An unusual treatise by a non-Chinese on a very Chinese preoccupation. The author understands Taiji well. Studied the art in China - practising madly 6-8 hours daily and madly over 5 years. Good teachers taught him the competitive modern wushu and the older traditional forms. Now understands Taiji weaponry better than even some Chinese in China. Quite accomplished by Chinese standards but believes he needs another 25 years to go. Has a good grasp of the language and the idioms. Therefore, he has an advantage, over even the Western-educated Chinese with poor grasp of idiomatic Chinese, to familarise himself with the greater subtleties of higher Taiji. Not Tom Clancy but infinitely more informative about real Taiji.