This is a general introduction to Chen style tai chi. In fact to any style Tai Chi really as the principles are pretty much the same. It covers many different aspects viz. martial, health and competition and includes reflections on his own tai chi journey and a useful glossary. There's a bit of history, some extracts from tai chi classics and a couple of articles from Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang who appears on the front cover balancing on a tree stump..
I particularly enjoyed some of the imagery for teaching relaxation and co-ordination. So much about the art of movement or standing is getting an image or feeling that works for you. He also explains in detail the often misunderstoodand and confusingly named concept of double-weighting. We also find out that even the top guys still practise the basics.
Jan is probably as famous for his freaky hairstyle as for his tai chi. His achievements though are remarkable including being the first Westerner to win a medal at the Chen village tournament. The material for this book was compiled 10 years ago and it has a certain retro feel.
Tai chi itself is timeless but our own personal understanding is always developing. I would like to have seen how he would have approached the subject after another 10 years of training and maybe seen some commentary on the quoted classics to make them more accessible to the reader. Probably that would have been more useful than the charts derived from a short study on the effects of tai chi on the body, the section on Traditional Chinese Medicine and the lists of movements of various tai chi forms.
In summary, this book is informative and digressive. You wouldn't guess it has been translated from the German (and in parts from Chinese into German then into English)!
ISBN: 9781848190214 Published by Singing Dragon (around £15.99)
Author: Peter Gilligan, reviewed by David Radford | 
I am glad that Peter has taken the trouble to write this book. It serves to put tai chi in the context of Chinese thought and explains some things which we Westerners may misunderstand or even miss completely.