DVD: Sunrise Tai Chi by Ramel Rones

Let the sun shine in! Master-teacher Ramel Rones gently guides you through the morning with a series of powerful mind/body exercises that awaken the senses, stimulate the mind, and fill your body and Spirit with abundant energy.

Captured in high-definition in the beautiful Boston Arboretum, this simplified, short Tai Chi sequence is practiced to both the left and right for balance. Sunrise Tai Chi was created as a comprehensive introduction to authentic Tai Chi, which will allow you to fine-tune your practice before moving on to more complex Tai Chi. It includes suggestions for intermediate and advanced students, to help you grow and improve over time.

Each day, millions of people worldwide practice Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan), which has been known for centuries to promote deep relaxation, excellent health, & to prevent injuries & illness. The movements in Sunrise Tai Chi will help you to loosen & build your muscles, tendons & ligaments, which will improve your circulation of blood & Qi energy. The program also teaches you to find balance between strength & flexibility, increase bone density, & massage the internal organs, improving your quality of life & daily physical performance.

• Revitalize your health and well being through deep relaxation, breath, meditation, stretching and strengthening techniques.
• Apply core principles of Tai Chi, Qigong, and Yoga together with Mind/Body Science to tap into the abundant universal energy.
• Prevent injuries and boost your immune system to heal chronic conditions, including Arthritis, Osteoperosis, Sarcopenia, and Cancer.

SPECIAL FEATURES: High Definition • Nearly 4 Hours long • Over 100 Scene Selections • Choice of 20, 40, or 60 min. Workouts • 2 Choices of music • Detailed animations of energy circulation in the body • Simple to follow 'Demonstration' section, and detailed 'Instruction' section in a formal classroom setting • Interactive YMAA Product Catalog with Previews of all YMAA Videos

YMAA PRODUCTION • RAMEL RONES • "SUNRISE TAI CHI" • WRITTEN BY RAMEL RONES AND DAVID SILVER • PERFORMED BY RAMEL RONES, ILANA ROSENBURG-RONES & AXIE BREEN • EDITED BY DAVID SILVER AND MEDIAMANIC • DVD AUTHORING BY MEDIAMANIC • PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY DAVID SILVER

This bestselling DVD has been in or near the #1 position for online sales of instructional Tai Chi DVDs since its publication. It was featured in an article on MSN and in Prevention magazine in September 2006.

AUTHOR(S)

Ramel Rones is a senior disciple of renowned teacher & author Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, and a Gold medalist in Internal and External Martial Arts: Three-Time Gold Medalist in Shanghai China, for Tai Chi, External & Internal Weapons (Grand National Championship 1994) & Gold Medalist for Tai Chi & Kung Fu Sword, 1994. From 1991-1993, Ramel earned Gold Medals for Tai Chi, Pushing Hands and Tai Chi Sword in the International North American Chinese Martial Arts Competition.

REVIEWS

Outstanding instruction!!!, December 11, 2007
Tyr Shadowblade (Virginia Beach, VA)

I have spent the past month evaluating the "Sunrise Tai Chi" DVD by Ramel Rones, and am much impressed with everything from production values to the quality of instruction.

DVD is split into 3 main sections: Demonstration, Instruction, and Workout. "Demonstration" shows Rones going through each of the exercises with a flute & harp playing in the background (with the notable exception of some cool Asian trip-hop beats during a few of the more aerobic exercises -- sadly, I was unable to find the musical credits). "Instruction" has Rones describe the proper execution of each exercise in a highly detailed and specific manner -- he discusses and demonstrates a variety of subtleties that could not be adequately described on the printed page, and this information will be of great value to instructors who wish to teach these movements to others. "Workout" is divided into 20, 40, or 60 minute workouts, with your choice of either traditional flute & harp or piano music in the background.

Ramel Rones is a Master instructor, and this is quite possibly the finest instructional DVD I've had the privilege to view and practice. Best implemented with a widescreen or projection television (which I do not have) . . . somewhat frustrating on a laptop screen (but fortunately there is a large screen TV with DVD deck at work).

Highly recommended!

November 2007, J.Barr

"Few sources I've come across over my years of study and practice have the quality and simplicity of instruction that this book/DVD combination possess.

Ted Kaptchuk, Harvard Medical School,
Author of THE WEB THAT HAS NO WEAVER

Deeply versed, passionate and informed, Mr. Rones is a commited and caring teacher of the Asian Mind-Body arts, including Qigong, Tai Chi, and Yoga.

Dr. Robert Darnell, May 2004

"Sunrise Tai Chi is a modern and thorough handling of an ancient subject. The production staff at YMAA Publications has made a successful marriage of the visual and martial arts. Filmed in a high definition format, this production uses the best of the advancements of special effects to illustrate the esoteric. The animated visual representation of chi movement brings a new dimension in illustrating this foundational component of health, vitality and longevity. Ramel Rones is an ardent keeper of the flame of Dr. Yang's vision for preserving this eastern wisdom for students all over the world. In fifty well-arranged chapters, Rones steadily and confidently opens the door for both the curious and the committed. The material is accessible and usable at its first hearing, and still fascinating and instructive at its one hundredth. This film is a must for the libraries of teachers and students alike."

Taijiquan.com, Patrick Dickson, 2004
"Sunrise Tai Chi" might be mistaken as being only a beginner's guide to entering the world of Taijiquan. However, this DVD truly offers valuable information to beginners, intermediates, advanced students and their teachers.

The first section on the DVD begins with Romel Rones teaching some core principles. Found within the DVD are a variety of basic techniques and exercises that teach these core principles. The students of Taijiquan who reach the highest levels of the art do so in part because of their grasp and knowledge of the core principles of Taijiquan. Core principles are the foundation of one's skills and mastery and it is easier to learn Taijiquan when a student has a solid foundation built from these core principles.

Even someone with many years of practice can add these basic techniques to their workout and strengthen their foundation. I remember my Taijiquan teacher insisting that I do stick exercises, movement exercises, static postures and a variety of other warm up and core exercises that I considered at that time to be a roadblock to my learning the "real stuff". Even years later each two hour lesson started with one hour of core exercises. I thank my lucky stars that my teacher understood the importance of these "core exercises" and was strict enough to require my participation in learning them.

As years went by, I started to return to these most basic of movements to analyze over and over what is at first hidden to the beginning practitioner. I have come to believe that within the simplest of the movements is a wealth of complexity, just as within the I Ching there is only a solid line and a dotted line, yet somehow "the 10,000 things can be known". And in computers there is only a zero and a one, yet all information can be represented by these most basic and simple symbols. Bottom line, core exercises are "where it's at", and this DVD has its share of them.

So embrace these "simple" yet deep exercises. They will lead the student to a true grasp of the art and are a necessary building block in the quest to master Taijiquan. The exercises are shown repeatedly and are easy to follow even on the first viewing.

Well, this review so far just covers the core exercises that make up the beginning of this DVD. Ramel Rones continues the DVD by teaching a series of Taijiquan postures/movements with which he has created mini-forms that teach the Taijiquan movements for the left and the right sides. Many students will learn only one side of a posture, for example single whip. After learning these mini-forms, the student is able to do the postures to either side, left or right.

The DVD finishes with the teaching of the Sunrise Taijiquan Form. This form requires very little space to perform and combines Qigong, yoga, breathing and Taijiquan movements. The viewer is then given a choice of twenty, forty or sixty minute workouts that offer a choice of accompanying music.

What I especially love about this DVD is that it is filmed outdoors. Certainly some of the sections are done indoors after a person wakes up, but the form itself is performed outdoors. I also enjoyed watching Master Rones performing the Sunrise Taijiquan Form on a hill. It takes a high degree of skill to perform Taijiquan on uneven ground and requires a firm root. Master Rones does it well and does not seem to be bothered by the slope.

To thoroughly review this DVD would take many pages, as there is a tremendous amount of information contained within it. I strongly recommend this DVD for beginning and experienced Taijiquan practitioners. The price is very reasonable and the quality of the production is at the usual high level that YMAA products are known for.

Lyone P, June 2007

I just purchased the "Sunrise Tai Chi" instructional video and I absolutely enjoy it! I am a beginner, and this is my first Tai Chi video. I used to do traditional Thai folk dancing that uses alot of hand forms and stances. I do some yoga now and then and I also practice Japanese Jiu Jitsu a little too so it was not too extremely difficult for me to try to grasp the new and different techniques in Tai Chi. However it is still extremely challenging. And I can't wait until I can actually do all the different Tai Chi techniques all at once. The breathing, the visualization the flowing energy, the bubble breathing, everything! I didnt realize that so much had to go into the practice. Whew! I'm 26 years old, I live in Fresno, CA and I work for a health insurance company at a call center. Work there gets very stressful. At my age, I am way to young to be stressing. With Tai Chi I'm hoping I will be able to better meet the challenges I face everyday at my job and beyond. With my first try on your instructional video dvd, I could already feel the energy and Chi flowing in me and wow, it blew me away! I was like, whoa! I love this stuff! I'm excited! Last weekend, I went on a short hiking trip to Kings Canyon National Park. I hiked to a rocky overlook about 7,900 ft elevation, with the view of my destination, mt. Big Baldy (8,209 ft elevation). I rested there for almost an hour and tried using the Tai Chi meditation techniques. The results were just refreshing. I felt great. So much energy around me. Time passed very quickly. I wanted to thank you for your awesome "Sunrise Tai Chi" instructional video. Thank you for introducing me to Tai Chi and thank you for being such a great instructor!