Tai Chi for Beginners with Grandmaster William C C Chen
Studio: Acorn Media Release Date: 12/01/2009
5 Stars A must own for anyone learning this form!
There were a few things about this video that people could legitamitly complain about, like the panning of the camera angles at times can make it a little more difficult to follow, but the instruction by William C.C. Chen, and the explanations on breathing, the chi, and movements really make this video great for those who are learning this form. For those who have zero martial arts history, this video may be difficult, but to those who have some understanding of Tai Chi, or Kung Fu it definitely helps. There is a loop feature that makes this video a lot easier to learn from than any other, plus his daughter and son doing the form with him during the full form feature make the video a lot easier to follow. The variety of the three’s movements, with the uniformity and almost exact timing allow the veiwer to see the importance of the focus on the destination of the hands and feet rather than the arms and legs; The ability to move with the breath rather than the body. I can’t give it justice with my words. The only flaws this video may have are with the filming of it, not with the info, or instruction. The flaws in filming are minor (like at times in the full form mode the cameraman may zoom in to far and cut off the movement of the feet (I think it happened twice), but it doesn’t happen in the segmented parts, or looping). I highly, HIGHLY recommend this video to those who want to learn William C.C. Chens version of the Yang form.
3 Stars Tai Chi Review
Good in that the instruction goes through both the individual stages and the whole form – but not easy to work with a mirror image of the movements.
4 Stars get the book, too
For those who find the DVD hard to follow, I suggest getting the companion book, “Tai Chi Chuan; Art of the 60 Movements,” the newer 10th printing published in 2008.
If you want to learn the more subtle “mechanics” of Tai Chi, attend one of his workshops.
(For example, Master Chen has not yet published his explanations of tilting and untilting the kwa)
Don’t wait too long though, Master Chen is 75.
5 Stars Learn from a Tai Chi Icon
After practicing Tai Chi on and off for 40 years and I’ve found that this is the form I always turn back to. Grandmaster Chen’s instruction in person or on his dvd is superb. The art of Tai Chi is practical and there’s no mystery. Tai Chi gives a person a lifetime of benefit, but it does not take a lifetime to learn. All you need is the right teacher, the Tai Chi form can be learnt in matter of months. There might be some criticism about the camera angles, but from my opinion, there are alot worse dvds out there. This dvd is first rate.
I always appreciate Grandmaster Chen’s honest approach and I am delighted to have his new dvd.
1 Star Not useful for learning Tai Chi
The instructions on this DVD consist of a droning monotone of shift left, shift right, push here, etc. None of the individual movements of Tai Chi are described, just ongoing narration. Following along would be very difficult even if you were looking at the demonstrator’s back, but he mostly facing forward. And if you happen to finally connect some words and actions, the camera will move and pan, making understanding impossible again. Avoid this DVD. It is not useful at all.
Tai Chi for Beginners with Grandmaster William C C Chen
Studio: Acorn Media Release Date: 12/01/2009
5 Stars A must own for anyone learning this form!
There were a few things about this video that people could legitamitly complain about, like the panning of the camera angles at times can make it a little more difficult to follow, but the instruction by William C.C. Chen, and the explanations on breathing, the chi, and movements really make this video great for those who are learning this form. For those who have zero martial arts history, this video may be difficult, but to those who have some understanding of Tai Chi, or Kung Fu it definitely helps. There is a loop feature that makes this video a lot easier to learn from than any other, plus his daughter and son doing the form with him during the full form feature make the video a lot easier to follow. The variety of the three’s movements, with the uniformity and almost exact timing allow the veiwer to see the importance of the focus on the destination of the hands and feet rather than the arms and legs; The ability to move with the breath rather than the body. I can’t give it justice with my words. The only flaws this video may have are with the filming of it, not with the info, or instruction. The flaws in filming are minor (like at times in the full form mode the cameraman may zoom in to far and cut off the movement of the feet (I think it happened twice), but it doesn’t happen in the segmented parts, or looping). I highly, HIGHLY recommend this video to those who want to learn William C.C. Chens version of the Yang form.
3 Stars Tai Chi Review
Good in that the instruction goes through both the individual stages and the whole form – but not easy to work with a mirror image of the movements.
4 Stars get the book, too
For those who find the DVD hard to follow, I suggest getting the companion book, “Tai Chi Chuan; Art of the 60 Movements,” the newer 10th printing published in 2008.
If you want to learn the more subtle “mechanics” of Tai Chi, attend one of his workshops.
(For example, Master Chen has not yet published his explanations of tilting and untilting the kwa)
Don’t wait too long though, Master Chen is 75.
5 Stars Learn from a Tai Chi Icon
After practicing Tai Chi on and off for 40 years and I’ve found that this is the form I always turn back to. Grandmaster Chen’s instruction in person or on his dvd is superb. The art of Tai Chi is practical and there’s no mystery. Tai Chi gives a person a lifetime of benefit, but it does not take a lifetime to learn. All you need is the right teacher, the Tai Chi form can be learnt in matter of months. There might be some criticism about the camera angles, but from my opinion, there are alot worse dvds out there. This dvd is first rate.
I always appreciate Grandmaster Chen’s honest approach and I am delighted to have his new dvd.
1 Star Not useful for learning Tai Chi
The instructions on this DVD consist of a droning monotone of shift left, shift right, push here, etc. None of the individual movements of Tai Chi are described, just ongoing narration. Following along would be very difficult even if you were looking at the demonstrator’s back, but he mostly facing forward. And if you happen to finally connect some words and actions, the camera will move and pan, making understanding impossible again. Avoid this DVD. It is not useful at all.