Can anyone recommend good Tai Chi DVDs?

[innerspace_cadet]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum could point me in the direction of good DVDs on Tai Chi. I live out in Colorado Springs, so there aren't many Tai Chi teachers around here. Is Terence Dunn a good resource?

[tumoessence]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum could point me in the direction of good DVDs on Tai Chi. I live out in Colorado Springs, so there aren't many Tai Chi teachers around here. Is Terence Dunn a good resource?

 

I would go for the dvds at classical tai chi

 

If you take some time to read through the sight you may find inspiration for dvd learning. These dvds are unique.

Bill

Edited April 18, 2007 by tumoessence

[Cameron]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum could point me in the direction of good DVDs on Tai Chi. I live out in Colorado Springs, so there aren't many Tai Chi teachers around here. Is Terence Dunn a good resource?

 

 

Is Colorado Springs near Boulder? If so I would check out Ken Cohen. He is a qigong master who lives in Colorado.

[Yoda]

I dig taichiforenlightenment.com, but it isn't really tai chi. There might be some stuff on youtube too.

[thaddeus]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum could point me in the direction of good DVDs on Tai Chi. I live out in Colorado Springs, so there aren't many Tai Chi teachers around here. Is Terence Dunn a good resource?

There are none. There are dvds of great masters performing taichi but there are no good instructionals. You need the feedback from an instructor to correct your movement. Just start somewhere with an instructor. Right now you're not in a position to say there are no good instructors in colorado springs. There may be no world class instructors, but certainly there are people who can teach you basic choreography. My bias is towards the Chen Style, but 'your mileage may vary'.

T

[goldisheavy]

There are none. There are dvds of great masters performing taichi but there are no good instructionals. You need the feedback from an instructor to correct your movement. Just start somewhere with an instructor. Right now you're not in a position to say there are no good instructors in colorado springs. There may be no world class instructors, but certainly there are people who can teach you basic choreography. My bias is towards the Chen Style, but 'your mileage may vary'.

T

 

I heard one Tai Chi instructor say that it's not about perfect movement. If it was, he'd be inviting dancers into his studio. Or so he said.

 

This also reminds me of one anecdote about a Buddhist hermit who kept saying the mantra while living on an island. He became famous and finally a great and respected teacher decided to visit this hermit to see what all the hoopla was about. So he comes there only to discover that this hermit is not pronouncing the mantra correctly. The teacher tells him "I'm very sorry, but you get no benefit if you pronounce the mantra wrong." So the hermit learns the right way to say it and the teacher leaves, paddling away in his boat. Suddenly this teacher feels a knock on his shoulder. He turns around finding the hermit standing there, on water, asking him, "Sorry, how does that mantra go again?".

 

I think that story is trying to tell us something.

[yuanqi]

Is Colorado Springs near Boulder? If so I would check out Ken Cohen. He is a qigong master who lives in Colorado.

 

 

if it is near boulder i would go see Master Yun Xiang Tseng, (otherwise known as chen or master chen) he also has a wudang brother i believe that teaches in colorado as well. i would see these two as i have met them and chen is affiliated with our school and comes to do seminars and external qi healing certifications alot. i also went to boulder last july (they also went to austin tx) to see the taoist delegation that master chen brought over from wudang, ken was there, doing a couple breakout seminars of course, so were alot of other big dogs as they say and i would absolutley check into the others before going to ken, nothing really personal against him, although after meeting him my impression changed quite a bit, perhaps he should just be a scholar. LOL either way do what you will but from what i know there are several folks out in that neck of the woods. but if only looking for books, audio or video then ken has them but so do alot of others.

 

 

yuanqi

Edited April 20, 2007 by yuanqi

[Neijia]

I heard one Tai Chi instructor say that it's not about perfect movement. If it was, he'd be inviting dancers into his studio. Or so he said.

 

This also reminds me of one anecdote about a Buddhist hermit who kept saying the mantra while living on an island. He became famous and finally a great and respected teacher decided to visit this hermit to see what all the hoopla was about. So he comes there only to discover that this hermit is not pronouncing the mantra correctly. The teacher tells him "I'm very sorry, but you get no benefit if you pronounce the mantra wrong." So the hermit learns the right way to say it and the teacher leaves, paddling away in his boat. Suddenly this teacher feels a knock on his shoulder. He turns around finding the hermit standing there, on water, asking him, "Sorry, how does that mantra go again?".

 

I think that story is trying to tell us something.

 

I think ancedotes and obscure, wise, stories offer fabulous little conclusions, but rarely (or perhaps more subtlely?) allude to the merits of hard work and the investment of time.

 

It's no good to be struggling in a pedantic quagmire, nor too high in a lofty state of mind to realize that you're falling.

[Trunk]

..good DVDs on Tai Chi. .. Is Terence Dunn a good resource?

I've owned two of Dunn's videos, and liked them a lot, recommend them.

[Cameron]

i would absolutley check into the others before going to ken, nothing really personal against him, although after meeting him my impression changed quite a bit, perhaps he should just be a scholar. yuanqi

 

 

Any particular reason you wrote this? I don't know Ken personally but enjoyed the 2 times we met and would definetly consider him one of the top American qigong teachers.

[yuanqi]

Any particular reason you wrote this? I don't know Ken personally but enjoyed the 2 times we met and would definetly consider him one of the top American qigong teachers.

 

his knowledge of the classics and other things is top notch. theoretically he should be one of the top American qigong teachers. i however would seek the others i mentioned in colorado first. nothing against him personally. just an opinion.

[Cameron]

I guess I would be interested in any objective reasons you would choose the others. I mean, you say nothing personal but don't give any impersonal reasons.

 

For example:

 

He's a really good teacher but teacher X has better Tai Chi form.

 

He knows the classics but teacher X has a higher awareness.

 

etc.etc.

[yuanqi]

I guess I would be interested in any objective reasons you would choose the others. I mean, you say nothing personal but don't give any impersonal reasons.

 

For example:

 

He's a really good teacher but teacher X has better Tai Chi form.

 

He knows the classics but teacher X has a higher awareness.

 

etc.etc.

 

 

first of all its just an opinion. and well there alot of x's out there that have better tai ji form.

 

granted one of chens closest friends in america is also a friend of mine and i have been around chen in an informal manner, his knowledge and depth of things is absolutley mind blowing, not just the knowledge that has been written about or translated but from a practical standpoint. he is for real, he can do things that you see written about and dont know if you can believe it or not. when hearing chen speak and being around him and hearing ken speak and being around him, there is no question who i would want to learn from. thats why i stated my opinion. has nothing to do with ken, he can spout off all kinds of things from personal experience as well as what has been written and translated, but if it were a matter of finding a teacher well the others are who i would seek. chens taoist brother from mt wudang is named bing, he is absolutley amazing as well. as a matter of fact, chens goal is to build a taoist temple in the mountains near boulder as a retreat center, one that you can come learn at, stay at, or even die at as he said. so in a few years i am sure it will be built and although he comes to my school alot i would undoubtably go there for a while when its built.

Edited April 20, 2007 by yuanqi

[innerspace_cadet]

Thank you guys for your advice. I am driving up to Denver tomorrow to attend a free one hour Tai Chi instruction course at the Denver public library. I think the teachers are affiliated with the Tai Chi Project.

[Cameron]

first of all its just an opinion. and well there alot of x's out there that have better tai ji form.

 

granted one of chens closest friends in america is also a friend of mine and i have been around chen in an informal manner, his knowledge and depth of things is absolutley mind blowing, not just the knowledge that has been written about or translated but from a practical standpoint. he is for real, he can do things that you see written about and dont know if you can believe it or not. when hearing chen speak and being around him and hearing ken speak and being around him, there is no question who i would want to learn from. thats why i stated my opinion. has nothing to do with ken, he can spout off all kinds of things from personal experience as well as what has been written and translated, but if it were a matter of finding a teacher well the others are who i would seek. chens taoist brother from mt wudang is named bing, he is absolutley amazing as well. as a matter of fact, chens goal is to build a taoist temple in the mountains near boulder as a retreat center, one that you can come learn at, stay at, or even die at as he said. so in a few years i am sure it will be built and although he comes to my school alot i would undoubtably go there for a while when its built.

 

 

Cool.

[goldisheavy]

I think ancedotes and obscure, wise, stories offer fabulous little conclusions, but rarely (or perhaps more subtlely?) allude to the merits of hard work and the investment of time.

 

It's no good to be struggling in a pedantic quagmire, nor too high in a lofty state of mind to realize that you're falling.

 

It's not a matter of judgment, as I see it. It's a matter of understanding.

 

Attention to detail is necessary to master something conventional. It's not necessary if you are not using convention as your vehicle.

 

Is Tai Chi just a set of conventions? It does look that way, doesn't it? And maybe it is. Its value then decreases dramatically, because conventionally there are far better martial arts that focus on getting the job done (defeating the other guy) and do away with various high-minded metaphysical mumbo-jumbo. Instead they rely on physics and simple principles like breaking the structure of your opponent, and you don't need to be an internal practitioner to realize the value of that.

 

For some people Tai Chi is a token convention that leads to a world beyond convention. In that sense, the form is not that important. It's just a symbolic token to get you started on the way. You will be doing away with the token as soon as you sense something that is not amenable to characterization, and therefore is not amenable to "proper form" type instruction.

 

So, if you understand Tai Chi as just a motion without any wisdom, then you need to stick to the form. But if it's wisdom that you're after, then guess what? You can discover your own form. And guess what? This happens all the time in China, doesn't it? People constantly introduce their own forms. People have new insights all the time. They meditate and contemplate and come up with their own form. That's how every style has started. It started from someone who was inquisitive and attentive.

 

Wouldn't it be better to cultivate the same traits in oneself then to fallow the shadows those inquisitive and attentive individuals have cast? Be inquisitive and attentive and cast your own shadow. Then let the fools follow you if they have nothing better to do.

 

If someone is interested in magic or in deadly abilities, you just need to open your mind and practice every day. You don't need any guidance or teacher or form. The only reason I don't do that myself is the same reason I don't heal every hurt with my abilities and I don't warm my body every time it's cold. Although I can do that and did in the past.

 

We are doing people a disservice when we don't tell them the truth. Enough shadow following.

[goldisheavy]

There is something, when attended to, that allows one to discover anything you want, including your very own, unique, perfect just for you martial art.

 

People should be introduced to it and empowered to use it. Instead, every day people are disempowered when they are not told the source of all the interesting abilities and are instead told to follow some after-effects of something that's more intimate to you than the veins in your own neck. That's what I call spiritual theft.

 

People have no faith in their own abilities. That's a disease that should be remedied directly as opposed to indirectly by following someone else who does have faith in their own ability.

 

People have trouble with understanding. That should be remedied directly by pointing at the root of all understanding. Instead people are following some expert and thus never ever discover the root of all understanding and ignorance in their very own heart.

 

People like Zhuangzi said this -- "Even a fool has his own mind for a teacher." But no one takes this to heart. If today, right now, someone takes this to heart, and start practicing every day, every day using only their own insight, I guarantee that the resulting ability will defeat all Wudang masters put together. That's my challenge to anyone who seeks understanding, wisdom and power.

 

If you are stuck, look at the problem in your mind. Don't look for solutions from teachers. A good teacher should be telling students about this. But instead most teachers simply cultivate a state of perpetual dependence. I went to a Tai Chi class recently, just to see what's up. AAAA yup. Not a peep about how to discover any wisdom. Only "just follow me" type instruction. Shame. One cannot get any wisdom from following shapes.

[Cameron]

I was doing some research online and ran into this site in Colorado Springs. Not sure what level of expertise the teachers are at but looks interesting enough to check out.

 

 

link

 

edit-cool, I didn't notice until going over the site. The teacher is authorized to teach by Ken Cohen .Looks like he completed the qigong training program I am thinking about doing.

[KoHsuan]

I would recommend Erle Montaigue http://www.taichiworld.com/

 

you can find Whole of the Yang Cheng Fu Taijiquan Form video clips for free... around 30 of them..

 

great for start with the best explanation I have seen ..

[Ayudar]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum could point me in the direction of good DVDs on Tai Chi. I live out in Colorado Springs, so there aren't many Tai Chi teachers around here. Is Terence Dunn a good resource?

 

Short form? Long form? Or primarily for health more than the martial arts aspect?

 

Ayudar

[DaoWaDiddy]

This DVD has a wealth of material on it:

 

Taijiquan, Classical Yang Style

(YMAA Tai Chi) Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming

 

Shows movements, has stills of each movement, explanation of many movements, and so forth.

 

Charlie

[Guest sykkelpump]

i have heard good about gary clyman. www.chikung.com

[bronzebow]

I'd also recommend Erle Montaigue's stuff, there are probably better master's out there, but if you are going to learn from a video then his are probably the best as far as good and clear explanations go.

[el_tortugo]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum could point me in the direction of good DVDs on Tai Chi. I live out in Colorado Springs, so there aren't many Tai Chi teachers around here. Is Terence Dunn a good resource?

 

If you can, I would really suggest to arrange training at this school in Denver. http://www.enetworkmarketing.com/tangshoutao/tangshoutao.swf

Maybe even a couple times a month or something.

[Treena]

I'd also recommend Dr. Paul Lam's vids/DVDs. He's developed a number of short forms that are quick and easy to learn for beginners and the instruction is excellent. He also has a few competition forms on DVD. Available from Amazon and places like that or from his website at www.taichiproductions.com.