Synopses & Reviews
The Chen-style of taijiquan (an alternate spelling of tai chi chuan) is the parent art of all tai chi systems (yang, wu, chen, sun, etc.). It originated in Chen village, in China, and the current grandmaster of the art is Chen Xiaowang. Taijiquan is an internal martial art whose practice is characterized by stillness, slowness, agility, lightness, and the use of the mind as opposed to unnecessary or brute force. The practice synthesizes physical dexterity with mental agility. The book covers the history of Chen-style taiji, offers a fully illustrated (with over 150 black and white photographs) instruction in the 38 sections that make up the form; and then offers the most comprehensive introduction to the self-defense applications of the form available in the English language."