Customer Rating:  
Summary: A Necessary Book for Xing Yi Lovers
Comment: Some of the best books on martial arts are a conundrum in that they are useless as primers for beginners totally unfamiliar with the subject matter. If you know nothing of Xing Yi, this book will leave you just as mystified as before. I had the same experience with Robert Smith's excellent book in the 1970's. After more than a decade of practice, the book suddenly says a great deal. This is the nature of books on the internal arts, which put a lot of emphasis on self cultivation and inward stillness. Eventually, no book will matter much, but this will last anyone a while.
The book summarizes the forms of Five phases, 12 animals, Mixed-form Hammer and some two man sets. This book is best if you also possess others on the art. If you are a Xing Yi practitioner, you should definitely have this book in your library.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Chinese Boxing
Comment: The book Xing Yi Quan Xue by Sun Lu Tang shows and explains the striking postures employed in forms that are associated with 12 animals, reptiles and birds.
The postures are united into a single form called As Shi Chui, which is designed for solo practice.
The applications of the postures are displayed for practice in a form call An Ahen Pao Quan, which is designed to be performed by two opponents.
The translation from Chinese to English is poor and difficult to follow. Common terms, such as "drilling," are not adequately defined. A glossary would be helpful.
The biography of Sun and the history of Xing Yi, which are given at the front of the book are interesting and informative, especially the comments made by Sun's daughter.
The posture photographs are fuzzy, and there is a lack of images for transition movements.
The book by this master of Xing Yi has value as a reference text for students who are interested in learning the art. But the book alone won't due; a qualified teacher is necessary to fill in the blanks and answer questions.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a historical goldmine for people already studying xing yi
Comment: You're not going to learn xing yi from this book - or any other, for that matter - but for people already practicing, this is a historical goldmine, well worth reading and incorporating into one's personal study.
Customer Rating:
Summary: great book, if you have a background in Xing Yi
Comment: I first bought this book about a year ago, having never studied Xing Yi. I tried to go through it, work through it, but it seemed to me that in so many ways the book was very vauge and cryptic. I have a background in Tai Chi Chuan, but even that did not help me distill the essence of this book at all.
Then, just recently, I went to a weekend Xing Yi seminar taught by a wonderful teacher. In a very intensive weekend he layed out the basic fundementals of Xing Yi that were not anywhere or in the book, or else they were mentioned on passing so you did not grasp how important it was. For example, keeping the back heel and front foot on a line, the elbows staying as close as possible to the ribs and the fists staying in line with the heart, how in Pi Chuan and others of the five elements trapping with the lead hand and breaking the balance by bringing the hand down your centerline is a basic application, etc.
However, after this seminar I went back and re-read the book. Now it became a real jewel for practice, I could not praise it more. If you know the basic applications and basic movements (five elements) beforehand, and some of the basic principles, all of a sudden this book becomes great, because things the author says now make sense. You have a context for them.
So, now I am a lover of this book. However, for someone who knows nothing of Xing Yi and buys this book, like I did, it will be a confusing and hard read, even harder application, and the chances of becomeing martially adept at this before next decade with just this book are pretty slim. if you must learn stictly from a book, make this your second or third one, definatelly not your first.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Only for Xing Yi Quan pratictioners
Comment: I am not questioning the validity of this book to Xing Yi Quan pratictioners. Other reviewers, who are experts in the field, tell that it is excellent and I take their word for it. From the uninitiated's perspective this book is not very interesting in that it doesn't present techniques nor it talks about the ideas behind this art. It presents flash notes on specific techniques, and it shows photographs of cornerstone positions.
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