Book: Tai Chi Chuan 24 & 48 Postures by Liang, Shou-Yu & Wen-Ching Wu

An extraordinary guide to Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan), the "Grand Ultimate" way of health and martial arts. Written by one of China’s top-ranked coaches (Liang), the 24 and 48 postures, often referred to as the Short Form, are presented in an easy to understand, step-by-step fashion. Also included are guidelines for breathing, directing the mind, aligning the body and developing Qi (Chi).

• Learn how the practice of Taijiquan can improve health.
• Discover martial applications for each posture that will make your learning more authentic and alive!
• In only twenty minutes a day, you can practice the 24 & 48 postures.
• Gain deeper insight with the explanations and illustrations of the philosophy of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements Theory.
• A practical learning tool for beginners, and an excellent reference guide for more advanced students.

AUTHOR(S)

Liang, Shou-Yu was born on June 28, 1943 in the city of Chongqian, Sichuan Province, China. When he was six he began his training in Qigong, the art of breathing and internal energy control, under the tutelage of his renowned grandfather, the late Liang, Zhi-Xiang. Mr. Liang was taught the esoteric skills of the Emei Mountain sect, including Da Peng Qigong. When he was eight, his grandfather made special arrangements for him to begin training Emei Wushu (martial arts).

Wen-Ching Wu was born in Taiwan, China in 1964. He loved Wushu and many othe sports since a young age. During high school he was on the school's basketball an softball teams. He graduated from high school as a salutatorian. He came to the U.S. in 1983 to study Mechanical Engineering and in 1988, he graduated with honors from Northeastern University, with a BSME degree.

REVIEWS

Grandmaster Wang, Ju-Rong Professor; China Shanghai Athletic Institute, Chinese Wushu National Level Judge

This book presents to interested readers many practical martial arts applications along with the health promoting exercises of Taijiquan. I would like to express my congratulations to coach Liang and coach Wu for a meticulous and successful cooperative effort.

As an Instructor of Taiji I liked how he had everything laid out and broken down. I thought it was a vary clear system for someone to help them learn the forms though it can't replace a good teacher its about as close as you can get. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in or currently is learning Taiji 24 or 48 posters.

When I ordered this book, I had some hesitations about how tai chi could be learned merely thru a book. However, Mr. Liang's book completely wiped out my hesitations. Every figure of the postures is photographed and explained very well. When a camera angle is not enough to view the figure, another photograph at a different angle is put to clarify it. Mr. Liang's vast experience shows in martial applications of the 24 postures and in the warnings about possible exercising mistakes for beginners. I hope he would issue another book that explains martial applications of the 48 postures as well...