Tai Chi for Health: Yang Long Form

I bought this to help me with a T'ai Chi class I have been taking. The warm up will really get you warmed up. It is great. The on screen instructor, Terence Dunn does a terrific job of breaking each step down into easily understandable parts.
I realize that the creators of all exercise videos have a thing about the instructor facing the audience. The only problem is it is much easier to learn if the instructor is facing away from you and moving the same parts in the same direction. Then you don't have to turn thigns around in your mind while trying to figure out where your arms and legs need to go. Other than that one small problem, the fact that each step repeats automatically until you hit the play button to advance it is a great help, allowing you as many repetitions as necessary for you to fully understand the movement.
The only real problem I have is that I take a class in Yang long form, and this video has subtle differences in movements and sequence that may cause me to do the wrong thing during class. Of course I manage to do that anyway, so I can't really fault the video. All things considered I think it was a good purchase and I have already recommended it to many friends.

First, I want to answer those who said they were confused by the video. Tai Chi,like other martial arts is not something that you can or should attempt to learn on your own from a video. You need a teacher. You will never fully learn the art unless you have a teacher. There are no exceptions.

Having said that, this DVD is an excellent supplement to class training. Yes, it can be a bit confusing if you're constantly looking at Terry, but then since the Tai Chi form is constantly changing directions, this confusion would be difficult to eliminate. A bird's eye view would have been most helpful, and had the DVD had such a view, I would have given it five star.

So, do not watch Terry, since you can't anyway without distorting your movments, but rather just listen carefully to what he's saying, which is very clear and nicely done. This in combination with regular class attendance will advance your art quickly.

This Yang Style Long form Tai Chi is well produced and structured in a way for easy learning. There are different sections that you can refer to and a bonus section with only three different techniques that are not complicated and can be done right away which left me with a feeling of relaxation. This is not something that you can rush through because it is a method that has to be memorized and practiced. I have another DVD by another Tai Chi practioner that is the "short form" but I wanted this one as well once I get to a higher level. The first 56 moves in this DVD is the short form with some variation to the other DVD that I have. So you don't have to try to learn all 102 movements to feel accomplished. The bonus section is worth the price. It will make you feel like David Carradine for those of you who remember the TV show - Kung Fu.

i think that one should watch this video to understand and improve the tecnics of this art. i really recommend it.

I bought this CD after careful consideration and after buying Scott Cole's intro to tai chi dvd. I found that Scott's CD really was just an intro and not really tai chi (e.g., I couldn't join a class when I travel). I also bought Sunrise Tai Chi prior.

I like this CD better than Sunrise Tai Chi since its focus is more on the Yang style than overall meditation, etc., like the Sunrise Tai Chi. Terry Dunn takes the instruction at a nice, easy pace and you can either go through the whole program or select each individual move to play repeatedly.

The main beef I have with this CD is because of Scott Cole's CD. In Scott's CD, you can watch the CD and mirror his moves (e.g., he moves his right when you are supposed to move your left). This is VASTLY easier to learn. For Tai Chi for Health, I'm still figuring out how to best start - for now it seems, starting with my back to the TV means I can see more of the moves with less craning than starting facing the TV. There is a picture in picture box that shows you a different angle, which is helpful, but the direction doesn't remain the same all the way through so you have to switch between following the main movement or the box movement. It gets confusing.

Obviously tai chi is not all facing forward so some of these problems are going to occur no matter what. I just think it could be made a little easier to follow, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 - really 4.5 would be more what I'm thinking. I also have looked into taking a class, which I probably will at some point when I have more time. For now, this CD is a bit hard to use but fills the bill for what I need and the price point is fair.