The name Sun Lu Tang rings familiar to almost anyone who has studied one or more of the major "internal" styles of Chinese martial arts. Because Sun was highly skilled in Xing Yi Quan, Ba Gua Zhang, and Tai Ji Quan, he wrote five different books on these subjects and synthesized the three arts to invent Sun Style Tai Ji Quan. His name has become well known wherever Chinese martial arts are practiced. Sun Lu Tang's treatise on Xing Yi Quan, published in 1915, was his first work and it was the first book published publically in China which integrated the thories of martial arts with Chinese philosophy and Daoist Qi cultivation theories. In addition to the original text of Sun's Xing Yi Quan book, this English translation also includes a detailed biography of Sun Lu Tang and an interview with his daughter, Sun Jian Yun. Book jacket.

Xing Yi Quan Xue (The Study of Xing Yi Quan)was written by Sun Lutang in 1915. This book gives clear instructions not only in the basics of Xing Yi Quan and the important principles for beginners, but also clearly teaches and illustrates the major forms of the style including the Five Elements, Wu Xing Lian Huan Quan, the 12 Animals, Za Shi Chui, as well as the paired practice routines of the Five Elements and An Shen Pao. Sun Lutang mastered all three internal styles of Chinese Boxing: Taiji Quan, Bagua Quan, and Xing Yi Quan. His teachers included: Guo Yunshen (Xing Yi Quan), Cheng Tinghua (Bagua Quan), and Hao Weichen (Taiji Quan). Later in life he founded his own style of Taiji: Sun style Taiji Quan.

Harmoniously merging the mind and the body, Hsing-I Ch'uan is simultaneously one of the most simple and most complex of the Chinese martial arts. The five forms, based on the Chinese concept of the five elements, provide a toolbox of techniques that the skillful Hsing-I practitioner uses to box with himself, channeling ch'i into spirit and spirit into mindful stillness. From this synthesis of external and internal forces springs new energy and true ability. Engagingly written and amply illustrated with black and white photographs, Robert W. Smith's primer includes the history and meaning of Hsing-I, detailed instruction in the five forms and twelve animal styles, and cogent advice from the masters. First published almost 30 years ago, Hsing-I: Chinese Mind-Body Boxing was among the first books on Hsing-I and remains one of the best.

Bagua Quan Xue (The Study of Bagua Quan) was written by Sun Lutang in 1917. It was the first book to offer detailed instruction not only in the boxing forms of Bagua Quan but on the underlying theory and philosophy. This book gives clear instructions not only in the basics of Bagua Quan and the important principles for beginners, but also clearly teaches and illustrates the major forms of the style including Single Palm Change, Double Palm Change, and the Eight Animal Changes (Lion, Qilin, Snake, Sparrowhawk, Dragon, Bear, Phoenix, Monkey). In addition Master Sun clearly shows how the postures of the boxing correspond to the Bagua Diagram and the theories of Bagua. In the last chapters Master Sun covers some advanced aspects of practice such as how to choose the practice location and time, as well as the advanced work of transforming the Shen.

This revised edition includes a glossary of terms and a materia medica and formulary sufficient to practice the treatments described in the text. As such it is not only a unique, absoloutely-defined and referenced text, but also a self-contained and inexpensive course of study. As a basic text produced to a multi-author, multi-publisher voluntary standard, this revised edition is a unique key for scholars and clinicians alike.

With detailed photographs and clear instruction for practice, this is the first book comprehensively to cover the history, development and training methods of this rarely taught esoteric internal martial art. The deceptively simple postures and movements of Yiquan are highly effective for achieving results for both health and combat, making it very appealing to martial artists, and Master Tang here reveals the secrets of a martial art still surrounded in mystery. He also provides a history of the origins and lineage of the Yiquan tradition, as well as detailed information on the stances and movements, weapons, and programs, grading and teaching. This complete guide to Yiquan will be essential for anyone interested in Yiquan or oriental martial and internal arts more generally.

The combat techniques of Tai Ji, Ba Gua, and Xing Yi were forbidden during China's Cultural Revolution, but the teachings of grandmaster Wang Pei Shing have survived. This comprehensive guide, written by one of his students, selects core movements from each practice and gives the student powerful tools to recognize the unique strategies and skills, and to develop a deeper understanding, of each style. It contains complete instructions for a 16-posture form to gain mastery of combat techniques. The book helps practitioners achieve a new level of practice, where deeply ingrained skills are brought forth in a more fluid, intuitive, and fast-paced fashion.