Tai Chi Chuan: Classical Yang Style

This incredible DVD is more than worth its price tag. Even experienced practitioners will find much to engage them. You need to spend a little time getting familiar with the navigation on this product, because there are many ways of calling up scenes or cross referencing individual movements and explanations. Every single move, wether part of the form, warm up, jigon, or fajin has its own chapter. It is also listed on a menu so you can for example see a move, then pass quickly back to see its martial application (13 fundemental postures are shown with martial applications) and then return again to the move.The problem for beginners, is that they are likely to be overwhelmed by the content of this DVD. If you are a begginer you should definitely purchase this DVD. But you need to be very disciplined in its use. And of course it is essential that you find yourself a teacher. Bear in mind that your teacher may work from a different version of the Yang long form.I suggest you ignore the theory lecture and go straight to the warm up and jigon excercises. When you have worked on these for a long time. Start on the first four movements of the form. Click on the yin yang symbol for each move to see the detailed information and slide show picture of the posture. Then you can click back immediately to see the move again. Find the martial applications where they exist for the moves you are working on. They will help you to understand the form much better even if like me, you are not wanting to use them martially.Dr Yang really needs to produce a second DVD to accompany this one showing him working with a student on each move giving detailed advice as we watch the individual working. The one drawback of this DVD is the lack of this type of presentaton.I am returning to the Yang long form after a long absence. For me this DVD is so good it is hard to praise it enough. If you read your reviews Dr Yang, then thank you again and again for what you have done here.

I have been practicing martial arts almost all my life:Judo for 6 years when I was younger, I left in my teenage yearsShotokan Karate, I joined 3 years ago, I still practice it every week and plan to go on.KickBoxing, for 6 months, I am lucky because this class is just before my karate class in the same gym and I can take both in 2 hours, but I am going to quit. (Aikido is going to fill this void)Aikido, 2 months, I like it alot, a different approach of that of Karate/KickBoxing.I am 30 years old and I mostly like very intense excersise, that's the main reason I joined Kickboxing, lot's of sparring.Then I bought this DVD for my mother and I got completely in love with Jaijiquan, this DVD is amazingly well done, lots of sections you can directly jump to, the initial lecture (mind opening and interesting), the section on Quigong... This DVD has finally opened the door the Aikido started to show me. A different approach (I knew something similar, Judo, but I was too young too look deeper on it and mainly liked it for the sparring and because it meant a game for me).The initial lecture also comments something very interesting about internal external martial arts:-internal (what I am discovering with Aikido and Taijiquan)-external (what I always have liked and like, Karate and Kickboxing)the concept of "calm", meditation, feeling your body and how both paths (ext/int) can help the other and reach the same ultimate goal. This is something I think I can use in Karate too.OK, I know this is only a bunch of facts about my life and very little about the DVD itself, but others here have made good review of it. I just want to say that this DVD (and Taijiquan itself) is very good and deserves a try if you are interested in Taijiquan and/or Martial Arts, I think it is very unlikely that it will dissapoint you.From Spain,

good book

The DVD videos are very informative and influential in the practice of Tai Chi. As you listen you become aware of the deeper knowledge of the practice.

This is not a beginners DVD and the arrangement of chapters is confusing and discouraging to anyone who wants to learn tai chi. There is no real instruction here that is directed toward the viewer. The viewer is treated more like a voyeur than pupil. Spare me the "You can only truly learn by attending lessons from a qualified instructor" nonsense. Yes, having an instructor is preferred, but since that isn't possible a DVD should make every effort to explain the movements step by step and this one doesn't do that. There are lots of chapters but it is never said where you should begin or how to use the video. You may say, "Well, start from the beginning!" I tried that and I can't tell what is the beginning. The first thing you see is a lecture on tai chi, and wu jin, etc with the teacher at a whiteboard. That may be nice for people seeking the deeper aspects of the art but not a beginner who just wants to be eased into the thing and given some simple direction. I am experienced in martial arts but my wife isn't and knows nothing about tai chi so I used her as a barometer for a true beginner experience. She hated it. FOR $30 IT SHOULD BE A BETTER VIDEO WITH BETTER INSTRUCTION. There are cheaper videos that do a far better job. I have the Terry Dunn video on VHS and it is superior to this if you are a true beginner and not a devotee of taichi and Yang Jwing Ming fan. Even the David Carradine videos are better as an instructional. While this DVD has a lot of content it does very little to clarify what is happening with each movement and where to begin or how to work your way through it. I respect the instructor and his reputation but this was not good. I want to return it and get something I can use.