Customer Rating: 
Summary: A must have for any serious practitioner
Comment: This is a wonderful book but it is most suited for serious practitioners who already know the CORRECT Yang 103 empty hand form. This book will truly motivate you to become a better Tai Chi Player.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Why don't you own this book?
Comment: If it is your intention to figure out what Yang Luchan could put into practice, you know that all we have are hints. A written hint here. An oral hint there. A rediscovery from this person. An oral tradition from that person. In other words, you know how hard it is to stay on the path. Well, here is a book that is chock full of hints, a veritable roadmap of them. If taijiquan is for you a "martial" art, why don't you own this book?
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Know the source
Comment: Here's a statement issued by the Yang family (Yeung is Cantonese for
Yang
-----
Yeung Family's Tai Chi Chuan
The Yeung family's style of Tai Chi Chuan is unique to the Yeung
family.
It was started by Great Master, Yeung Lu Chan, who was born over two
hundred years ago, and has been passed down to family members,
generation after generation to the present day. The lineage under
discussion is that of Mr Yeung Sau Chung, the eldest son of Mr Yeung
Ching Po. Mr Yeung Sau Chung moved to Hong Kong with his family in
1949, and continued to dedicate his life to practicing and teaching Tai Chi Chuan until his death in 1985. Since then his family has devoted
themselves to practicing and teaching Tai Chi Chuan.
Mr Yeung had taught for over fifty years, and his daughter Ms Yeung Ma Lee, taught for over twenty years. Over these seventy years, they both have taught many students. Their method of teaching is personal and individualized. Through this methodology, they have employed various teaching approaches that take into consideration an individual's learning level, capabilities and physique.
It is important to clearly define the different categories of learning
more fully:
Category one is family. Yeung family members are taught the complete
body of knowledge. In the family, the methods and formulas are observed
most strictly, and the teaching methods employed are quite severe.
While all family members learn, not all like teaching and not all take
disciples.
Category two is disciple. Generally, a student is required to spend a
specific amount of time studying with the teacher before being
considered for discipleship. Students are accepted as disciples based
on several criteria. The disciples must have aptitude and possess virtues
such as honesty, kindness and loyalty to the Yeung's family. Once
accepted, they would acquire from the Master skills that lead to a
level of comprehension that far exceeds that of the students so that they can help the Master to spread the Yeung Family's Tai Chi Chuan.
A disciple is allowed to use the Yeung family's name when teaching.
Disciples can choose to take their own disciples. All disciples are
listed in the chart of School of Yeung's style of Tai Chi Chuan but not
in the Yeung's family lineage despite the fact that some people
shamefully promote themselves this way.
Category three is student. With permission from the Yeung's family
students could teach using the Yeung's family name.
The family itself has published books about Tai Chi Chuan. One must
understand that books only serve as a guide; you could only learn the
art well with instructions from the Yeung family. Recently a movie of
Mr Yeung Sau Chung surfaced on the internet (without family permission).
The same principle applies. It may be the best form one has ever seen,
but without the underlying formula, it is impossible to learn from it.
There are a lot of claims by some people saying they are practicing the
"real" Yeung style, or they possess the "forgotten secrets" etc. It is
absolutely important that the followers should exercise the utmost
caution to discern the authenticity of these claims and whether the
martial art is appropriate for their physique, otherwise it is not only
a waste of time and money but also it might cause serious injury. Yeung
style Tai Chi Chuan is both an extraordinary defensive art as well as
an unparalleled health maintenance exercise. The principles and
applications are only as valuable and effective as the source from
which they spring.
Know your source.
-----------------------
Not my words, but the words of the Yeung family. There are a lot of taichi chuan masters teaching terrible and innacurate form. Buyer Beware!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Tai Chi Touchstones: Yang Family Secret Trasmission
Comment: It is a very interesting approach to Tai Chi. It explains the philosophy and the basic. It is good for people that are starting with the study of Tai Chi.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A scholarly compilation of early Yang oral and written works
Comment: Though "secret transmissions" is somewhat of a misnomer, what the author presents is a collection of early published taiji material--mostly by Yang Cheng Fu, though there is one work
indirectly attributed to Yang Ban Hou.These early works are not a step-by-step manual, but guides to the practicing student to help gain insight into what they're practicing. What any reader should immediately pick-up, however, is that these guides were written for someone learning how to fight.
Though much of the material is by (and thus, oriented towards) a Yang-stylist, the fundamental principles of taiji remain the same in all styles, so there is enough material that all taiji practitioners can benefit by. In fact, this book was recommended to me by a Chen-style practitioner.
The other part of this book, the author's foreword, gives the colorful (and sometimes conflicting) historical background and accounts of the Yang family, which is in of itself a fascinating read.
This book is definitely recommended for any serious taiji student.
