| View Larger Image | Step by Step Tai Chi with Tiffany Chen | DVDStarring: Tiffany Chen
Directed By: James Wvinner
| List Price: | $19.99 | | Price: | $17.49 | | You Save: | $2.50 (13%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | DVD | | Rating: |  | | Run Time: | 88 minutes | | Format: | Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC | | Studio: | Acacia | | Number of Discs: | 1 | | Aspect Ratio: | 1.66:1 | | Release Date: | February 26, 2008 | | Sales Rank: | 9,897th |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Description
A GENTLE BUT POWERFUL WORKOUT FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES A daily ritual practiced by millions all over the globe, Tai Chi offers a wealth of health benefits. The low-impact, flowing movements sharpen the mind and strengthen the body, reducing stress and increasing flexibility. Regular practice can help lower blood pressure, relieve chronic pain, and improve sleep. If you’re an athlete, you’ll find that Tai Chi improves your focus and endurance. But to get the most out of a Tai Chi practice, expert instruction from the start is key. So is the ability to repeat sections over and over until they are second nature. International martial arts champion Tiffany Chen learned this 60-movement Yang-form practice from her father, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen. Her expertise and the unique features of this DVD make it ideal for beginners or others wanting to improve their practice. SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE learning segments with continuos loop option, complete form with dual audio tracks for movement or breath instruction, real-time practice for advanced students, and optional mirrored instruction for complete form and real-time practices. |
Amazon.com
An old tradition meets new technology in Step by Step Tai Chi, a user-friendly, 88-minute (plus bonus material) program presented by martial arts champ Tiffany Chen. Also known as tai chi chuan, this "internal" or "soft" martial art has been around for a couple hundred years, and while it has steadily grown in popularity in the West, it’s still often demeaned as an "elderly person’s exercise"--a notion that Chen aims to dispel, while emphasizing the use of tai chi to effectively relax, clear the mind, sharpen focus, and increase self-awareness. The practice she demonstrates, known as the "Yang style short form," consists of some 60 movements, organized here into eleven segments. Some of the movements have poetically descriptive names ("White Crane Spreads its Wing," "Retreat to Mountain Camp for Rematch," "Step Back to Drive the Monkey Away"), while others are more prosaic; virtually all of them are slow, involving subtle shifts of weight and balance, small steps forward and back and side to side, and graceful arm and hand movements. Chen’s instruction is good--clear, concise, and free of frills--but perhaps most impressive is the use of a variety of DVD features. The program can be viewed with the instruction turned off; the use of "mirrored" instruction is optional as well, and while each of the eleven segments is repeated twice (from slightly different angles and with different instructions each time) before moving on to the next, users can also opt for the continuous "loop" feature, in which a given segment is repeated indefinitely. That’s a good thing, as these movements are not easy; what’s more, on initial viewing they don’t seem so different from one another, so watching them again and again isn’t merely useful, it’s vital. All in all, it may be that no fitness video, especially one devoted to a practice as subtle as tai chi, can take the place of actual, in-person instruction, but Step by Step Tai Chi is undoubtedly the next best thing. --Sam Graham |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 15 reviews)
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presentation is important by reggys (Chicago, IL)  3 Stars
November 14, 2009
Learning the basics of Tai Chi movement is complicted, so the presentation is very important. The info communicated in this DVD is essentially good, however, the method of presentation could be improved. While the student needs to see details, these might be better shown by inserted views rather than fading to different viewpoints which can be disorienting. Having one stationary view with inserts would allow one to see the overall movement and the detail at the same time. An additional possibility might be a stationary overhead view to show direction and extent of movement. This could be diagramatic rather than a photographic image. DVDs are capable of multiple viewpoints which could be used at the discretion of the viewer. Yes, this might not communicate the overall feeling of Tai Chi, but, for the learning segments, this would be helpful.
The breakdown into segments which may be repeatedly looped is good. The choice of being able to mirror the movements may work for some people and not for others. Switching mirroring on and off is disorienting. A DVD player capable of slo mo would probably be helpful. Additional audio tracks with varing extent of instruction would allow the user to gradually reduce the detailed instuction as learning progressed.
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tia chi by Candle (Illinois)  5 Stars
November 11, 2009
The person I gave this to said they loved it and it was just the right video not to hard to use.
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Very Disappointing...The filming switches views too often making it very hard to follow! by True Marial Arts Enthusist (USA)  1 Stars
October 09, 2009
Okay, I thought...a Yang-style form Tai Chi DVD by the daughter of the well know William C. C. Chen, that should be good...refresher up on what I had learned a few years ago...so I bought it...popped it in the DVD...Mmmm...very disappointing...not the instruction...the filming....it was too artsy making it too hard to follow...the cover you see with the beautiful southwestern mountains...it's not just the cover...its the live background for the entire DVD...beautiful however...a little distracting....but anyways the main thing that made the film a wash...the view switches way too often...just as I'm trying to follow the move from one angle...Bam! The camera angle switches...so then all of a sudden you are thrown off trying to catch up again where your body relates then to the new angle...and then Bam! Again! The camera angle switches....or starts into a rotating panorama which also adds to the confusion! No one learns like this in real life...I mean...granted it is a nice idea trying to have the multi- angles...but most of us learn from a face front view...or a back view...not angled views that keep switching...so unfortunately even though I had high hopes...the camera angle switching ruined it.... :(
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Advanced Tai-Chi Forms even for beginners by Emily Briggs 3 Stars
August 26, 2009
Although instructions are detailed, they require lots of repetition before they could be mastered, especially for beginners like me. If one is truly determined, disciplined and devoted plus has the time to learn it all, then this is where you can get all 60 very difficult Tai Chi Forms. DVD quality is somewhat wanting and DVD menu is a bit difficult to navigate esp since one may need to keep stopping, rewinding, pausing or do frame by frame. Try to recruit an assistant to handle the remote while you try for the movements.
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So stressful to follow... by Britt 1 Stars
May 28, 2009
With the spinning camera angles, it is impossible to follow the movments throughout a complete range of motion -- and I am a certified fitness instructor with ten years of experience. Simply put, this DVD is not well direcrted and is extremely difficult to follow. For an activity that is supposed to be relaxing, the inability to follow along created much mental stress. Auditory directions came VERY fast and the camera angles switched from front to back to side in rapid pace. The monotone narration ripped so quickly, "Shift your weight in the left side, relax in the right hip, spin the palms open and use the energy to turn and press, softening up the arms and use the ground you have to push out the fingers to energize...use your positive leg to energize..." the voice over was more of a distraction than an aid to comprehension. Dizzying camera shifts and rapid, non-specific narration means neither visual learners nor auditory learners can follow along. So disappointing.
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Element: Tai Chi for Beginners
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| Tai Chi for Beginners with Grandmaster William C.C. Chen
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| Scott Cole: Discover Tai Chi For Weight Loss
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Move and breathe your way into a newer, healthier, more streamlined YOU with Scott Cole and the Discover Tai Chi for Weight Loss workout and meal plan all on one DVD! Increased strength, better balance, improved flexibility, and natural healthy weight loss can be yours as you return to organic principles of movement inspired by the martial art of Tai Chi. Feel exhilarated, not exhausted, as you flow along with Scott in easy-to-follow Tai Chi interval routines, alternating between low, graceful,...
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