A Study of Taijiquan by Sun Lutang

While a very valuable historical record of Sun Lutang, the book in itself is not for someone trying to learn Sun Taijiquan, but rather for someone already familiar with the form, needing a refresher, or wishing to familiarize themselves with the concepts of the Sun style.

The first section contains a brief description of the art, and a detailed biography of Sun Lutang’s life, from childhood to adulthood. In his introduction, Sun Lutang talks about the origin of Shaolin, the formation of Yijin Jing, and how it applies to both Xing-I, Bagua Zhang, and in turn his synthesis of Taiji Quan.

The beginning section discusses in detail the theories behind the style, the meaning and symbolism of Taiji Quan, and the various attributes and the state of Wuji before beginning the form. He briefly mentions the importance of cultivating Qi, but does not go into detail. The Thirteen Postures and their symbolism are mentioned in passing, but the author assumes the reader is already familiar with the material, and no specific detail is given.

Each movement (or rather pose,) is divided into a one page chapter. Each movement description consists of a one page (sometimes grainy) black and white photograph, with a brief description at the side or bottom. There are no movement/directional arrows, which I normally find helpful (then again, that's just me.) At some points, the description simply reads "repeat movement 3" etc. In general, the movement directions can be a lot clearer.

The book fails to mention the thirteen postures, application to any of the movements, or discuss the Taiji Classics.

Definitely worth reading if you are curious about Sun Lutang and his contributions to Taijiquan, or need to brush up what you picked up in class. If you are looking for a how-to book, you might have better luck elsewhere.

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Old Frame Chen Family Taiji Quan

This will be a sobering slap in the face for all the new age wishful thinking chi-power hippie types. (Had to get that out of my system.) This book is a down-to-earth overview of the old Chen form (same one that was taught to Yang LuChan, founder of Yang Taiji Quan.)

At times Chen can sound cynical and critical, but I find this viewpoint to be very refreshing in the face of the current trend of new age b.s. and martial arts fraud. He covers the history of Taiji Quan with a very realistic attitude, debunking various myths and wishful thinking (Cheng San Feng, etc.) which is what draws me to his style of writing.

His teaching approach is in some ways like William C. Chen, where he talks about the biomechanics of the human body, rather than obscure esoteric topics. He de-mystifies things, explaining them in a clear-cut language, making the content easy to grasp.

The old form itself is demonstrated very well. Directional arrows help understand the transition between the movements, and the text explanations clarify anything in between.

This is by far one of the best books on old Chen style available.

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Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan

Great book for those wishing to learn Tai Chi, but you should definitely have some background knowlege of Cheng Ma'n Ching's short form before delving into this text,as it is basically an extension of his Yang short form. It expands Ma'n Ching's 37 movements into 60, thus making the form almost twice as long.

The reverse breathing is covered very well, and the body weight/posture is specified as expected of a great book. However, I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of Taiji Classics, any mention of the Thirteen Postures, and no applications to the movements.

Being a long time practitioner of Cheng M’an Ching's short form, I found this book to be a wonderful means to expand my form, without having to learn a completely new one.

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