The Prof in Print

Professor Li's book, the frontispiece is illustrated above, is surely a must buy for all Longfei students, if not the whole taijiquan population. The 400 pages commemorate over 100 years of the Li family's devotion to taijiquan. Master Li Yulin (1885-1965) northeast China's pioneer of taijiquan; Master Li Tianji (1914-1996), one of China's top 10 martial arts masters; Professor Li Deyin, a great modern innovator of Taijiquan and in the top 100 present martial artists in China; Madam Li Defang; and Professor Li's daughter, our own Li Hui. They are all illustrated in this landmark book, the first of its kind to leave China. There are chapters on:

Taijiquan in China Today
Essentials ofTaijiquan
Taijiquan Training
Taijiquan: a Global Perspective

The icing on the cake is that all the experts mentioned above illustrate the forms with a complementary text. Master Li Tianji can be seen demonstrating his creation "24 Taijiquan"; Professor Li Deyin illustrates the "42 Combined Competition Form" that he devised; Madam Li Defang performs the 42 Combined Jian; and Li Hui illustrates the 32 Jian. For the first time we get to see Master Li Yulin's traditional Yang style - 227 original photographs taken in the 1930s. The book comes with a complementary DVD showing the five forms performed by present day athletes. The book will be available from Longfei Association when it arrives in the UK.

Richard Watson

Longfei Newsletter Volume 6 Issue 1 Table of Contents