Yang Tai Chi 24 Form Self Defense

This book contains 259 photos and 108 self-defense techniques for the most popular Tai Chi form in the world -- the Simplified Yang Tai Chi 24 Form. It is practiced by millions of people each day. Most of these people know the meditative aspects of Tai Chi as taught for health and mental balance. This ebook will take you deeper into the art by showing you how each movement is performed for self-defense. Sifu Ken Gullette won a National Championship with the Yang 24 Form at the 1990 AAU Kung Fu National Championships. He practiced and taught the form for many years and was not only fascinated by the physical and mental benefits of Tai Chi, but he was also fascinated at the way self-defense techniques were hidden in the movements. Tai Chi was designed to be a powerful martial art. The founder of Yang Tai Chi, Yang Luchan, learned the art from the Chen family in the Chen Village, Henan Province, China. He left to go to Beijing, where he developed his style of Tai Chi -- Yang style -- and became teacher to the Imperial family. Ken has also learned from members of the Chen family and their American students. Over time, especially as Tai Chi became more popular with the elderly, and as it was introduced to America, the self-defense aspects were virtually lost. In this book, Ken shows you that there are no transitions in Tai Chi. Every movement, no matter where your hands are, is a self-defense move. You'll learn deflections, blocks, hand strikes, kicks, joint locks (qinna), sweeps and takedowns, all inside the movements of the Yang 24 form. Tai Chi is performed slowly for health, and to develop the body mechanics needed for relaxed power. For self-defense, you develop the ability to perform the movements with bursts of power that make it a fantastic art for self-defense. This book will unlock the meaning behind the movements.