The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan: A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Practice (Tuttle Martial Arts) Paperback – November 15, 2002

Great book that gives you the history, philosophy, and tai chi moves.

This is an excellent book. As a Shaolin martial arts practitioner I found this book easily informative both in theory and instruction. The author has written this in a way that grabs your attention, gives you the information you need to fully understand the concept and to practice it. I highly recommend!

Aside from WKK's typical need for a better editor with a more daring hand, this is a worthy addition to any Taiji practitioner's library.As for the one reviewer's comments about WKK's honest modesty on his Taiji lineage status, I would just add the following consideration: Taiji comes from Shaolin inasmuch as it was developed there much the same as all other Chinese martial arts can be said to have been developed at Shaolin Temple. So, to quip at his lack of a lineage in Taiji OUTSIDE of the supreme martial arts college throughout all of Buddhist China's history makes little sense to me. I have a Shaolin master and I know that he was trained in Taiji and his Taiji is very good and very particular, in fact. So to have had a good Shaolin master is to a large extent to have had a good Taiji master. Taiji is a major course of study within the Shaolin warrior monk's curriculum. So, to have actually had a Shaolin master teach you Taiji is a supreme bit of good fortune, indeed. WKK merely states that his Shaolin master was not of a distinguished Taiji lineage, which is not much of a detraction given that the master in question teaching WKK WAS a Shaolin master, which typically should by all reasonaing be better than a master of of Taiji that is removed completely from the Shaolin system for several generations.Also, WKK does not say that you should learn Taiji without an instructor, period. He says his book is a self-teaching device for those who are already under the instruction of a qualified teacher, or for someone who otherwise would have no instruction whatsoever.Though WKK obviously is well-versed in terminology and applications of Taiji, that is not the sole purpose of this book. He goes into historical background and explication of theory behind the techniques in Taiji combat and other areas. The areas on direct instruction on application seem pretty darned good, nontheless. Most Tai Chi instructors these days will be exceptional if they have familiarity in Tai Chi combat beyond the basics of elementary push hands. The bottom line is, yes of course you need an instructor if you can find one. He never contradicts this truth, he merely is providing good knowledge on Taiji for those who need it. Teachers invariably don't teach one-on-one exclusively, they teach a whole room full of students for about 2 hours or so. This book helps you to find out things you may never get the opportunity to even ask your sifu.If you can get past a few boring moralistic/sentimental-sounding sections here and there, and a charactistically dry presentation style overall, WKK is an extremely respectable resource on Taiji for most of us. He means well when he is boring, and he is informative and helpful most of the rest of the time. Most importantly, his information tends to be accurate, and is consistent with the Shaolin understanding of martial arts, which for most mainland Chinese experts is paramount mark of distinction.

I keep ordering more copies of this book because I inevitably give away my copies to friends. It's a great, broad introduction with lots of depth for long-time practitioners, too. The only feature I'm dubious about is the forms illustrated in the book (representing all the major tai ji chuan styles) are shortened a bit to make them easier to learn; that's hard to do from a book anyway, so I'd rather have a record of the complete forms as the master teachers practice them. That's a small issue, though, as they aptly introduce the differences between styles. The discussion of all aspects of ta chi is deep, illuminating, readable.

This book is an excellent source of information about tai chi, written by one of the foremost experts on tai chi. I don't know if this is his "best" book on tai chi because he has written so many good books on this subject, but I can say that it is one of his best.

Kiew Kit Wong does a magnificent job of explaining the beginnings and differences of the styles of Tai Chi Chuan. He explains why theart of Tai Chi Chuan is completely different from other fighting arts. He explains the necessity of Yin-Yang in Tai Chi Chuan. He tellsthe order of the Tai Chi Chuan styles in which the masters recommend you become proficient in before proceeding to the next style. There are many photos showing the basic Tai Chi Chuan movements and pushing hands. If you're interested in Tai Chi Chuan, Irecommend getting this book/manual.

Whether you practice the Chen, Yang, Sun, Wu, or even Wudang forms, this book is for you. It is very detailed and easy to follow. Not only does it talk about each form, it discusses the philosophy and history of the art itself. It goes into Push Hands and the martial art aspect as well. Not into using T'ai Chi for self defense? It talks about the relaxation/healing powers as well.I think any martial artist needs to read this book. Many people do not understand what T'ai Chi is anymore: a martial art. Don't believe me? Look it up. Then read this book.

I purchased a new book but it arrived pretty beat-up. That now seems to be the norm with Amazon though, so I can't say I was surprised.