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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.71
EAN num: 9780804813570
ISBN number: 0804813574
Label: Charles E Tuttle Co
Manufacturer: Charles E Tuttle Co
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 233
Printing Date: December 23, 1998
Publishing house: Charles E Tuttle Co
Sale Popularity Level: 145339
Studio: Charles E Tuttle Co
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Rated by buyers 
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This book has much more wisdom packed within its pages than can be understood or appreciated on a first, second or even third read. It was written with the earnest desire to introduce Americans to the practice of Tai Chi, as the author would say, "not for fame or money, but to spread good health to American people." Having used Tai Chi practice to cure his own serious heart and gastrointestinal condition, he wanted to share its health benefits with all who had an interest. Master Jou would frequently say that a student could take Tai Chi practice as far as he or she had interest and perseverance: health exercise, martial art or enlightenment. He was in it for enlightenment.
I was one of Master Jou's very first students and benefitted by his generous (free) instruction for many years in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Although he immigrated there to pursue an advanced degree in mathematics at Rutgers University (He was already a very successful and widely published author of mathematics text books in Taiwan), by the time he came to the US in 1971, his true passion was Tai Chi all day, everyday, with an intense desire to communicate what he had learned and was learning to his new American community. Master Jou was not fluent in English when he arrived, so he began by writing this entire book by hand in Chinese. He had the outline translated and then painstakingly worked with a small group of Tai Chi students (myself among them) to transcribe content and intent, frequently using mathematics to explain both underlying philosophy and technique. Although the very first edition was rough, it was quickly recognized as a treasure and translated into many different languages and distributed worldwide. English improved with each new edition so that this book can now be appreciated by a beginner but is a "must read" for any serious student.
Rated by buyers -
I recommend this book to anyone who is seriously practicing Tai Chi. There is very good advice for practicing in it. It might not help you very much if you are just starting Tai Chi (less than one year) or if you practice only for health reasons. A good supplement to a good teacher.
Rated by buyers 
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This book is a helpful compilation of legends (not true history as Jou Tsung Hwa would have it), practice principles and theory.
Be very careful - Jou Tsung Hwa was quite a superstitious man and believed that the old legends were to be taken literally. Most of his claims, if not all, about the benefits of Taijiquan, are quite unfounded and based upon these legends. Filtering that out, along with any application of the basic theory (which - I think - interpretation of the concepts should be up to the practitioner and the student, which is why I recommend to read this very critically), the book is a great collection of common practice tips from several sources, and if used as a guide (rather than an explicit "how-to" book) can be helpful to a student at any level of practice.
Be careful with the theory - Jou Tsung Hwa was always meditating, always practicing, and did little else with his life - and that obsession comes through in his writing; he thinks of everything in terms of Taijiquan, yin/yang, 5 elements - this application in thinking is not necessary to advance your practice or deepen your understanding, and may have a negative effect on the rest of your life as you learn and grow.
Take each experience and interpret it for yourself, and be patient - decide which principles you agree with and which you don't - try things out - in that way, this book can be a wealth of information to last any student several years.
Rated by buyers -
Frequently called the "White Book" in Taijiquan communities around the world, this book would be a great central source of "notes" for deeper consideration by anyone who already familiar and grounded in Taoism, TCM, Taijiquan, and Chinese classical ideology back into the Chinese "Naturalist" period predating formal Taoism. It has typos, misarrangement of symbology/concept ordering, poorly chosen Chinese to English translation, some bad conceptual translation, and lastly it should be remembered that Master Hwa was not a "master" but a scholarly student of the arts. He was well-traveled, well-connected, a long time practitioner, and a gracious gentleman and a scholar, but he was not part of a lineage, formal or otherwise, and not recognize by serious practitioners as having that high a skill level.
There is a reason why most all "masters" and "grandmasters" and long term reknowned teachers do not reference this text to their students - and I've given you some of those reasons. Until you already understand the basics of the many principles contained in this book, you will be in no position to comprehend its signal to noise ratio.
Rated by buyers 
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I brought this book by accident when I very first started practicing Tai Chi (Wu Dang Style) around seven years ago. I knew nothing of the philosophy behind Tai Chi or Taoism, And although at very first I thought this book was a bit airy and seemed badly translated I now find it invaluable as a reference tool whilst practicing Tai Chi and Qi Qong.
I am now studying Wu style as opposed to Wu Dang style (practical Tai Chi) and have introduced Qi Qong into my training and this book has proved the perfect link for all my studies, I regularly pick it up and read a random chapter before going to bed and there is always something new to learn even if I have read the same chapter several times.
I highly recommend this as a tool to prop up your Tai Chi philosophy whilst learning from a good teacher though it is not in any way a book to learn from (why you would want to learn from a book anyway?).
I recently borrowed all the books I could on Tai Chi and Qi Qong from my local well stocked library and although there were some other very good books I still find this to have such a good range of detailed info that I keep this as my sole Tai Chi book, though I am looking for Master Ma long form book.
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