The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan:
Wisdom from Confucius, Lao Tzu,
and Other Great Thinkers by Martin
Boedicker
A Tai Chi Book That Is A Must!
The essence of Tai Chi Chuan lies in the rich philosophy of ancient China.
While most Tai Chi practitioners are aware of the value that studying
Chinese philosophy can bring to their practice, it is often difficult to pick out
those texts that are most relevant to Tai Chi and connected to its
development. The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan presents, for the first time,
a concise overview of the Chinese martial and spiritual philosophies that
drive this ancient tradition.

Authors Freya and Martin Boedicker, who teach Tai Chi throughout Europe
and South Africa, present freshly translated excerpts from such popular
and widely studied works as the Tao Te Ching, the I Ching, and The Art of
War, as well as writings by philosophers and strategists such as Zhuangzi
and Wuzi. Each chapter of this concise volume focuses on a single work or
philosopher, and includes a short history of each one as well as a
description of their relevance to Tai Chi. An extensive glossary of important
Chinese terms rounds out the book. The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan
offers readers a direct connection with the concepts that form the
foundation of Tai Chi, inspiring a deeper understanding of the art and its
applications.
Personal Review: The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan: Wisdom
from Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Other Great Thinkers by Martin
Boedicker
It has been a real pleasure to read this book. If one wants to do more than
copy a lot of movements without any meaning one needs to know "the
reason behind". This means not only the more or less hidden applications,
but the philosophy that supports them, the core ideas that provide the
strategy of Tai Chi and allow the practitioner to know what is right and what
is wrong. In this field it is very easy to get lost. A lot of big words and flurry
concepts: dao, de, full and empty .... Why not skip all this and concentrate
in the practice? A big mistake! Theory without practice is not going to
improve our health or our martial ability. But practice without theory is
blind. We need to know that some Chinese philosophers believed that the
weak overcomes the strong, and that this principle is embodied in Tai Chi.
Chinese strategists thought about the art of deception. So if the enemy is
strong we must evade him, but if he is holding back, we must look
arrogant. And we could continue ... I had a Tai Chi Master who used to say
that Tai Chi was created by intelligent people who were getting older and
could not trust any longer in brute force. So, from the beginning the tai chi
practitioner (and especially complete beginners) must know what they are
doing, the specific quality of what they are doing. This is what they can
learn in this book, some quite easy to understand Chinese texts that
present "abstract concepts"; but (and this is the magic of Tai Chi) concepts
that can be felt, can be embodied in movements of the solo form or in the
interaction with a partner. In this sense I would recommend strongly the
reading of this book, and then ...to put it into practice. A wonderful Tai chi
journey is waiting for all of us.
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