T'ai Chi for Health: Yang Short Form 37 Form

Terry Dunn's "how to" video is terrific. I have his "Tai Chi" short form on video and now on DVD. A sweetness and wisdom come right through. This guy really knows his stuff and he knows how to teach. He's also right when he says to only use the instructional tape as a supplement to a real teacher, but this tape is an invaluable backup and tool for practicing at home.

John

This is a DVD for those who have taken "Real" tai chi. Not the kind taught in most gyms or health spas which is just a form of dancing. To take Tai Chi one must learn Qi Qong the two go hand in hand. If you do not focus on mastering the internal aspects of Tai Chi breathing and meditation you are just dancing. So that being said, I have studied this form under a respected master of Tai Chi and I can say the this video is a great companion to taking a real class. This gives you the ability to go home and practice while having a good reference as to how to do the postures correctly. This is not a "workout" video and people who do Tai Chi to "workout" don't understand what this internal form of martial art is all about. Tai Chi takes a life time to master it is not a quick fix for you or your health. If you try to take shortcuts you will not master Tai Chi you will just be dancing and although this may look cool to the uneducated it is not doing you any good. The comment made about the warm up being too long is a sure sign that the person who wrote that does not have the patience to work with Tai Chi. I went to class 3 times a week for over 6 months before I could even progress past the warm up. If you don't have the patience to develop the basics don't bother with the moves because you will be doing them incorrectly and you won't have the stamina needed to do the whole form correctly. Terry Dunn does the forms exactly as the old masters teach them and if they are too difficult for you then go to your gym and take "tai chi dancing" and pretend you are a martial artist. If you have the patience to learn real tai chi then this DVD is a great way to learn it form the ground up.

This is a VERY low budget production. It doesn't have anyone big for a face draw for funding, so the lack of a set, the mediocre camera management, and the lack of separate takes can be distraction to people who are trying to use this as a workout video. THIS IS NOT A WORKOUT VIDEO. This is an instructional video showing the basic postures of the Yang short-form of T'ai Chi. This is a teaching video, showing postures in time-consuming detail.

If you want a work-out video, there are other T'ai Chi DVD's in production that do follow formats cognizant of the time constraints of a normal workout period. If that's what you're looking for, don't bother with this DVD. However, I must state that this is the BEST VIDEO INSTRUCTION IN T'AI CHI THAT I HAVE EVER FOUND.

Dunn moves extremely slowly through the short form, from warm-up to cool down. The video is a total of two hours long. If you can hold T'ai Chi postures for two hours, you aren't human the way most of us are. The benefit of this style is that he holds his postures, and demonstrates entry and exit to and from each posture several times. This gives you plenty of time to try to get it right. Take everything as slow as he does, otherwise you'll likely miss some aspect of a posture and learn to do it incorrectly, making it even more difficult to learn the correct posture. If you want to really learn a shortened T'ai Chi form for practice without a video guide, I would recommend this video over any other's I have seen.

I think this DVD is a waste of money, to be honest. Just starting the movie, several times does he say to move one leg while he moves the opposite. He also stutters several times while doing so. I dont find it the best way to learn and would rather just buy a book now.

Highly doubt youd enjoy this DVD....

Terence Dunn has created the quintessential short-form Tai Chi instruction for anyone wishing to learn and practice the art. Years ago I studied under a Tai Chi master from Taiwan. Although working with a master has certain other benefits, the instruction given by Terence is clearer and easier to follow than that which I received from the master. Had I had the benefits of both this DVD and the master, I likley would have not become discouraged and discontinued practice. If you have the advantage of working with a master, I recommend that you also use this program to give you a different perspective on the form, and to give you a tireless, omnipresent example to observe.