Shadowboxing in Shanghai: A Memoir, And a Guide to the Traditional Chen Taijiquan from Dragon Park.
An early draft of the E-book edition was selling on the global marketplace already. DO NOT BUY IT IF YOU SEE THE ISBN ENDING IN 35-7. The one listed here is direct from Lulu, and is the correct edition. Look carefully if buying from another source. Because of this issue, there has been a delay in getting in with the normal online sellers, so go along to Lulu for the Ereader.
An illustrated description of the first form of Chen Taijiquan, of the lineage that came down from Chen Yanxi outside of Chen village. Plus comments about learning and training Taijiquan, and a memoir of living and training in suburban Shanghai during the 1980s and 90s. With some thoughts and experiences since then, and looks at more recent times.
Soft cover book. ISBN 978-1-989468-29-6. 6x9 inches, 350 pages.
PDF edition ISBN 978-1-989468-30-2. 8x11 inches, 224 pages.
Correct Ereader Edition ISBN 978-1-989468-37-1 .
Hard Cover Edition ISBN 978-1-989468-36-4 Available soon
NOT THE CORRECT Ereader edition ISBN 978-1-989468-35-7 DO NOT GET THIS ONE
Comments:
Plum Publications: "Andrea Falk’s newest book shines on its own. We are big fan’s of Falk’s translations, writings, and her cannot-be-praised-enough martial dictionary, but this new one exceeded expectations. She has combined detailed instructions on the 108 move Chen Taijiquan Yilu (first set) she learned in Shanghai (in the Chen Xin lineage), with notes on Taiji concepts, discussions with her sifu, conversations with other students and teachers, then added memoirs of living and studying in Shanghai in the 80s and 90s, with moving portraits of a city that refused to lay still as just a background. It’s an exciting work, and one we highly recommend.”
Plum Publications "In our opinion, Andrea Falk's contributions to the literature of martial arts is substantial, and this new book, Shadowboxing in Shanghai: A Memoir and a Guide to the Traditional Chen Taijiquan From Dragon Park, only confirms her standing.
In this newest book, she layers the memoirs of her own decades of training in Shanghai with detailed instruction and concepts on the first form, Yilu, of this traditional Chen Taijiquan set in Chen Xin's lineage. She writes in her preface:
"I started out writing up this Chen taijiquan form in English to reduce the chances of becoming a lost form. I ended up including principles, conversations with my sifu, training experiences, and whatever came to mind relating to my time spent learning this very traditional taijiquan in Shanghai. I have interspersed these stories into the text, instead of keeping everything all tidy and separate...I have noticed that in many books that describe martial arts forms the important concepts are introduced at the beginning and then the form is presented, getting sketchier towards the end as the repetitions wear down the author...This is the equivalent of paying attention at the beginning of practice of a form and getting distracted towards the end...I purposefully mixed up theory, practice and relevant and irrelevant things in the text. I may or may not repeat important concepts...to give that “just like training with sifu” touch."
Falk has visually set off the instructional material from the concepts, comments, and conversations that also inhabit this volume. The book itself is painterly in its format, exposing a deep appreciation of all aspects of her experience in Shanghai: she details lineage; practical instruction; advice from her teachers; even going into precise key points and connections between Western anatomical and Chinese medical angles.
She ends her preface with this:
"The value of this branch of Chen Taijiquan, whatever it is and wherever it came from, is undisputed to those who practice it. Its intricate coiling and recoiling movements show a true balance, support, and interaction of Yin and Yang; its practical applications are clear and effective; and it directly stimulates the internal system in a way that renders irrelevant any additional practice of Qigong. Performing this yilu allows you to realize that time and space are not as separate as they seem."