The Chinese secret for youthfulness, health and long life lies at least partly in T'ai Chi, the balletlike calisthenics they've practiced for centuries. This rhythmical art stresses slow breathing, balanced and relaxed postures and absolute calmness of mind. The practice itself need take no more than ten minutes a day. This book is a complete stepbystep manual for the beginner that will enable anyone to master the sequence of thirtyseven postures that make up the T'ai Chi solo exercise
Following Master of Five Excellences, the previously published volume of Cheng Man-Ch'ing's teachings, comes this volume in which Man-Ch'ing expounds his views in 49 essays. His lessons of inner development and comments on daily life will be of particular interest to both t'ai chi adherents and those interested in Chinese culture. Photos & line drawings.
"This book introduces T'ai-chi as a means to a healthier life, as a sport, and as a means of self-defense. It is a complete step-by-step manual for the beginner. It will enable him, with conscientious practice, to master the sequence of thirty-seven postures that make up the T'ai-chi solo exercise. The directions are clear-cut and easy to follow. More than 275 photographs, together with 122 foot-weighting diagrams, guarantee a ready understanding of the correct procedure. A convenient fold-out illustrates the thirty-seven postures in a continuous sequence. The main emphasis in this introductory manual is on T'ai-chi as a superior way to healthful living. But T'ai-chi, when practiced with a partner, is an enjoyable sport, and its movements form the basis for an unexcelled system of self-defense. The book therefore gives both of these important aspects of T'ai-chi their due share of attention and shows the student how to progress from exercise to sport to self-defense with the maximum of efficiency."--Amazon