems ok but im no expert.

[unixfudotnet]

I only really know Yang style, but that book mentioned above is nice and has everything, yet better is "Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan" by by Fu Zhongwen, Louis Swaim (translated).

here is the amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/4m8pr

Try to stay away from the new age stuff.

[Kaitain(UK)]

The Tai Chi Boxing Chronicle is the best book I know of, it isn't style specific but covers the mechanics very well.

[Buddy]

Yang Jwing-ming is White Crane practitioner. I think his Taiji shows that.

[SPJ]

Agreed.

[SPJ]

Sorry, most of the good books I studied are in Chinese.

1) Wang Pei Sheng on Wu's Tai Ji health and fighting methods, 1998.

2) Ma Hong's books on notes from Chen Fa ke->Chen Zhao Kui.

3) Huang Kang Hui's book on notes from Chen Fa Ke -> Hong Jun Sheng.

There are many more books.

Maybe do a search to see any English books by them.

Wang Pei Sheng passed away recently. He practiced Wu Tai Ji for 60 years.

Sun Tai Ji is from Sun Lu Tang (www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1556434626/qid=1101915216/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-5177014-4561612).

[looking_up]

Yang Yang's book on Taiji will be published very soon:

www.chentaiji.com/books/books.html

There is a full review in the latest Journal of Asian Martial Arts.

Edit: This book is not style specific.

[Ray Pina]

I read a book about 7 years ago that really turned me onto the style, it was entitiled: Tai Chi Quan, Supreme Ultimate Boxing , or something like that.

It has a gold cover with black lettering and a circular graphic.

[SPJ]

Here is a good link to Wu Tai Ji

There is also a video clip.

Wu and Yang Tai Ji (taichited.tripod.com/html/wustyle.htm)

[scotty1]

Complete Tai Chi Chuan by Dan Docherty is pretty good.

[AndyC]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I've looked about and considered the recommendations put forward so far. I'd like to stay away from books detailing specific styles if possible (sorry forgot to mention that in the first post).
Below are a list of books which have caught my eye so far and would like some opinions on if anyone has happened to read them.

Complete Tai Chi Chuan - Dan Docherty - This one is on the list mainly because of the author as he's considered an excellent teacher. Not entirely clear on how comprehensive the book is since the 'search in book' option wasn't available on amazon. Think this is also more orientated toward wu style?

The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan: A Comprehensive Guide to the Priciples and Practice - Wong Kiew Kit - Seems like a very comprehensive book covering a lot of subjects. Including the importance of chi gung and martial applications of tai chi, which my friend would be very interested in.

Inner Structure of Tai Chi: Tai Chi Chi Kung I - Mantak Chia - Reviewed as a book covering more about the principles of tai chi and chi gung over exact details of each movement in a form. This is the kind of book i'm looking for, concentrating more on internal principles over the external. The reason for not having already bought this is because of the availability, i need it in the next couple of weeks :/

The Dao of Taijiquan: Way to Rejuvenation - Tsung Hwa Jou - Another comprehensive looking book. With mention of all 3 major styles. Not entirely sure about the depth of information however.

A Complete Guide to Chi-gung - Daniel P. Reid - Ok so it's not a tai chi book. But my friend is interested in chi gung and it's closely related to tai chi anyway. He knows some simple exercises which he practices at home. I'm also thinking maybe this book is more suited to him since his martial arts origin is CLF and i'm not entirely sure how much tai chi (form wise) he knows.

Hopefully the little comments i've made along side each book will help narrow down the type of book i'm looking for. I'm currently considering 'Complete guide to chi-gung' and maybe 'The Dao of Taijiquan' or 'Inner Structure of Tai Chi' if i can find somewhere which has it in stock and can deliver it quickly.

Again thanks for the sugestions and if anyone has read any of the above books i'd appreciate a quick review of it.

*SPJ i searched for books under the authors you mentioned but nothing of interest came up. Well not on amazon anyway.

[SPJ]

Here are some links.

Ma Hong (www.hsing-i.com/hsing-i_journal/ma.html)

Video links to Ba Gua, Xing Yi, Chen Tai Ji and Liu He Ba Fa. (www.hsing-i.com/pics/index.html)

Wang Pei Sheng (http://www.geocities.com/ycgf/YCGF.htm)

[scotty1]

Complete Tai Chi Chuan - Dan Docherty - This one is on the list mainly because of the author as he's considered an excellent teacher. Not entirely clear on how comprehensive the book is since the 'search in book' option wasn't available on amazon. Think this is also more orientated toward wu style?

The book is comprehensive. There's a long section on history which might upset some people, but it's all evidence based.

The style in the book is Wudang, which is based on Wu.

So yeah, it's based on a style, but as an introduction to tai chi in general it's still pretty good. Definitely based in reality, quite clear explanations, no esoterica, but it's pretty in-depth on a lot of aspects. You may also get a perspective you might not get from other books.

You can get it cheap, used from Amazon.

I know I sound like a nutsucker, but I do like it. it's my style, so it's also a useful reference and every read I find something new.

God, I do sound like a nutsucker don't I?

:D

[Repulsive Monkey]

Out of that list I'm afraid the only decent book you mention was Jou Tsung Hwa's Dao of rejuvenation book.

Docherty's book is alright but I'm sorry he is not an excellent teacher. I would go as far as to say he is good, but I think its best not to go over the top.

Yang Jwing Ming is a White Crane kungfu stylist first and foremost. Idon't really rate his Taiji.

Wong Kiew Kit is someone who has never really inspired me.

The FuZhongwen book is an excellent book but very detailed. Not sure its the right kind of book for some one who has only had a few classes.

A good book for someone who wants to get into it more would Douglas Wiles Tai chi Touchstones. Its sound covers classics and masters got some of the original Yang Cheng-fu private pictures some interesting stories and is always gonna be good as it has Li I Yu in it too.

[scotty1]

Each to their own...;)

[GMC]

I like Dr. Yang Jwing-ming's books. Besides studying White Crane, I believe he has studied taiji for a very long time. I've seen several of his books, and usually they contain some good information as well as translations of old documents.
It seems he is interested in preserving the CMA with books and videos, and does not claim to be a master of every style he writes about.

Thanks.

[SPJ]

Cool.

:cool:

[Baji Brad]

For application ideas, I really like Dr. Yang's Taiji Chin Na book, and Liang Shou Yu's book on the 24 and 48 forms.