ForeWord Reviews Indie Fab Award WINNER - 2014Reach for the Highest Level of Tai Chi PracticeYou can achieve the highest level of tai chi practice by including tai chi sword in your training regimen. Here's your chance to take the next step in your tai chi journeyOnce you have attained proficiency in the bare hand form and have gained listening and sensing skills from pushing hands, you are ready for tai chi sword.The elegant and effective techniques of traditional tai chi swordTai chi sword will help you control your qi, refine your tai chi skills, and master yourself. You will strengthen and relax your body, calm and focus your mind, improve your balance, and develop proper tai chi breathing. This book provides a solid and practical approach to learning tai chi sword accurately and quickly. Includes over 500 photographs with motion arrows!• Historical overview of tai chi sword• Fundamentals, including hand forms and footwork• Generating power with the sword• 12 tai chi sword breathing exercises• 30 key tai chi sword techniques with applications• 12 fundamental tai chi sword solo drills• Complete 54-movement Yang Tai Chi Sword sequence• 48 martial applications from the tai chi sword sequence• 10 tai chi sword 2-person matching drillsNo matter your age, tai chi sword is a wonderful way to improve your health and well-being. Tai Chi Chuan is one of the more popular health activities practiced today. According to the NCCAM div. of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, between 2.3-3 million people practice tai chi in the United States. Recommended by healthcare professionals, practiced for pleasure, fitness, or martial arts; by young and old alike, tai chi creates a vast community of people practicing for many different reasons. Many students expand their practice to include the Tai Chi Sword. It's fun, builds strength, and develops concentration and focus. Tai chi sword is integral to the long-term study of tai chi and qigong. This revised edition of our classic book on Tai Chi Sword includes a new modern, easy-to-follow layout; each movement is presented in 4-6 large photographs with lucid instructions on how to perform them; shows martial applications to help get the angles correct. Other sections offer a brief history of Tai Chi Sword, fundamental training routines, and qigong exercises to connect your Tai Chi Sword practice to your internal health.