New Anthology: Taijiquan Master Reference: An Anthology

  

Taijiquan Master Reference

Edited by Michael DeMarco

A comprehensive collection of articles from the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, in two volumes.

Volume One & Two combined: 962 pages, hardcover, $74 US  

Available through https://www.viamediapublishing.com/china 

 "This is an anthology of articles relating to taijquan (tai chi) that were previously publishing over two decades in the quarterly Journal of Asian Martial Arts, noted for its high academic and aesthetic standards. Included here in 960 pages are sixty-four articles, 735 illustrations, glossaries, maps, charts, and bibliographies. Researchers can benefit from this handy anthology, particularly for the information and analyses presented, including the rich bibliographic listings. Taiji practitioners will also gain insights to benefit their own practice, be it for health and/or self-defense.

"Via Media Publishing was founded in 1992 in order to produce the peer reviewed quarterly Journal of Asian Martial Arts (1992–2012)—the first publication of its kind to focus on martial traditions in an academic format. Many of the authors were scholar–practitioners, who utilized their unique talents to present articles from various specializations, such as Asian Studies, kinesiology, history, anthropology, philosophy, and physical education. Those who were serious about this field subscribed to the journal to read articles noted for their high academic and aesthetic standards. Most were in the United States, Canada, and Europe, but also in other areas of the world. These naturally included martial art schools and individual practitioners. There was a strong base among university and public libraries too. As founder of Via Media, I’ve decided to assemble this anthology of articles relating to taijiquan. There are over three hundred million taiji practitioners worldwide, drawn to the art mainly for health maintenance and it therapeutic value. Researchers can benefit from this handy anthology, particularly for the information and analyses presented, including the rich bibliographic listings. Taiji practitioners will also gain insights to benefit their own practice, be it for health and/or self-defense. Included here are sixty-four articles, the same number of hexagrams in the Book of Changes (Yijing). In addition to 735 illustrations, there are glossaries, maps, charts, and bibliographies. Taijiquan is the term representing the general category of study, but taijiquan can be subdivided into its branches, from the original Chen Family Style to the highly popular Yang Family Style. Other lineages are presented, such as the Wu and Sun systems. The variety of material in this anthology reflects in-depth scholarly research and the experience of master practitioners. It will be a valuable source taijiquan enthusiasts for future decades. By making this book available to individuals and libraries, we hope this rare material will greatly contribute to further research in this field and inspire many to learn taijiquan with aspirations to mastery."

Volume One authors include:

Robert W. Smith , Peter Lim Tian Tek , Stephan Berwick , Tim Cartmill , Bosco Seung-Chul Baek , David Gaffney , Zhang Yun , Russ Mason , Kenneth S. Cohen , Douglas Wile , Herman P. Kauz , Stanley E. Henning , Cai Naibiao , Wong Yuen Ming , John Loupos , Jake Burroughs , Benjamin Lo , Michael Rosario Graycar , C.J. Rhoads , Leroy Clark , Asr Cordes , Linda Lehrhaupt , Nigel Sutton , Dietmar Stubenbaum , Barbara Davis , Bradford Tyrey , Marcus Brinkman , Arieh Lev Breslow , Adam Wallace , Wong Jiaxiang , Sophia Delza , Charles Holcombe , Carol M. Derrickson , Stuart Kohler , Donald D. Davis , Dennis Willmont , Donald Mainfort , Miriam O’Connor , Andy Peck , Mark Hawthorne , Yaron Seidman , Joel Stein , Xu Yizhong , Yuan Weiming , Xu Zhengmei , Danny Emerick , Hal Mosher , S. Dale Brown , Greg Brodsky , Lawrence L. Mann , Michael A DeMarco

Volume Two: Michael DeMarco , Robert W. Smith  , David Gaffney  , Benjamin Lo , Tim Cartmill , Stephan Berwick , Stanley Henning , Herman Kaus , Douglas Wile , Bosco Seung-Chul Baek    

Review: Lou Reed's Art of the Straight Line

 

The Art of the Straight Line: My Tai Chi
by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson
Faber, 2023 

 Lou Reed was the singer-songwriter of The Velvet Underground before launching a solo career that lasted from the 1970’s to the 2000’s. A Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, he influenced musicians such as David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Patti Smith. 

In addition to his artistic endeavors, Reed was a dedicated practitioner of Chen style t’ai chi. He began studying t’ai chi as he struggled to stop his drug use, which he described as ‘reckless excess.’ T’ai chi became a constant in his life. He practiced daily, whether at home or on tour and encouraged friends and acquaintances to take up t’ai chi. He studied with Ren Guangyi, a mainland Chinese master living in New York. Working with Ren, Lou Reed took t’ai chi performance art on tour in the 2000’s. He wanted to publish a t’ai chi book but struggled to get it started.

A team of friends (Scott Richman, Bob Currie, Stephan Berwick) and Laurie Anderson (his wife of 21 years) curated the book’s content and published it in 2023, ten years after his death. The book’s title page correctly describes its contents -- “A collection of Lou’ writings on t’ai chi and conversations with friends, teachers, and fellow practitioners.” While the book includes various writings, emails, and conversations with Reed, it is primarily interviews with and reminiscences of people in Reed’s circle. This included well-known fellow musicians such as Iggy Pop and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, as well as friends, fellow t’ai chi practitioners and teachers. Not everyone was engaged in t’ai chi, though all share stories of finding Reed practicing t’ai chi whether on his apartment rooftop or while on tour. Those with knowledge of the Rock and Roll music scene will find sections from Lou’s fellow musicians of interest.

While t’ai chi practitioners may find the discussions of t’ai chi, push-hands, practice and a visit to Chen Village interesting, it is not a ‘sink your teeth into it’ tome on t’ai chi. Rather, the audience for this book is primarily musicians, artists and others who want to discover Lou Reed, the person.

            —Cheryl Powers

Yang Family Founder Yang Luchan

 

Yang Luchan, Taijiquan Patriarch

 ‘The Many Lives of Yang Luchan: Mythopoesis, Media, and the Martial Imagination.’

In Martial Arts Studies

By Douglas Wile, 2022

ABSTRACT:
The life of Yang Luchan, patriarch of the Yang lineage and founder
of taijiquan’s most popular style, is a biographical blank slate upon
which conservative, progressive, orientalist, and just plain rice bowl
interests have inscribed wildly divergent narratives. Conservative
scholar-disciples sought to link him with the invented Wudang-Daoist
lineage, while progressives emphasized his humble origins and health
benefits of the practice. His life (c.1799-1872) straddled the height of
the Manchu empire and decline into semi-colonial spheres of foreign
influence, while successive generations of Yang descendants propagated
his ‘intangible cultural heritage’ through Republican, Communist,
‘open’, and global eras. Practiced world-wide by hundreds of millions,
taijiquan’s name recognition made it ripe for media appropriation, and
Yang Luchan has been remythologized in countless novels, cartoons,
television series, and full-length feature films. The case of Yang Luchan
offers an unusual opportunity to witness an ongoing process of mytho-
poesis and to compare these narratives with traditional Chinese warrior
heroes and Western models of mythology and heroology. If the lack of
facts has not constrained the proliferation of invented biographies, nei-
ther should it discourage the quest for historical context as we sift and
winnow truth from trope in the many reconstructions of Yang’s life.