What should I read?

 

This is the most frequently heard questions we get. Some of us need or want a book as a reference; others think they can get ahead by using a book. I ask which reason the student has because I believe using the book to get ahead is probably a bad idea.

When I say get ahead I mean to use the book instead of the teacher to learn the next lesson. Often the book is incomplete as most don’t show transition moves. And they are one-dimensional. The written does not lend itself to primary instruction of motion very well. Therefore I recommend that student get the appropriate book and use it the correct way. I think that way is as a reference or reminder. Trying to learn from a book often imprints incorrect movement. And we know that first impressions are the strongest, so learning it incorrectly makes the job harder because we have to undo those impressions.

If you select the print option versus video I like to have students buy a basic book, one with some background (origins, fundamental philosophy, etc) and enough description and pictures to get by. For our lineage I suggest T’ai Chi Ch’uan by Cheng Man-Ching as a good choice. The subtitle is, A Simplified Method of Calisthenics and Self Defense. It’s a paperback book of about 135 pages. There is a more in-depth version of it entitled T’ai Chi that is a hardcover and even has a fold-out section showing the form footwork. Robert Smith was his co-author. It has more meat to it. Cheng Man-Ching taught Robert Smith and my teacher, Tom Baeli. So you’ll find the books to be in line with what you’re learning. It’s a lot easier today to find books on tai chi and many beginners rush out and buy what they find at the booksellers only to find it doesn’t look like what they’re learning. Being that there are different systems and schools out there, that’s to be expected. So let your teacher recommend a book based on your style.

Another book for the hungry student is Robert Chuckrow’s The Tai Chi Book. This is a large soft cover book and I like it a lot for the repetition of the form from the other books but he adds more information and explanation that’s easy to grasp.

As you progress you’ll find some books on Cheng that get a bit more esoteric, such as Douglas Wile’s Cheng Man Ching’s Advanced T’ai Chi Form Instructions and Wolfe Lowenthal’s There Are No Secrets. If you’re interested in combative thought, pick up William Chen’s works. T.T. Liang’s Steal My Art is also worth looking at.

There is more out there that is worth getting but I think these are a good start for most students. I hope this helps.

Until next time,

Lee