Tai Chi for Beginners with Grandmaster William C.C. Chen
by James Wvinner
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DVD details
Actor: Grandmaster William C.C. ChenDirector: James Wvinner
Brand: Acorn
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 67 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-12-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acacia
DVD Reviews of Tai Chi for Beginners with Grandmaster William C.C. Chen
DVD Review: For A William C Chen Product, Not What It Should Be
Summary: 2 Stars
When it comes to Taijiquan, a landmark name like William C C Chen tends to carry a lot of weight. For this reason, I had high expectation when I purchased this DVD. Having been a long time player in the Taiji community as well as a senior student of the late Professor Cheng Man Ching, Mr. Chen has had an impressive track record of being a competitor, accomplished author, and a scholar. Sadly, while the DVD may be useful for a complete beginner of advanced age with absolutely no prior experience in Taijiquan, I found myself somewhat disappointed by the content, and the manner in which it was presented, considering the source.
In my opinion, Taijiquan has become a mere performance art, being presented as a choreographed form. The majority of Taiji related products approach it as a moving meditation (never quite going beyond Qi Gong elements,) lacking for the most part any explanation of individual techniques, breathing, weight distribution, and applications. While Mr. Chen's DVD does explain balance and breathing to some extent, his approach is no different from the dozens of average products already on the market, and far better material is available on the subject.
For starters, the DVD menu is divided into several sections (instructions, step by step movements, somplete form, etc) but does not have a simple PLAY function which would play the entire DVD content sequentially. I know this is a minor nit-pick, but from the perspective of an elderly viewer (I gave this DVD as a gift to my Taiji teacher,) this would make the DVD far more difficult to navigate, requiring the use of a remote which people of advanced age may have difficulty operating.
In terms of the content, I found myself quite a bit surprised at the instructions for the step by step movements. On the plus side, each set of movements is repeated 3 times, slowly, and were quite easy to follow with weight shifting instructions following each movement. The video was mirrored (left and right sides reversed) so that an average viewer could directly mimic what they were seeing on the screen rather than have to flip the movements mentally. The weight shifting and distribution were explained very well in the STEP BY STEP section of the DVD, with the names of the movements listed in the beginning. Mr. Chen's analogy of Qi, his example of a toy frog and an inflatable rubber deer (worth seeing, IMO) is definitely unique, and helps provide better understanding without getting into mystical territory (one of the reasons I loved his book, Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan.) On the down side, there was no indication which movements you were performing, no indication where one movement began and another ended, and the names of the movements were limited to the text format displayed in the beginning of the STEP BY STEP segment.
The camera angle is another serious issue that needs to be addressed. While it is helpful to see several angles of the same movement to get a better understanding of what is taking place, the camera focusing on Mr. Chen would suddenly switch angle mid-movement. This caused a lot of confusion in following what exactly he was doing. A better way to handle this would have been switching angles after each repetition (there were 3 for each segment.) This would have allowed the viewer to follow the movements each time without having to pause in confusion.
What surprised me the most, was seeing Mr. Chen seemingly struggle through some of the motions during the demonstration. I realize he is advanced in age, that he went through several repetitions of the movements, and that he might be tired. However, it was somewhat disconcerting to see him have some difficulty while demonstrating movements like Snake Creeps Down, Kicking Out, and Needle at the Bottom of the Sea. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Chen and his accomplishments, however, in my eyes this was something that diminished the quality of the product considerably.
Another problem, in my opinion, was lack of direction on the proper postures and breathing during the movements. This, in my opinion, is something that is an absolute must for every beginner product, and the lack of said instruction may lead to many bad habits that may later need to be un-learned in a formal class. The information presented in the BONUS section of the DVD should in reality have been a part of the introduction, which I found lacking and uninformative.
The BONUS section covered topics like why the Taiji Quan form is performed in slow motion, what the proper ways to move are (dealing with tension, hand movement, and rooting analogies.) Again, information that should have been part of the introduction, and may have been added as a mere afterthought. What I did not see covered anywhere, is the 13 postures, which again, I feel should be required material for any beginner product, since they are very much the core of Taiji Quan. However, this DVD seems to approach Taiji simply as Qi Gong, so information on the postures may have been left out for that reason.
What finally cemented my opinion, was the COMPLETE DEMO section with the 3 levels of instruction. This segment went through the entire motion of the William C C Chen style Taiji Quan, giving the viewer a choice of either BASIC, COUNTING, or ENERGY audio directions. While the BASIC was excellent, offering breathing, movement, and direction in which to turn (the latter being a bit more vague for beginners,) the COUNTING instructions left me scratching my head. The gist of it was a voice counting anywhere from 1-3, 1-4, or 1-5 with no discernable rhythm or explanation for the count. The ENERGY directions were merely "fall asleep" and "wake up," again with no explanation.
I see a lot of unique and new material on this DVD that could have been implemented differently given a bit of restructuring and editing. However, in it's current state, this finished product is not particularly clear in it's overall instruction, the camera angles need better direction, and the information provided needs far more restructuring and elaboration than is provided. While Mr. Chen does insert his unique humor and personality into the presentation, it is unfortunately not enough to save this DVD from vagueness and obscurity which haunt almost every section. As such, this product fails to stand above the average book or DVD on the subject, and as I mentioned earlier, far better instructions are available.
Description of Tai Chi for Beginners with Grandmaster William C.C. Chen
Learn from a revered teacher, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Tai Chi Chuan Association
"William C.C. Chen ? has been the world?s best kept-secret." --Inside Kung-Fu
The ancient art of Tai Chi uses gentle, flowing movements to reduce stress, strengthen the body and mind, and improve overall well-being. Developed in China as a martial art, Tai Chi is a graceful form of exercise that has been practiced for centuries. Anyone, regardless of age or physical ability, can benefit from Tai Chi, and this expertly taught beginner program is the perfect place to start.
Regarded as one of the finest and most influential Tai Chi practitioners of his generation, Grandmaster Chen leads you through basic, low-impact exercises with easy-to-follow instructions. And the program?s unique bonus features make learning the movements a breeze. Increase flexibility, muscle tone, stamina, and strength while reducing stress and renewing energy with this beautiful beginner?s program.
SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE learning segments with continuous loop option; three complete-form practices with your choice of instruction: basic, counting, and energy; Tai Chi tips; and audio options (music and instruction or music only).
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