Traditional Sun Style Tai-Chi: 1957 Instructional Handbook

Traditional Sun Style Tai-Chi: Instructional Handbook - Volume I (Postures 1-25). This book was written by Madam Sun Jian-Yun (1913-2003), daughter of Grandmaster Sun Lu-T’ang (1861-1933), and first published in 1957 under the title ‘Sun Tai-Chi Boxing.’ Madam Sun’s book was small, yet provided invaluable instruction on how to practice each of the 95 postures in the form according to the direct teachings of her father. In time she had intended to significantly enlarge this book but instead decided that her students should use her small book as a reference guide to which she would add to orally in classes that she taught over many decades. The original book and much of the oral information that is translated and chronicled in this book is a result of Bradford Tyrey’s years of studying in China with Madam Sun from 1984 until her passing in 2003. It is necessary to separate her book into volumes because of the vast amount of material she imparted from her father and elder Sun family members. Volume I covers Postures 1-25, each successive volume addressing the next group of postures. Volume I is the first of five highly detailed volumes regarding the 95 posture form taught in 1957 by Madam Sun on traditional Sun Family style Tai-Chi Boxing (Taijiquan). This instructional handbook, Volume I: Postures 1-25, has over 130 pages of comprehensive information directly from Madam Sun and Sun family elders, and more than 100 photos and drawings that will assist in the learning of postures and veiled practices within each. It should be noted that the instructional photos of Madam Sun demonstrating each posture in 1957 are grainy, but are usable for reference. Contents in this book include: Foundation Principles to follow in Sun Tai-Chi, the Chinese text on each posture, individual Chinese character translation from the original text to help in the self-study of postures one-by-one, and special explanations from Madam Sun concerning her father’s meaning of Chinese characters providing the reader with a complete and accurate translation. Also, the meaning of each posture is given along with Madam Sun’s clarifications on the practice of each posture, plus many of Bradford’s class notes, the Four Animal Resemblances in Sun Tai-Chi, and much more, all being genuine additions to the study of traditional Sun Style Tai-Chi.