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Stalking Yang Lu-Chan: Finding Your Tai Chi Body This unique manual of internal methods, inspired by the skills of Yang the Invincible, reveals key elements in finding and training a Tai Chi body. How did Yang do it? From whom did he learn? He watched the Chens but had to train alone in secret. Yang Lu-chan had to learn from himself, through his own body. Beginning in the stillness of Wu Ji standing, the author presents core components of Tai Chi movement. Each chapter identifies, describes, and explains structures and techniques of a moving body. What, in plain language, are the meanings of stillness in motion? How does ground-level attention ensure seamless moves in solo forms and applied technique? Which complementary action principles ensure the correct shape and energy? What is modesty, and how does it optimize energy exchange? Why are form orientations both useful and misleading? How does a Tai Chi boxer employ the fourth dimension? These and other questions about Tai Chi movement are answered in clear and direct language. There are no theories nor confusing aphorisms. And the methods employ sensing and deeds, not thinking and ideas. Whatever your intent–self-care, self-defense, or enhanced understanding–you’ll find ways to progress at all levels. The author has distilled thirty years of exploration and deep respect for Yang into this manual. Rather than think and talk, he has tried to put himself in Yang Lu-chan’s shoes.
Customer Review: Here are more hints for the internal boxing student
I don’t know Mr. Johnson. But nothing he says here about learning taiji rings false or sets off any alarm bells. I personally wouldn’t practice a couple of things he suggests. But I don’t think that following his advice would lead you astray either. He seems to have entered the inner gate. And you can only do that if you understand that internal boxing and external boxing don’t mix.
Customer Review: Chock Full of Insights
Dense little book chock full of insights, training aids, kinematic concerns, visualization techniques, push hands insights, and more. Sifu Robin Johnson does a very good job of providing a syllabus of his training methods and insights from decades of study, practice, and teaching.

He breaks it down into 10 steps– 10 key points that have helped him and his students. It’s almost like a system. Each chapter covers a key point, and each chapter goes into considerable detail as to what he means, and different ways to implement the key point into your training. It’s a good organizational tool

Pros: Densely packed with the above insights. Moreover, focuses on footwork, legwork, lower body alignment, sinking, placement and structure of legs and pelvis. Gives great visualization techniques to help with finding the right structure, and discusses in detail. In my experience, finding books that so extensively discuss the lower body in Tai Chi are rare to non-existent. And really, sometimes inch-by-inch discussions on placement of feet, weight-shifting, knee and pelvic alignment. Truly a joy.

Cons: Cheng Man-Ching filter. Cheng Man-Ching style was definitely the most popular in the USA early on, but it is being supplanted by traditional Yang style (which I study)– and there are significant differences in the forms (even ignoring the difference in sequence). Especially a lot of the rear leg/knee alignment discussion needs to take this into consideration if your style is not Cheng Man-Ching. The later, upper body chapters are very form-specific, rather than generalized to Tai Chi collectively, and it takes some concentration to distill out concepts from his very specific examples. Furthermore, Sifu Johnson is not the clearest writer– more because it seems like he forgets that he is writing through the Cheng Man-Ching filter. Finally, this is not a beginner’s book. A working knowledge of Tai Chi, and a moderate amount of practice (at least a few years taking classes a couple times a week from a good teacher?) is, at least to me, mandatory in trying to understand where Sifu Johnson is coming from. Also, no helpful illustrations or pictures, and it definitely needs them.

Summary: Indispensible book. Has its limitations mostly due to the style-specifics and writing style, but it deals in a very frank, detailed way about issues that I believe come up in every Tai Chi practicioner’s endeavor to become more skilled, and which are rarely treated with this much sincerity and rigor elsewhere.

stillness in motion, what is modesty, chi body, yang lu chan, wu ji, chi movement, correct shape, alarm bells, action principles, level attention, chens, moving body, energy exchange, core components, aphorisms, fourth dimension, plain language, self care, tai chi, orientations
stillness in motion, what is modesty, chi body, yang lu chan, wu ji, chi movement, correct shape, alarm bells, action principles, level attention, chens, moving body, energy exchange, core components, aphorisms, fourth dimension, plain language, self care, tai chi, orientations