Robert Tangora

Many practitioners of t'ai chi ch'uan consider the posture of Cloud hands to be the exemplary movement in the art; its elegance is truly beautiful to behold andexperience. Some practice it as a solo exercise, while others practice it as an intergral part of t'ai chi ch'uan form practice. Yet for all the accolades, it's difficult for many practitioners to fully understand the richness and completeness of this particular posture.

The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands is an in-depth exploration of this deceptively simple exercise, facilitating a deeper understanding of movement, energy, awareness, and intention. Intermediate and advnaced practitioners will discover a deeply interconnected world of practice; beginning students will learn basic techniques that can help them avoid years of incomplete training. Step-by-step exercises help to bring the esoteric and theoretical into concrete practice and application. The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands is a remarkable and essential guide for students of t'ai chi and other internal martial arts as well as all those seeking a deeper understanding of the core principles of movement.

'Many books on t'ai chi in both English and Chinese offer the reader lofty concepts but few specific practices. Robert Tangora's The Internal Structure of Clud Hands gives readers principles and ideas that will vastly expand their vision of what t'ai chi ch'uan can be, while at the same time giving them exercises and tools that they can apply to their everyday training.'-Jess O'Brien, author of Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial arts Teachers of T'ai Ji Quan, Zing Yi Quan, and Ba Gua Zhang

'Internal t'ai chi practices are explained in depth and with greath clarity. Very rare and very real information makes this the most important book on t'ai chi in English that I've ever read.'-Jon Miller, longtime practitiner of t'ai chi and former CEO of AOL.

'Having played push hands with some of the most senior t'ai chi players in the country, I found in Robert Tangora an unprecendented talent. This book is a distillation of Tangora's teachings, and it provides a guide to integrating t'ai chi principles at their highest level.'-Bill Gallen, twenty-five-year practitioner and teacher of Cheng Man Ch'ing's Yang style t'ai chi ch'uan

The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands offers readers an in-depth look into the art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan via the practice of Cloud Hands, a foundational exercise common to all schools of this popular martial art. Part theoretical treatise, part training manual, this book facilitates a deeper understanding of 'internal' movement and training for students of T'ai Chi and other internal martial arts. Step-by-step exercises help to bring the theoretical into concrete practice and application.

Author Robert E. Tangora, an accomplished practitioner and teacher of several different styles of T'ai Chi, places a heavy emphasis on the development of internal structure and building a solid foundation in the art's most basic movements. Intermediate and advanced practitioners will discover a deeply interconnected world of practice; beginning students will learn basic training methods that can help them bypass years of incomplete training and erase incorrect habits already formed.

Tangora also stresses the importance of meditation and its crucial relationship to the art's health and martial aspects, as well as how to use the spine to integrate movements—especially important for practitioners with back problems who wish to learn how to move without inducing pain.

Readers will learn to:
• Cultivate internal power
• Discover the inner workings of Tai Chi Ch'uan
• Understand the meaning of the T'ai Chi classics
• Move without injury
• Relieve back pain

About the author
Robert E. Tangora has studied the internal martial arts since 1974, having trained under such notable masters as Fu Zhong Wen (the nephew of Yang Cheng Fu), Tok Seng Gim, Bruce Frantzis, and Wang Hao Da. During the early 1980s, Tangora taught T'ai Chi Ch'uan at Shr Jung, the school founded by Professor Cheng Man Ch'ing. Since 1989 he has taught T'ai Chi and related arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives.

This is a really good, valuable book. Though it may seem hard to see how focusing on just one set of movements from the tai chi form can benefit the overall practice of the art, the way the author organizes, presents, and explains the information makes it an extremely useful resource for practitioners of all styles of tai chi. The book presents a number of complex ideas in a clear, thorough, and understandable way and includes a number of exercises that give the reader a way to concretely feel and absorb these ideas.

Tangora is a really good teacher. His skill is at a high level and his knowledge is broad and deep. In the interest of full disclosure, I've done several workshops with him. He's great in person and this book shows that he's also a good writer. This book is worth every penny. I highly recommend it.-customer

There are many books claiming secret traditions, and Yang family knowledge. They are hailed as modern classics, yet fall short of actually teaching you a single thing. This author makes no such claims, yet where so many other books stop short of presenting any real Tai Chi Chuan explanation. This book prefaces it!

That's right! Before the author even gets to his own material, he opens with detailed explanations of internal, and external. The only person I have ever met to be able to offer this type of explanation is my own teacher. What aroused my curiosity at his book was in my own practice I have an evolving appreciation of the complexity of doing some of the forms. My first stumbling block was lady works shuttles. Once I learned more I thought White crane separates hard & soft was the most complicated. Then I see this book offering only cloud hands. I had to get a copy, and the author made it available for Kindle.

The opening chapter discusses the beginning form. Not many other practices of Tai Chi put any emphasis on the beginning form, but my teacher always left me with almost a question about it. Like it was important in some way. He always answers my questions, but it's hard to nail down a question you can't conceive. My question is answered here. I always wanted to know why they called out 'peng' 'liu' 'ji' & 'an' during grasping birds tail. It seems now that much of Tai Chi Chuan is hidden right in the open, and as we open our minds during practice we can see what was there for us all along.-Jay

Back when Qi Gong [Ch'i Kung] was little known in Tai Chi Chuan circles, one of Robert Tangora's mentors wrote, 'In the West, most systems of Tai Chi or other internal martial arts are taught from the viewpoint of movement, with principles such as softness, relaxation and body alignment thrown in. However, most of the internal components of Tai Chi that bring about health, are commonly (even usually) overlooked'. That's still true even today, although slightly harsh, since learning the outward form is a necessary first step. But, going beyond basics usually means seeking out advanced teachers who've learned from masters who learned from their masters and so on. Your chances of figuring out the deep internals of TCC on your own are effectively zero.

From experience, I've grown somewhat skeptical of the whole concept of taking a workshop from an advanced teacher who 'gives you something to work on' until your next exposure. A lot can go wrong. Many topics are too hard to grasp in just one go. Or, it could be a case of right material, wrong person. Maybe what you need now is what the teacher taught last year or will teach next year. However, if the material is well organized, coherent and focused on fundamentals; and there are also books or DVDs that closely parallel the workshop, you have a better chance of benefiting sooner or later. That's definitely the case with The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands.

The book derives from a curriculum that Robert has been developing and teaching for years. I've taken his workshop multiple times, but my notes contain a small fraction of the information found in the book, which mostly focuses on fundamentals while also introducing more advanced material like Bend the Bow and Shoot the Arrow Qi Gong. IMO, anyone who's familiar with Yang or Wu style Cloud Hands will get a lot from this book. And, if you're already familiar with the primary energies of TCC (the 4 jin/chin, lit. power), deeper Tai Chi anatomy/alignments and standing Qi Gong (Zhan Zhuang), you'll get a huge amount of context and clarification to help you integrate your experience.

If your school does not teach using the energies, this is a good introduction, although the material will be harder to grasp. Similarly, if you don't practice standing Qi Gong, you may need some additional work or help to engage fully with the book. In any case, from inexperienced to experienced, there's an upgrade path should you be inspired by the book - reasonably priced DVDs covering the related Qi Gong sets and the workshop itself.

There is very little fluff in this book. It's dense with information. The number of sub-topics is impressive, often a single, seemingly throwaway sentence or footnote can hold a clarifying insight. ('The shoulder's nest is deeper into the body than most people think.' etc.). There's a recommended learning method to follow to get the most out of the book. You could (and probably should) spend a month or more working on chapter 4 (cross-body), before moving on to chapter 5 (left-right), and so on. In other words, if you want to make a big effort you may get a big result.

I can't say that I've worked through it at that level yet, but I'm optimistic that a favorable result is possible. Highly recommended.-palinurus

This is the best book I have found for really getting into the finer points of Tai Chi movement. Unlike the majority of Tai Chi books that contain very little information that is practically helpful, The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands has a practical and straight forward focus that can lead to immediate progress. I have found it to be a tremendous help with my own practice.=Josh Staley

Contents

Dedication
Introduction: Why cloud hands?
Be still like a mountain, flow like a river
1 A study of commencement in T'ai chi ch'uan
Center to periphery ch'i kung
Earth to heaven and heaven to earth ch'i kung
2 The components of internal power and health
Cross-body turning power
Left-right alignment power
Zhong Ding power
Zhon Ding gathering exercise
3 The internal structure of cloud hands
4 Cross-body power in cloud hands
T'ai chi classics: The defect lies in the legs and waist
Bouncing initiates the vertical component of cross-body power
T'ai chi classics: The waist is the commander
The basic Zhong Ding stepping method
5 Left and right alignment power in cloud hands
Health benefits form opening and closing
Opening and closing and the four primary chin
Changing chin in cloud hands
Changing chin with weight shifting
Internal chin in fixed step push hands
6 Harmonizing cross-body and left-right alignment power
Partner practice using brush knee
Generating left-right wisting and spirals
Pulling silk to harmonize power
7 Opening and closing your lower body and stepping
8 Bend the bow and shoot the arrow
9 The internal practice of rooting
10 Rolling ball cloud hand
11 Zhong Ding power in cloud hands
12 The alignment of your spine, lower tantien, and Zhong Ding
13 Joining the internal ellipses in cloud hands
14 Song
15 The internal separation of yin and yang
16 Harmonizing the three components of internal power in cloud hands
17 Storing and projecting unified power
18 A practice method for training the three components of internal power in cloud hands
19 Moving your mind on your Zhong Ding
20 The four chin and the I Ching
Select bibliography… (altro)