This text by famous grandmaster Cheng Man-ch'ing and hisfirst Western student, the well-known martial arts authority, RobertW. Smith, was written specifically for Western readers. One of the very first books written in English about T'ai Chi (first published in the U.S. in 1967), it is the first to present Cheng's now famous Yang style short form. It is also the first book to provide an English translation (by R. W. Smith and T.T. Liang) of the extremely important T'ai Chi Classics which provide the written wisdom essential for understanding and progress.
The book includes pictures of Cheng doing the postures along with text describing them as well as a very helpful foldout chart showing the complete form. Other excellent chapters cover T'ai Chi history, T'ai Chi for a healthier life and the Principles of T'ai Chi. In the section, T'ai Chi for Self-Defense, Cheng is pictured (with T.T. Liang) in demonstrations of some of the postures such as "Turn Body and Sweep Lotus with Leg" in which he advises that the "...waist and thigh must be relaxed and sunk or the sweep will not be effective." In "Withdraw and Push," Cheng tells us that "The energy used must come from the leg, not the hands."
The section entitled "Yang Cheng-fu's Twelve Important Points" introduces Westerners to the insights of the Yang family, the originators of modern T'ai Chi and the ones to bring forth T'ai Chi to all of China and the world in general.
In "Questions and Answers," Smith asks Cheng a series of interesting questions. For example, "In doing the postures how does one know when he is relaxed?" (Relaxation, of course, is the first principle of T'ai Chi practice.) Also, he asks "How important is the Pushing-Hands Practice?" Cheng's answers to these and other insightful questions provide helpful guidance to a student at any level.
This early, excellent text would be an important addition to any T'ai Chi player's library.