I probably own four or five books on the 8 Pieces of Brocade, a Qigong exercise that at first does not appear to be complex or difficult to learn.    After reading the various books on this exercise I felt that I had a pretty good grasp of how to do the exercises and what to expect.    Watching this DVD was very enlightening and corrected some misconceptions I had about the exercises.    The book by Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming is excellent, but as suggested by the author, using the DVD and the book together is a very effective technique for obtaining accurate and effective results while doing this form.

The DVD offers both the Sitting and Standing versions of the 8 Pieces of Brocade exercise.    Dr. Yang starts off the DVD with a history of the 8 Pieces of Brocade, which was created approximately one thousand years ago.

The 8 Pieces of Brocade is presented in two main sections, the sitting version and the standing version.    First shown is an analysis of the steps in the sitting version.    Throughout this analysis the DVD uses multiple angle shots to display the front, sides and rear of Dr. Yang as he demonstrates each of the movements.   Additionally, the added benefit of sound helps the student to realize for example how hard to tap the teeth, or when to breath in and out.   Even the tapping of the fingers on the back of the skull during one of the exercises helps the student to do the movement correctly by listening to the sound that is made when Dr. Yang demonstrates the movement.

Following a very detailed and clear presentation during the analysis of the 8 Pieces of Brocade, the form is then shown in its entirety.   With the convenient chapter markers available on the DVD, the student can easily follow along whatever section they choose.    The movement to DVD for the YMAA products has made learning much easier by allowing this convenient and instant access to any part of the material.

After the analysis of the sitting form of the 8 Pieces of Brocade, the DVD then presents the analysis of the standing form of the 8 Pieces of Brocade, followed by a continuous demonstration of the form.

The student is then treated to a lecture by Dr. Yang on the 8 Pieces of Brocade.   This lecture is approximately 50 minutes and has a wealth of information about the form.   Clever use of animation helps to illustrate the flow of chi that occurs while doing the form.

In my opinion, the way to learn martial arts successfully is to employ the following tools:

• Instruction from a teacher
• Studying printed material
• Visualization in your mind
• Self practice and study while doing the forms
• Writing a journal to record what is learned or taught during each lesson
• Watching videos of the teacher
• Filming yourself and comparing it to the image you had in your mind of how you were doing the form
• Socialize and share your knowledge with other students and work on the principles together
• Try teaching one of the concepts, moves, techniques or applications to a person who has no knowledge of Taijiquan.    In the process you will easily learn as much as the person you are trying to teach.

This DVD is one of the above mentioned tools, and a wonderful addition for the serious student to learn and practice properly the 8 Pieces of Brocade.

Copyright 2007 Patrick H. Dickson • All Rights Reserved