David Carradine's Tai Chi Workouts for Beginners [DVD]

I hadn't done any Tai Chi in over 35 years once I became enthralled with Okinawan Karate, Aikido, and other martial arts many years ago.Years pass and you get lazy or just unwilling or unable to do stretches you once did with ease thanks to old injuries except maybe when you're having a good day. As I get older, I have much less good days physically and more bad days. The truth is that on bad days, sometimes I do not feel like doing anything....but I do not mind using this video. At least now I do something that helps me have a better day without it being painful.Knowing I needed to re-evaluate my very inconsistent stretching and no way was I doing Yoga with my wife, I figured I just needed some refreshing and could maybe pick up Tai Chi where I left off so many years ago and I was looking for something with a quicker more modern workout approach before considering if I would go full on to say 24 forms.This DVD with David Carradine was just perfect. It was perfect as things I learned once long ago began coming to mind and since I was using this as a reintroduction so to speak, it was perfect. It's also great for when I'm in a hurry and don't have a lot of time. I haven't retired it, I just use it as a nice little workout video on days when I just want to do some nice stretching.You can get it new for less than $10 and if you just want to consider Tai Chi, imo, this is a decent way to find out. If you are the kind of person that likes to switch off with different types of workouts, this is good for that as well.This means my wife who mostly does Yoga stretching but gets bored and will switch to some Jane Fonda or other such thing will sometimes do this with me.Others have covered the rest.Enjoy.

This is a fantastic instruction on a rare form of Tai Chi. This it is not the usual Tai Chi one might expect. The most common form of Tai Chi is the Yang style slow form of Cheng Man Ching. What we have in this DVD is actually the Wong or Wang style fast form. Tai Chi fast forms can be done slowly as well to gain meditative and chi kung benefits, they can also be executed more quickly for cardio benefits. There are various Tai Chi fast forms available, though they are not practiced as widely as the slow forms. This one is based on Yang, but the footwork is more similar to the Praying Mantis style of Kung Fu.

The Chi Kung part of this video is amazing. Combined with just a little of the warmup exercises it has, in less than a week, corrected terrible slumping shoulders and totaly relaxed my hands which have had 43 years of work as an artist. I can't wait to give a copy of this DVD to my 82 year old mother, a devout swimmer. The exercises are explained audibly along with the motions, which makes it very easy to follow.The only drawback is that there isn't more Chi Kung on the DVD or another DVD from David Carradine specifically devoted to the subject. Thank you.

I had this DVD about 25 years ago & found it great. However I stopped doing it & discarded it when I became involved in other things. I have been wanting to start Tai Chi again & bought it again. It is excellent for beginners, so easy to follow & David Carradine is (was) an inspirational teacher. A brilliant DVD for beginners. For people over 60, like me, you may need to substitute your own version of the warm-up stretches, as I find them challenging. There is also a section on Kung Fu, as well as a helpful section about meditation, and a great interview with David Carradine.

David Carradine produced many Tai Chi programs, starting with this one in 1987. I started with this tape in 1987 and I am now using his later programs, particularly "Tai Chi Energy" today."Tai Chi Workouts for Beginners" is the DVD version of the '87 VHS, along with supplemental material. This is actually a more advanced program than the form in Tai Chi Energy. "Tai Chi Workout for Beginners" is over twice as long as the Chen style in"Tai Chi Energy" video, which really was for beginners. It has longer, more advanced stretching sessions and the style is pretty complex, with around 27 moves as compared to 11 in the Tai Chi Energy video. This is a nice DVD if you want to challange yourself after getting used to Tai Chi Energy. The material is good, but production and music are definately kind of 1980s cheesy and did not age well, but the 1980 girls with the mall hair are fun to watch!

I used this one to keep limber, and to help tone up my muscles. It worked for me, and so I purchased this one as a gift. My friend appreciated the gift, but did not say if he used it or not. However, Amazon keeps nagging me to rate this purchase (even though it was a gift for someone else)

This is the all time best and favorite for the beginner. The layout and graphics are nostalgic. Definitely Carradine classic. The calm smooth way that he moves has always made Tai Chi (and his other works, by the way) doable for the awkward. :) Try it for simple and effective learning at any age for any time.

So cheesy in glorious eighties garishness. It's a decent training aid if you already have a basis. Movements can be difficult to follow sometimes.

This DVD is very easy to understand and to follow and I find when I use it, I relax and feel better.

The DVD was loose inside the case, which resulted in a very scratched DVD. It works, but not the greatest way to present a gift to someone.