Top products from r/taijiquan

Disclaimer: I am a total gongfu noob, been studying and practicing for 4 months. That being said...

Anecdotal Evidence: I seen great improvements in my mood, level of relaxation around others, lower anxiety, and numerous improvements in my physical abilities. ROM of my knees(I'm recovering from surgery due to OCD in both knees, March2013/Oct2013 surgery dates), now at full ROM, even under support, I can perform tong zi kong(Shaolin Yoga) moves like Golden Tortoise Exploring the Way, with a less extreme angle of the ankles. Improved depth of my squats and horse stance. An unbelievable improvement in back and neck pain and flexibility. Major improvements in the functioning of my shoulder arm ball socket and surrounding structures, almost no more popping and improving each day.

I am teaching myself while I search for a teacher/instructor. Living in a small town makes it difficult, but that isn't a reason sit around doing nothing, get in there and study, experiment. No teacher can compare to your own body, if you listen to it.

The resources I've used have been youtube and books. The tools your need are patience and mirrors. The movements you make will always be wrong, but if you practice and study, practice and study some more, and watch your own movements you should be able to improve and be less wrong than when you started.

Ian's Youtube.

A few months ago he started streaming his morning 2hr workouts for 30 days. These were very motivating and he shared lots of really good information. I'm just now going back through each day and cataloging the information he shared. The series that explains each movement of the 24-form Yang Style is also full of extremely useful information and a great place to start.

Book: Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan

This book has been indispensable. It is full and great explanations of the internals and well enough detailed illustrations to supplement. Great explanation of the taiji principals. Would recommend 100% if you settle of studying anything in the Yang family.

I'm actively looking for a teach/instructor locally, but I'm about to give up and think about moving somewhere else to study under someone.

Might not be popular advice, but this really helped me. I was reading a book called the dao of taijuquan and somewhere in the philosophy section, he says, even if you have a great master, ultimately it's you that's studying tai chi, not just the form, but the actual forces out there in the universe. So ultimately you have to teach yourself. It was pretty mind-blowing for me, and it got me out of the rut I was in of feeling like I needed to find some super high level master or I couldn't make any progress. No. Even if you do the opening move over and over, you're learning. Different people have different aptitude to extract knowledge directly from life itself, but once I realized that was possible life got very cool for me.

Hi there,

So I saw some of your posts earlier, and as a quick aside to the question, I'm gonna recommend the book Meditations on Violence by Rory Miller. In it the author talks about his experiences working in corrections as the violence team expert, and what he talks about here is the psychological side of violence as well as the biochemical reaction we have when going from a nothing situation to a violent one. I like this book a lot for taiji people as this is the type of scenario where taiji training really shines, such as using touch sensitivity and relaxed vision to orient yourself faster than most people, breaking through that immediate mental freeze where people loop one movement over and over to try and get it to work, having your reactions be instantly available to you without needing to set anything up, non-technique specific movement efficiency to be able to apply movement changes/pivots/reactions from any part of the body you make contact with, etc. Training in this way is what I consider successful taiji training for me.

That said, I also do the more wrestling looking stuff on the side, along with a bit of shuai jiao, and it's def fun. I also watched that chin na video you recommended and I really enjoyed it, cause like chin na is def the kinda stuff you can geek out about :). One thing that was pretty quickly transferable to my wrasslin is William CC Chen's focus on the fingers. Basically he argues to focus a lot of your intent on the fingers themselves, with the middle finger, pointer, and thumb (the "claw") being the yang side and the pinky and ring finger being the yin side. The yang side's job is to press into the opponent on a spiral, like in wu style brush knee, and the yin side's job is to curl in and around, like in wu style gets into hook hands. (This curling is also found in bagua's teacup exercise). That all sounds complex but it's pretty simple actually, just put your mind/focus on your fingers and make small little spirals, switching between the two as needed. I've found this is a quick and effective little focusing tool to worm your arms into good positions, sneak out of bad ones, and catch locks and throws. Try it out!

Hi! Of course it's possible to do Tai Chi for the reasones you said (health and stress relief). You just a good source (teacher or online), and put that into practice beginning from tomorrow xD. It has to be a simple thing: practicing the parts from the form once or twice a day, plus some song exercises (for relaxation and structure).

Let's start by searching for a good teacher. You said you are from north Texas. The Yang Family Tai Chi association (held by the lineage holder of the Yang family taichi, Yang Jun) has a center in Lewisville. Now I personally don't know how good are they. The fact they are the lineage holder is surely an up. But I don't know, you might it give a try if you want/can.

Other than that I personally don't know other centers.


Now, about online resources. Many will recommend you this Book by Cheng Man Ching (it has great reviews tho).

Another great master is Liang Shou Yu: this Book has great reviews. There's also a dvd version of this, at higher price.

There are also other materials, and also "online courses" (monthly pay), but for now I'd wait what others have to say.

Don't worry if many instructors seem to do the same movements in different ways. It doesn't matter which way you make the movements, the principles are what matters.

I don't know about chen style but for yang style here's a good list.

Start with this: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Chengs-Method-Taichi-Self-Cultivation/dp/1883319927

Combine it with this: https://www.amazon.com/Cheng-Tzus-Thirteen-Treatises-Chuan/dp/1583942203

And then read through some of these: https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/

If you go through the first book I mentioned, that'll be a good start for pretty much all taichi basics, no matter what style. Basically all taichi is the same, the principles are all the same, it doesn't really matter what style you go for.

But if you want to learn the martial side I'm afraid you will need a knowledgeable teacher, or someone else that's just as interested who you can experiment push hands with until you figure it out.

Also search for videos of Cheng Man Ching and Huang Sheng Shyan on the internet to see it in action.

Don't bother buying an instructional book that attempts to show you where your hands and feet go--these never end up being useful.

Instead look at books that discuss theory/principles, or biographies of past masters or training experiences. These are more useful since they'll inspire you to practice more and become more skilled.

Some good books to start are

Neijiaquan: Internal Martial Arts - Jess O'Brien


Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods - Robert Smith

I use this when not practical to haul around my real sword(s). It's actually fairly sturdy and well-balanced, but too light for daily practice. For fans, I just use a regular giant plastic fan. It's long when folded, but not bulky, and I don't care about being sneaky with a fan. The bamboo ones are a little bit lighter or if you don't mind looking goofy af, you can practice fan forms with a cute little hand fan, but it's... awkward.

A great book for Yang classics is Tai Chi Touchstones by Douglas Wile. You get pretty much every famous passage, song, poem, and less known extracts and bits of oral transmission up to Yang Cheng Fu and including a few of his disciples, plus added commentary.

OP, I was told you don't want to micromanage. Even things like breathing, I was told you don't want to try and force it. Early on you want to relax, and reduce the noise in your body. But you do want to be aware of what you're doing to follow the 10 important points that make your form tai-chi and have some alert spirit.

Note that the book is great as a companion to actual personal experience with a teacher, it does not replace that, you'll need some personal instruction in order to get the martial benefits.

For health, you can do it on your own. CMC has a book on that which I haven't read but many people recommend to students which don't have in-person instruction and want to get the health benefits.

Read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Juice-Radical-Energetics-Scott-Meredith/dp/1478260696

Tai Chi Chuan is about energy cultivation and refinement first and foremost. If you really want to learn how to fight (or increase chances of such) join a boxing or BJJ club. Do continue w tai chi either way. "RELAX" with intent is key to success. That and never missing a day. Would highly suggest investing in daily standing (zhan zhuang) practice.

I hope you find someone to learn from.

You can try this book, but it'll probably be limited to health, since martial learning requires instruction or at least a practice partner.

Good luck!

My teachers, Davidine Sim and David Gaffney have written some excellent books on Chen style Taijiquan. All three are a good read:

Chen Style Taijiquan: The Source of Taiji Boxing

The Essence of Taijiquan

Chen Taijiquan: Masters and Methods

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dao-Taijiquan-Way-Rejuvenation/dp/0804813574

This goes into it a good bit, in addition to being a fantastic book on Tai chi in general.

This is the one I have.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F4MRWY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_iZJ0CbMNVKGFN

I had to carry it around all day on campus since I took the class in college. I tried both it and a wooden one, I prefer the collapsible personally. My instructor also used a similar collapsible that he had gotten in China on one of his trips back there. Hope it works well for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Dao-Taijiquan-Way-Rejuvenation-Tai/dp/0804813574
Master Jou's book is a good one.

I understand. I think a lot of people on the net forget that while most people live in urban areas, not all people live in urban areas, and that if you don't your choices probably boil down to Web/Print Tai Chi or no Tai Chi.

If Yang is what you are interested in, I'd start with Simplied Tai Chi it's a pretty decent book that covers the short form. There is a companion DVD, but I haven't seen it so I can't give you a review. You could also check your local library, they may have more materials

I'd always suggest working with a live instructor if possible, even if just to get the basics body mechanics down. Even if you are too far away from a Tai Chi instructor 6 months or so of Karate or Tae Kwon Do could give you a big jump if you work hard at it. Martial arts to a certain extent are martial arts, and a lot of the basics transfer. If that's not feasible, then go for it, as long as you listen to your body and don't do anything that causes pain what's the worst that happens, you get a little exercise, hopefully outside in some nice weather. :)

It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!


Here is link number 1 - Previous text "fan"



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^Please ^PM ^/u/eganwall ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^Delete

Yang Jwing-Ming describes them in his book, Taijiquan Theory, beginning on page 146. Jou Tsung Hwa describes them in his book, The Dao of Taijiquan, starting on page 220. I know they are mentioned in the classics as well as books by Yang Chengfu, although I don't have any in front of me. Would you agree that these people understand taijiquan?

I heartily disagree with your statement that they are borrowed from other arts. These energies are the core of taiji. Without sticking, listening, and understanding; you do not have true taijiquan. Without neutralizing, seizing, and issuing; you do not have solid martial skill.

Self defence for whom, against what, how soon do you need it?

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Violence-Comparison-Martial-Training/dp/1594391181

You can read Zheng Manqing's books in English. I think it's in this one. Wu Tunan's book was written in Chinese...i don't think it's been translated. Let me see if I can find it online, but that might take a while.

Based on the comments below, I see two books labeled "classics". I'm a beginner working on the Yang style.

http://smile.amazon.com/Tai-Chi-Classics-Shambhala/dp/1570627495/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415739761&sr=8-1&keywords=T%27ai+Chi+Classics

http://smile.amazon.com/Taijiquan-Classics-Annotated-Translation/dp/1556434316/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415739821&sr=8-3&keywords=tai+chi+classics

Any thoughts on these?

https://www.amazon.com/Actual-Chinese-Martial-art-Taiji-Capture（Instructor/dp/B07F1B1WJV/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540573696&sr=8-1&pi=PI_PJPrime-Sash-Extra-Large-2017,TopLeft,0,0_AC_SX118_SY170_QL70&keywords=taiji+capture&dpPl=1&dpID=51DiTu3uYxL&ref=plSrch

Two birds, one stone:

CK Chu's Book of Nei Kung.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Nei-Kung-C-Chu/dp/0961658606

For tai chi you really need a teacher that will correct you on your posture etc. Without it tai chi will never be effective.

If you really cant find a proper and affordable school, look into this dvd:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yang-Tai-Chi-Beginners-DVD/dp/B006WPDKLI

Its a 3 hour video which will teach you the yang 24 form.

Try the Yang Jwing-Ming books on it, or take a loook at the various manuals translated by Brennan.

Taijiquan: Classical Yang Style

Tai Chi Secrets of the Yang Style

There are also Yang Zhenduo videos on the long form.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

There is also Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan by Fu Zhongwen or the Taiji Saber. Here is a video of him performing the hand form, and saber.